Bentley Historien
Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North London, and became widely known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. Bentley has been a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1998 and consolidated under VW’s premium brand arm Audi since 2022.
Prominent models extend from the historic sports-racing Bentley 4½ Litre and Bentley Speed Six; the more recent Bentley R Type Continental, Bentley Turbo R, and Bentley Arnage; to its current model line, including the Flying Spur, Continental GT, Bentayga and the Mulsanne—which are marketed worldwide, with China as its largest market as of November 2012.
Today most Bentley models are assembled at the company’s Crewe factory, with a small number assembled at Volkswagen’s Dresden factory, Germany, and with bodies for the Continental manufactured in Zwickau and for the Bentayga manufactured at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant.
The joining and eventual separation of Bentley and Rolls-Royce followed a series of mergers and acquisitions, beginning with the 1931 purchase by Rolls-Royce of Bentley, then in receivership. In 1971, Rolls-Royce itself was forced into receivership and the UK government nationalised the company—splitting it into an aerospace company (Rolls-Royce Plc) and an automotive company (Rolls-Royce Motors Limited, including Bentley). Rolls-Royce Motors was subsequently sold to engineering conglomerate Vickers, and in 1998 Vickers sold Rolls-Royce to Volkswagen AG, including Bentley with its name and logos (but not the name “Rolls Royce”).
History
Cricklewood (1919–1931)
Before World War I, Walter Owen Bentley and his brother, Horace Millner Bentley, sold French DFP cars in Cricklewood, North London, but W.O, as Walter was known, always wanted to design and build his own cars. At the DFP factory, in 1913, he noticed an aluminium paperweight and thought that aluminium might be a suitable replacement for cast iron to fabricate lighter pistons. The first Bentley aluminium pistons were fitted to Sopwith Camel aero engines during the First World War.
The same day that the Paris Peace Conference to end World War I started, Walter Owen (“W.O.”) Bentley founded Bentley Motors Limited, on 18 January 1919 and registered Bentley Motors Ltd. in August 1919. In October he exhibited a car chassis (with a dummy engine) at the London Motor Show. Ex–Royal Flying Corps officer Clive Gallop designed an innovative four-valves-per-cylinder engine for the chassis. By December the engine was built and running. Delivery of the first cars was scheduled for June 1920, but development took longer than estimated so the date was extended to September 1921. The durability of the first Bentley cars earned widespread acclaim, and they competed in hill climbs and raced at Brooklands.
Bentley’s first major event was the 1922 Indianapolis 500, a race dominated by specialized cars with Duesenberg racing chassis. They entered a modified road car driven by works driver Douglas Hawkes, accompanied by riding mechanic H. S. “Bertie” Browning. Hawkes completed the full 500 miles (800 km) and finished 13th with an average speed of 74.95 miles per hour (120.62 km/h) after starting in 19th position. The team was then rushed back to England to compete in the 1922 RAC Tourist Trophy.
Captain Woolf Barnato
In an ironic reference to his heavyweight boxer’s stature, Captain Woolf Barnato was nicknamed “Babe”. In 1925, he acquired his first Bentley, a 3-litre. With this car, he won numerous Brooklands races. Just a year later, he acquired the Bentley business itself.
The Bentley enterprise was always underfunded, but inspired by the 1924 Le Mans win by John Duff and Frank Clement, Barnato agreed to finance Bentley’s business. Barnato had incorporated Baromans Ltd in 1922, which existed as his finance and investment vehicle. Via Baromans, Barnato initially invested in excess of £100,000, saving the business and its workforce. A financial reorganisation of the original Bentley company was carried out and all existing creditors paid off for £75,000. Existing shares were devalued from £1 each to just 1 shilling, or 5% of their original value. Barnato held 149,500 of the new shares giving him control of the company and he became chairman. Barnato injected further cash into the business: £35,000 secured by debenture in July 1927; £40,000 in 1928; £25,000 in 1929. With renewed financial input, W. O. Bentley was able to design another generation of cars.
From W.O. Bentley, who founded Bentley Motors in 1919, to the current team of over 4,000 dedicated employees, the company’s extraordinary cars have always been designed and built by exceptional people using only the finest of materials. They have always been driven by exceptional people, too. From the passionate Bentley Boys and Girls who raced the cars in the 1920s, encouraging W.O. Bentley to achieve ever greater feats of engineering, to the visionary Bentley owners of today, Bentley drivers help to shape the world around them.
As a brand we are also constantly looking forwards, and in this section you will find our technological innovations and future vision for Bentley. And now we are going further, towards a more sustainable future. In 2020 Bentley Motors launched the ‘Beyond100’ Manifesto, which outlines our intention to become the most sustainable luxury Automotive brand in the world.
The unique relationship between those who create the cars and those who drive them has helped create an enthralling story unlike any other.
The extraordinary life of W.O. Bentley
“To build a fast car, a good car, the best in its class.”
(W.O. Bentley, Founder)
Born in 1888 as the youngest of nine siblings, Walter Owen Bentley – though he preferred to be called W.O. – founded the company that carries his name on 10 July 1919. Now, almost 100 years later, his name is known across the globe for creating cars with an unrivalled blend of performance and the finest craftsmanship and materials. Below, we take a look at the man who changed motoring forever.
Bentley Motors was founded by W.O. Bentley. The first car to bear his name pulled out of New Street Mews, London in 1919.
From modest beginnings, the company moved from strength to strength – in a relentless pursuit of both luxury and performance. Were it not for the brand’s five victories at Le Mans in the 1920s, plus a sixth in 2003, this combination could be seen as a contradiction in terms. In which case, it could be said that Bentley continues to create the most acclaimed contradictions on the road today.
Almost a century later, W.O.’s vision continues to guide our beliefs, actions and ambitions. Located in Crewe, England and owned by Volkswagen AG since 1998, Bentley Motors remains the definitive British luxury car company, crafting the world’s most desirable high performance grand tourers.
The early years
The power of steam
W.O. Bentley was born with a love of motion. When he was 9 years old, he bought a second-hand bicycle and dismantled it to discover exactly how it worked. But his real passion lay with trains. He left school at 16 to start an apprenticeship with the Great Northern Railway, eventually achieving his childhood dream of working on the footplate of a steam locomotive, hurling coal into the firebox to keep the steam pressure up. He completed his apprenticeship after five years, but by then his obsession had moved to the road.
While still working for the railway, W.O. bought himself a Quadrant motorcycle and, along with two of his brothers, threw himself enthusiastically into racing, practising on the roads early in the morning when police speed traps weren’t operating. In 1907, he took part in the London-Edinburgh trial and, although he broke down just outside Edinburgh, managed to repair the bike and finish in time to qualify for a gold medal. Further golds followed in the London-Plymouth and London-Land’s End trials in 1908. As his love of racing grew, W.O. became more and more skilled at refining engine performance, with his modifications to a Speed model Rex so successful they were taken up by the official Rex team.
Inspired by a paperweight
W.O.’s engineering skills became even more pivotal when he went into business with one of his brothers in 1912, importing French cars made by Doriot, Flandrin & Parant. On a visit to their offices in France the next year, W.O. discovered a paperweight made of aluminium, and wondered whether this lightweight material would make a better piston than steel or cast iron. To add strength and stop it from melting at high temperatures, he experimented with creating a new alloy at a foundry, finally settling on a formula of 88% aluminium and 12% copper. His curiosity paid off; adding the new pistons to DFP cars took him to victory at Brooklands and enabled him to set a new 89.7 mph record for a flying mile. And his important discovery was to prove crucial to his success in the years to come.
An airborne engine
When the First World War broke out, W.O. put his ambition to start a car company on hold and instead used his secret advantage to help his country. As a captain in the Royal Naval Air Service, he used his aluminium pistons to create an engine for fighter aircraft that was significantly more powerful and reliable than previous versions, which had been prone to overheating and seizing up in combat. The first Bentley Rotary engine, the BR.1, made the Sopwith Camel the most successful British fighter aircraft of the war. W.O. went on to develop the BR.2, and visited active squadrons while supervising its production. At one aerodrome, as he later recalled, “every gun in Flanders seemed to open up on us” during a strafing attack by Manfred von Richtofen, otherwise known as the Red Baron. Thankfully for the future of motoring, W.O. and the officer accompanying him survived by jumping into a canal.
The birth of Bentley Motors
W.O. Bentley was awarded an MBE
Recognising his vital contribution to the war effort, W.O. Bentley was awarded an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the 1919 New Year’s Honours list. He also received £8,000 from the Commission of Awards to Inventors, which gave him the capital he needed to fulfil his dream and start his own car company. And so, on 10 July 1919, Bentley Motors was born. “The policy was simple,” W.O. said. “We were going to make a fast car, a good car, the best in its class.” It was a goal he would achieve again and again.
Superlative on road and track
While W.O. was developing the very first Bentley, The Autocar magazine reported that he was working on a model “intended to appeal to those enthusiastic motorists who desire a car which, practically speaking, is a true racing car with touring accessories” – an aim that is still part of Bentley’s DNA today. After the success of the 3 Litre, his six-cylinder 6 ½ Litre engine was launched in 1926, originally as the Big Six and two years later as the Speed Six. In 1928, he created the four-cylinder 4 ½ Litre, and in 1930 the six-cylinder 8 Litre. These were road cars first and foremost – but they had the power and endurance to achieve incredible results in competition.
Racing to success
W.O. was initially opposed to racing at Le Mans – the event so closely intertwined with the company’s fortunes. “I think the whole thing is crazy,” he said. “Cars aren’t designed to stand that sort of strain for twenty-four hours.” But after seeing Frank Clement and John Duff finish fourth in 1923, setting the fastest lap in a Bentley 3 Litre, he overcame his reservations. Bentley soon came to dominate the 24-hour race, taking an astonishing five wins in seven years – and generating a wealth of front-page headlines.
‘A Dead Silent 100MPH Car’
The 8-Litre was W.O.’s final creation, and is widely considered to be his masterpiece. Such was the power and torque of the straight-six engine, the company proclaimed that the 8 Litre would be more than capable of 100 mph, regardless of the type of body the owner had chosen. W.O. said “I have always wanted to produce a dead silent 100 mph car, and now I think that we have done it.” This verdict was echoed by Captain W. Gordon Aston, reviewing the 8-Litre for The Tatler, who said: “Never in my life have I known a vehicle in which such a prodigious performance was linked to such smooth unobtrusive quietness.”
A fitting tribute
With the Wall Street Crash occurring shortly before the launch of the 8 Litre, only 100 were ever made. As Bentley continues to make cars that combine exhilarating performance with exquisite craftsmanship, W.O.’s car is proudly displayed at the factory in Crewe. Whenever a new Chief Executive Officer is appointed, they are handed the key on their very first day – a fitting tribute to the man who started it all.
Origins of the Flying B
The Flying B
In the 1920s, a bonnet mascot was the ultimate automotive accessory. These miniature sculptures embodied effortless power and speed and announced your arrival in style. As well as creating Bentley’s winged B badge, celebrated artist F. Gordon Crosby also designed an ‘Icarus’ bonnet mascot. This appeared in some of the first Bentley catalogues but never went into production, perhaps because of copyright infringement. Instead, owners of Cricklewood-era Bentleys from the mid-1920s were offered the option of the first company-approved Flying B mascot – an ornate, upright brass ‘B’ featuring wings held horizontally, also thought to be a Crosby design.
Flying higher
By the 1930s, Bentley’s Derby-built ‘silent sports cars’ had become lower and sleeker. So in 1933, artist Charles Sykes, the designer of the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy, was commissioned to create a new mascot. Sykes designed a single wing with a forward-leaning ‘B’ in the Art Deco style, with facets that allowed the ‘B’ to read correctly when viewed from either side. However, the single wing wasn’t popular, so the design was altered to feature a pair of wings. An alternative rearward-leaning Flying B was also available for MR and MX series overdrive Bentleys, to signify their sporting character. Owners had to remember to twist these mascots sideways before opening the bonnet, or risk denting the bodywork.
The return of the Flying B
After the war, a smaller version of the dual-wing Flying B mascot appeared on Crewe-built Bentleys until the 1970s, when it was withdrawn due to pedestrian safety legislation that banned prominent solid ornaments. In 2006, the Flying B made a triumphant return, thanks to a mechanism that made it fully retractable. It was offered on the Azure, Arnage and Brooklands, and later on the Mulsanne. Special editions of the Flying B mascot have been offered by Bentley’s Mulliner division, for limited edition models, a dark tint version and even including a gold Flying B.
A sense of flight
In 2019, Bentley’s Centenary year, the new Flying Spur took the definitive four-door grand tourer in a new direction – accompanied by a new iteration of the Flying B. To mark the occasion, we held a competition among all Bentley designers to redesign the mascot for our second century. The winning design, by Hoe Young Hwang, was inspired by the owl. Poised and serene when stationary, the owl reveals immense power and agility in motion – much like the new Flying Spur. The minimalist, contemporary shape of the new design represents an owl gliding over a calm lake in pursuit of prey, the mascot’s widening base tracing out the wake created on the water. With every detail of this captivating car designed around the driver and passengers, particular attention was paid to creating a breathtaking wing span when viewed from the cabin. Cast out of stainless steel, the new Flying B is hand-polished and crafted using a process normally reserved for turbine engines. It fuses the traditional asymmetrical feathers with a distinctly modern touch – when the car is unlocked, the mascot is electronically deployed and the feathers illuminate in a carefully choreographed welcome sequence perfectly synchronised with the lighting of the headlamps.
Origins of the Winged B
The first Winged B
Before the first mascot was created, the Bentley Wings existed in a two-dimensional form. When W.O. Bentley started his car company in 1919, he needed a logo that summed up his quest to push the boundaries of performance. He turned to his friend F. Gordon Crosby, the most famous motoring artist of the pre-war years, who brought distant motor races and continental tours to life for readers of The Autocar. Crosby created the original Winged B – with the ‘B’ of Bentley inside a pair of wings chosen to represent the exhilaration of motion – and perhaps also a reference to W.O. Bentley’s background as a designer of engines for fighter planes in the First World War. Crosby gave each wing a different number of feathers to make it completely unique – and stay one step ahead of fraudulent imitations.
The wings change direction
In the 1930s, when Bentley was under Rolls Royce ownership, the Bentley wings were streamlined, with the downward-pointing feathers straightened out to become horizontal. Each wing was also given 10 feathers, losing the asymmetry of the original. The logo was revised again in the 1990s and, as a nod to Crosby, the asymmetry was restored and the central ‘B’ revised to echo the original. Then in 2002, a definitive new corporate identity was created, including the winged ‘B’ that is still in use today, one that embodies modern Bentley values while still respecting its origins.
A centenary celebration
To celebrate 100 years of Bentley, a version of the Winged B was created exclusively for cars built during the Centenary year. The Bentley ‘B’ and the oval around it were outlined in a special metallic finish named Centenary Gold, and the dates 1919 and 2019 added either side of the ‘B’ – a fitting tribute to Crosby in a year that also marked a century since his original design.
The early years of racing
Racing in the DNA
Without racing, Bentley may never have existed at all. W.O. Bentley was more than just an engineer; he was also a passionate competitor – a man who believed unquestionably in the importance of car racing to his success. As he said himself: “The racing policy was part of the very foundations of Bentley Motors, for the two vital purposes of testing and publicising our cars.” Driven though he was, W.O. knew the value of teamwork – and the importance of working together with his customers. From the moment his first car began attracting attention, he was keen to see Bentleys race. The thrill-seeking men and women who bought them were only too happy to oblige. The team that emerged in the 1920s – an early embodiment of what we know today as a works team – proved unstoppable on the racetracks of Britain and northern Europe.
Early years
At the Brooklands racetrack on 16 May 1921, the hand-built Bentley EXP 2 roared across the finish line ahead of all its rivals. It was the Junior Sprint Handicap – the first competitive race won by a Bentley. Constructed in 1907 and famous for its 30 ft (9.5 metre) banked corners, Brooklands was widely considered the ‘Ascot of Motorsport’ – making it the perfect proving ground for Bentley’s cars. Many of the races held there were handicaps, in which cars with smaller engines were given a head start over the bigger powerful Bentleys. But W.O.’s engineering prowess prevailed – and his cars became frequent winners.
Bentley 3 Litre
His ambition would soon take the company beyond British shores, however. In France, W.O. met two British drivers: Harry Varley and Frank Burgess. Together, they developed a fast touring car: the Bentley 3 Litre. With four cylinders, an overhead camshaft and four valves per cylinder, it went on sale for the first time in 1921 – and soon it was racing internationally. In 1922, it finished 13th in the 500 mile race at Indianapolis (now famous as the Indy 500) before a team of three cars took second, fourth and fifth places in the 1922 TT, winning the team prize. Behind the wheel of the car that came fourth was W.O. himself.
Bentley at Brooklands
Despite Bentley’s growing international fame, Brooklands remained crucial to the company’s success. In 1929, Bentley won the Brooklands 500 and in 1930, the prestigious Double Twelve – an endurance race spanning two gruelling 12-hour legs. The association would continue well into the next decade. In March 1932, Tim Birkin recorded a Brooklands lap record of 137.96 mph in his single-seater Bentley Blower. And although the circuit prohibited female racing drivers until 1928, Margaret Allan competed there and won in a Bentley during the mid-1930s.
Conquering Le Mans
Bentley’s vision
Bentley’s pioneering vision has long been embodied in the tenacity and ambition of its drivers. But it wasn’t until W.O. visited the first 24 Hours of Le Mans that the company’s defining era began.
The first win
At first, he had been sceptical. “I think the whole thing’s crazy,” he declared. “Nobody will finish. Cars aren’t designed to stand that sort of strain for 24 hours.” But after the first race in 1923, in which a Bentley 3 Litre came fourth and set a new lap record, he changed his mind. The following year, he returned and won. It marked the beginning of a glorious decade – one in which W.O. and his drivers, the original Bentley Boys, would come to dominate Le Mans.
A string of victories
The Le Mans years would spur a remarkable period of innovation. In 1924 a Bentley 3 Litre won the race. In 1928, it was a 4½ Litre. And in 1930, two 6½ Litre Speed 6 cars took first and second. As the engines grew larger and more sophisticated, W.O. and the Bentley Boys honed their skills – from the driving itself right down to their pit procedures. They became an unbeatable team.
Old Number 7
Of all the Le Mans victories, the most memorable came in 1927. Two works 4½ Litre cars were competing that year – but at the White House Corner, disaster struck. Both were badly damaged in a multi-car pile-up and forced to retire. Fortunately, there was another Bentley in the race. ‘Old Number 7’ was a Bentley 3 Litre driven by Dudley Benjafield and Sammy Davis. Although it, too, was damaged in the crash, the team undertook what repairs they could – and they managed to keep it on the track. To replace its smashed headlights, they strapped a torch to the windscreen, enabling Davis and Benjafield to drive through the night and emerge Le Mans winners. Back in London, a celebration dinner was held at the Savoy. Following a toast “to someone who should be present”, the car itself was wheeled into the dining room. The entire team rose to their feet for the arrival of ‘Old Number 7’ – their battled-scarred, four-wheeled guest of honour
The return to Le Mans
After decades away from the track, Bentley returned to racing – and to Le Mans – in 2001. As part of a three-year quest to recapture the 24-Hour Trophy, an all-new Bentley track car, the EXP Speed 8, entered the race. Despite torrential rain, the team secured third place. When the Bentley driver team of Andy Wallace, Butch Leitzinger and Eric van de Poele took to the podium for the first time in more than 70 years, they were wearing 1920s-style Bentley overalls.
The following year, an improved car with an even more powerful engine finished fourth – a useful test run for the new technology. But it wasn’t until the year after – almost 73 years to the day since two Bentleys took first and second place in 1930 – that Guy Smith, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Johnny Herbert, David Brabham and Mark Blundell repeated this impressive feat. Le Mans winners again, one of the Bentley Speed 8 cars also recorded the fastest lap. To commemorate this stunning victory, the number 7 Speed 8 was guest of honour at a dinner held at the Savoy, just as ‘Old Number 7’ had been in 1927. Even the drinks list was the same as it had been 76 years earlier. Of all the tracks on which Bentley has raced, none has played a more pivotal part in the company’s hundred-year long story than Le Mans.
In 2019, to commemorate Bentley’s Centenary, the City of Le Mans renamed a street in honour of the original ‘Bentley Boys’ who won five Le Mans 24-hour races between 1924 and 1930, and their successors who took the laurels in 2003. The street has been named ‘Rue des Bentley Boys’.
Inspiring generations. Relentlessly.
Always ready for a race, a challenge or a glass of champagne, the first generation of Bentley Boys were a close-knit group of extraordinary playboys, racers and adventurers who achieved global fame during the 1920s and 30s. They inspired a whole generation of Bentley drivers and admirers, with their passion for driving and deep love of a challenge. And behind the wheel of Bentley motorcars, they dominated Le Mans with five wins in just eight years.
“I don’t think many companies can have built up during such a short period a comparable font of legend and myth, story and anecdote. The company’s activities attracted the public’s fancy and added a touch of colour, of vicarious glamour and excitement to drab lives.”
W.O. Bentley’s words sum up the appeal of the Bentley Boys and their cars to perfection.
The Bentley Boys
An extraordinary team
The Bentley Boys included former fighter pilot Sir HRS ‘Tim’ Birkin, Harley Street specialist J.D. ‘Benjy’ Benjafield, racing journalist SCH ‘Sammy’ Davis, ‘born adventurer’ Glen Kidston, led by Woolf ‘Babe’ Barnato – all men of independent means. They lived life to the limit, hitting the headlines for their exploits off the racetrack as often as for their performance on it.
The Hon. Sir ‘Tim’ Birkin
With his blue and white polka dot scarf and neatly trimmed moustache, ex-fighter pilot and baronet Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin was every inch the British sporting hero. Obsessed with speed, he was notorious for being hard on his cars. He persuaded the wealthy heiress Dorothy Paget to finance a team of supercharged 4 ½ Litre Bentleys that became known as the ‘Blowers’. Too fragile for endurance racing, they were unbeatable in sprints with Birkin at the wheel and in 1932 he set an impressive record at Brooklands of 137.96mph.
Glen Kidston
Kidston, who won Le Mans in 1930 with Barnato, seemed to thrive on danger. As a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy, he survived two torpedo attacks; as a submariner he escaped after his sub became stuck on the sea bed. He was the sole survivor of a civil airline crash on a flight from Croydon to Amsterdam, re-entering the burning wreckage twice in a brave attempt to save others. Barnato described him as “… the beau ideal of a sportsman. The word fear had been expunged from his dictionary …a man about town when in the mood, a man of action in another.” Kidson’s luck ran out shortly after he’d set an aviation record from England to Cape Town when his borrowed de Havilland Puss Moth broke up in mid-air.
DR J.D. ‘Benjy’ Benjafield’
Every group of friends has its quiet figure, teased yet regarded with huge affection by the others. Harley Street specialist ‘Benjy’ played this role to perfection alongside his high-spirited teammates. Modest, thoughtful and deceptively skilful, Benjafield wasn’t the fastest of the Bentley Boys, but he had the discipline to follow team orders to get a result. He and Sammy Davis gave Bentley their most celebrated Le Mans win of all in 1927, bringing home ‘Old Number 7’ after the rest of the team had been eliminated in the infamous White House corner crash. In 1928 Benjafield made an equally significant contribution to British motor sport when he set up the British Racing Drivers’ Club.
John Duff
John Duff was the first Bentley driver to win the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1924. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he made his way from Lushan in China across pre-revolutionary Russia to enlist. He was wounded at Ypres. After the war ended he took up motor racing and was responsible for persuading W.O. Bentley to take the marque to Le Mans; Duff finished 4th in 1923 with Bentley works driver Frank Clement and won the following year. He retired from motor racing after a serious accident in the 1926 Indianapolis 500. An Olympic swordsman, he taught fencing to Hollywood stars in Santa Monica, USA and doubled for his friend Gary Cooper in sword fighting scenes. In later life he took up competitive show jumping and died after a riding accident in 1958.
Living legends
Four of the Bentley Boys lived in adjacent apartments in Mayfair’s exclusive Grosvenor Square, where their parties that went on for days became legendary. It was common to see their Bentleys lined up in the south-east corner of the square, leading London cab drivers to refer to it as ‘Bentley Corner’.
Their fame and exploits meant they were recognised and celebrated wherever they went – even inspiring Harry Craddock, the famous barman at the Savoy, to create The Bentley Cocktail. In 2003, the head barman of the American Bar at the Savoy mixed the Woolf Barnato cocktail in honour of the chief Bentley Boy.
The Savoy was also the location of one of their most renowned celebrations. Following the triumph of a 4 ½ Litre Bentley at Le Mans in 1927, the Bentley Boys were invited to a special dinner at the hotel, hosted by The Autocar magazine. The guest of honour was, of course, the car itself, which became known as Old No. 7 – still dirty and battle-scarred from the race. The Boys sat down to an eleven-course banquet around a horseshoe-shaped table with the car in pride of place in the centre.
The Bentley Girls
Bentley’s flying legend
The Bentley Boys may have set the pace, but Bentley Girls refused to take a back seat, making their mark in inimitable Bentley Style. Mary Petre Bruce, Dorothy Paget and Diana Barnato – Bentley’s Flying Lady – each played an extraordinary part in building the Bentley legend.
Mary Petre Bruce: born for speed
Mary Petre was born with an appetite for speed. A match for any of Bentley’s racing drivers she was the first woman to be fined for speeding in the UK, aged just 15. In 1926 she married the Hon. Victor Bruce, the winner of that year’s Monte Carlo Rally. Fiercely competitive, she entered the Rally the following year. Covering 1,700 miles in 72 hours without sleep, she finished sixth overall, winning the Coupé des Dames. Not content to rest on her laurels, in 1928 she came second. Over the next few years, Mary and her husband the Honourable Victor Bruce, also set numerous distance records, from 4,000 to 15,000 miles.
An unusual request
In 1929 Mrs Victor Bruce decided to attempt the coveted Class C 24 hour record at the banked Montlhéry track near Paris. But her AC was simply not powerful enough. She promptly made an appointment to see W.O. Bentley and asked to borrow a team Bentley 4 ½ Litre. When W.O. asked, ‘Who is your co-driver?’ she replied, ‘I’ve no co-driver. I’m going alone’. There was a long silence. Finally, W.O. turned to Woolf Barnato and said, “I believe she may do it”. He lent her Tim Birkin’s 4 ½ Litre Bentley.
Record breaker on land, sea and air
Mary had never driven a Bentley until the day of the record attempt and had to borrow cushions from the official timekeepers so she could reach the pedals. Despite fog, cold and treacherous track conditions she covered 2,164 miles in 24 hours at an average speed of almost 90mph to take the record. That achievement won her life membership of the British Racing Drivers’ Club. In the same year she set a powerboat record for the fastest double-crossing of the Channel before buying herself an aircraft and learning to fly in just six weeks. Then she set off on a solo round the world flight, breaking record after record on her way – becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the world alone. At the age of 81 she took a refresher course and during her first flight for 37 years looped the loop. Back on land, she exclaimed, “What a lark! It has knocked 50 years off my life!”
The birth of The Blower
Dorothy Paget and the Blower Bentley
The Hon. Dorothy Paget was both fabulously wealthy and deeply eccentric. And she played a vital role in the creation of one of the most iconic Bentleys; the 4 ½ Litre Supercharged, known as the Blower Bentley.
Eccentric and talented
Among other foibles Paget renamed her personal servants after the colours of the rainbow. She was known for gambling all night, sleeping all day and had a reputation as a no-nonsense woman who knew her own mind. It was as a debutante in the 1920s, while other young ladies prioritised finding a suitor, Paget prioritised her passion for speed and power. Her interest in motor racing first developed on a visit to Brooklands, where she took driving lessons from Bentley Boy and racing driver Sir Tim Birkin. He described her as one of the finest women drivers he had ever come across, ‘capable of handling any make of racing car produced in this country or abroad’. By 1929, Birkin had become obsessed with driving more performance from the Bentley 4 ½ Litre. He was convinced that Amherst Villiers’ supercharger was the way to do it. Despite the opposition of W.O., Birkin persuaded Dorothy Paget to sponsor a racing team of supercharged Blowers. Four 4 ½ Litre Supercharged Blowers were built and Birkin’s team competed alongside Bentley’s team at Brooklands and Le Mans.
Like father, like daughter
Daughter of three-time Le Mans winner Woolf Barnato, Diana Barnato Walker inherited her father’s flair and courageous spirit. She was an accomplished horsewoman and keen motorist, driving a silver-grey Bentley 4 ¼ Litre Park Ward saloon given to her by her father on her 21st birthday.
Bentley’s flying lady
Like Mary Petre Bruce, flying became Diana’s lifelong passion. She flew solo at the Brooklands Flying Club in 1938 after only six hours’ instruction and joined the Air Transport Auxiliary in 1941, delivering aircraft from the factories to front-line squadrons. It was a dangerous job – she had to navigate herself without any ground contact, as the radio frequencies were reserved for the frontline squadrons. Famous for her glamorous appearance and exceptional flying skills, by the end of the war she had delivered 260 Spitfires and numerous other aircraft to their squadrons.
The fastest woman in the world
In 1962 she was awarded the Jean Lennox Bird Trophy for achievements in aviation and in 1963 she flew an English Electric Lightning T14 fighter at a breathtaking 1,262 mph – that’s almost Mach 2 or twice the speed of sound.
Bentley through and through
When Team Bentley won Le Mans in 2003, Diana Barnato was one of the few people alive with personal memories of the original Bentley Boys era. At the celebration dinner – held, as part of Bentley tradition, at the Savoy – an impromptu ‘pit stop’ challenge was set to see who could climb into the cockpit of the winning Speed 8 and slam the door shut in the shortest time. 85-year-old Diana Barnato Walker kicked off her shoes, ran across the floor and wriggled her way into the car to thunderous applause. Her father would have been proud.
A new racing era
In 2013 – a decade after this thrilling Le Mans triumph – Bentley brought a new car to the track: the Continental GT3, a racing car based on the road-going Continental GT. This formidable car completed a full season of racing in the Blancpain Endurance Championship the following year. 2014 saw the Team Bentley M-Sport Continental GT3 win at Paul Ricard and at Silverstone – the latter representing the first British win by a works Bentley since the Double Twelve at Brooklands, back in 1930.
Race by race, the team’s performance improved further, until in 2017, Team Bentley M-Sport won the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup outright. Following the introduction of the new Continental GT in 2017, a new GT3 was created. This second-generation combines the phenomenal V8 engine of its predecessor with the dynamic body shell of the new road car.
In 2019, Bentley’s Centenary year, it notched up a string of race wins, including the opening round of the British GT Championship at Oulton Park, the third and fourth rounds of the Blancpain GT World Challenge America and the Paul Ricard 1000km.
Motorsports
Motorsport has been at the heart of Bentley throughout its 102 years. In 1921, just two years after the first Bentley prototype was revealed, it was racing at the world famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. Today, Bentley races with the Continental GT3, it’s most dynamic and powerful race car based on its most advanced road car yet. Designed by Bentley at its headquarters in Crewe, the Continental GT3 is raced by the luxury brand’s successful and prestigious teams around the world.
Bentley Speed Six
The most successful racing Bentley
The Speed Six became the most successful racing Bentley in history, as a high-performance version of the 6½ Litre, and won Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 at the hands of Woolf Barnato, Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin and Glen Kidston.
Developing a new engine
W.O. Bentley believed that the best way to increase power was to increase capacity, as opposed to Tim Birkin’s faith in supercharging. He therefore developed a new, larger engine to succeed the 4½ Litre. With a bore of 100 mm and a stroke of 140 mm, his new straight six had a capacity of almost 6.6 litres. In base form, with a single Smiths five-jet carburettor, twin magnetos and a compression ratio of 4.4:1, the 6½ Litre delivered 147 bhp at 3500 rpm. 362 examples were built at Bentley’s factory in Cricklewood, North London, on a variety of chassis of different lengths depending on the body style requirements of individual customers.
The Speed Six chassis
The Speed Six chassis was introduced in 1928 as a more sporting version of the 6½ Litre. The engine was modified to liberate more power, with twin SU carburettors, a higher compression ratio and a high-performance camshaft, responsible for an increase to 180 bhp. The Speed Six chassis was available to customers with wheelbases of 138 inches (3,505 mm), 140.5 inches (3,569 mm), and 152.5 inches (3,874 mm), with the short chassis being the most popular. 182 Speed Six models were built between 1928 and 1930, and the factory race cars were built on a 134 inch (11’2”) chassis frame.
A racing version of The Speed Six
The racing version of the Speed Six had a further-developed engine running a compression ratio of 6.1:1 and producing 200 bhp. Two wins at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 cemented the Speed Six’s place in Bentley history, with the 1929 victory setting a new benchmark for dominance at the race. Driven by Woolf Barnato and Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin, a Speed Six led from the first lap until the chequered flag, followed by a procession of three other Bentleys. A new lap record of 7:21 had been set by Birkin, taking 46 seconds off the previous best and requiring an average speed of 83 mph, and in covering a 2,844 km distance, a further record was also attained. Such a dominant performance by one manufacturer was not seen again at Le Mans for nearly 30 years.
The Bentley Blue Train
The ‘Blue Train’ Bentley Speed Six
Few cars embody the glamour, speed and power of the pre-war Bentley era better than the ‘Blue Train’ Bentley Speed Six. In this car Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato raced and beat the famous Train Blue northwards from the Côte d’Azur to Calais. His achievement was so exceptional that a 2015 re-run by Car Magazine in a Continental GT3-R only just managed to beat Barnato’s average speed set in 1930. For years the Bentley that beat the Blue Train was thought to be a Speed Six coupé built by coachbuilders Gurney Nutting. The low roofline and 2+1 cockpit with a single ‘side-saddle’ rear seat gives it a lean, low and purposeful profile; this unique design was cited by Bentley’s design team as one of the inspirations for the modern-day Continental GT. Yet there is a mystery about which Speed Six Barnato drove through France for his famous dare. Was it the Gurney Nutting, or his Mulliner-bodied saloon? Perhaps every legend has its secrets…
The driver and the dare
Woolf Barnato – heir to a vast fortune from the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa – was the ultimate ‘Bentley Boy’. A brilliant sportsman, bon viveur and generous host, he became Chairman of Bentley Motors in 1926 when the company was struggling for capital. W.O. Bentley considered him the best of all the team’s drivers, and Barnato’s 100% record at Le Mans – three wins in three starts – confirms W.O.’s judgement. Barnato was at a dinner party on board a yacht near Cannes in March 1930 when the subject of racing the famous Blue Train came up, as both Rover and Alvis had recently beaten the train from St Raphael to Calais. Barnato wasn’t impressed, calling the achievement ‘no great shakes’. He wagered £200 that at the wheel of his Speed Six he could beat the train to Calais with ease. Knowing how canny Barnato was, none of his companions would take the bet – so he resolved to do the run anyway, to prove his point. The next day at 5:45pm, as the Blue Train left the railway station at Cannes, Barnato and his companion, amateur golfer Dale Bourne, left the Carlton Bar in Cannes and set off in the Speed Six.
Rain, fog and punctures
During the 185 miles from Cannes to Lyon, the two men encountered heavy rain which slowed their progress. At around 4am, between Lyon and Paris, near Auxerre, the team lost time searching for their pre-arranged refuelling rendezvous. Despite this setback, some dense fog near Paris and a puncture which used their only spare tyre, Barnato and Bourne finally reached Calais at 10:30 in the morning. They had covered over 570 miles at an average speed of 43.43 mph, an impressive achievement on the dusty and rough roads of the time.
In London before the train reaches Calais
Barnato had arrived in Calais so far ahead of the train that he decided to continue on to London. After crossing the Channel in a packet steamer, being waved through Customs and driving hard for almost 700 miles, Woolf Barnato parked his Speed Six outside the Conservative Club in St. James’ Street at 3.20pm. Just four minutes later the Blue Train arrived at the station in Calais. Barnato had won his unofficial dare, although the French Motor Manufacturer’s Association fined Bentley Motors around £160 for racing on public roads and barred Bentley from the Paris Salon of 1930. Barnato claimed that he had raced as a private individual and not as the Chairman of Bentley … a claim that failed to convince the authorities.
Which Speed Six?
For many years it was believed that the Bentley Speed Six in which Woolf Barnato beat the Blue Train was a two-door coupé bodied by the coachbuilders Gurney Nutting. Certainly, the Bentley chairman did own the car; and it was the Gurney Nutting coupé that contemporary artist Terence Cuneo depicted in his famous painting of the duel. But recently Bruce McCaw, current owner of the Gurney Nutting Speed Six, uncovered evidence that it may not have been finished until after the date of the drive. Some historians believe that Barnato, who owned a stable of Bentleys, raced the Blue Train in his Mulliner-bodied four-door Speed Six saloon, not the Gurney Nutting coupé. To put the controversy to bed, Seattle-based collector McCaw traced the chassis and engine of Barnato’s Mulliner-bodied Speed Six, and also located the bodywork on a different Bentley chassis. He reunited the chassis with its original bodywork and showed the restored Mulliner Speed Six alongside his Gurney Nutting Speed Six at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August 2003. Bruce McCaw accepts that it was probably the Mulliner-bodied saloon that raced the Blue Train, although definitive proof may never be uncovered. But the Gurney Nutting Coupé is still widely known as the Blue Train Coupé, and it remains one of the most iconic car designs in Bentley history.
Bentley 8 Litre
The finest grand tourer
The 8 Litre was W.O. Bentley’s finest grand tourer. It was also the last car he designed for Bentley Motors. Launched in 1930, it was the largest and most luxurious Bentley of its time. Its launch coincided with the worldwide depression caused by the Wall Street Crash, however. Demand for the car slowed and the company encountered financial difficulties, leading to a change in ownership. As a result, only 100 examples of the 8 Litre were built between 1930 and 1932.
A ‘dead silent 100mph’
At the time of the 8 Litre’s launch, W.O. declared: “I have always wanted to produce a dead silent 100mph car, and now I think we have done it.” Such was the power of the car’s 7,983cc, straight-6 engine, that the company guaranteed it would be capable of at least 100mph, regardless of the chosen coachwork.
W.O.’s personal car
The first production 8 Litre was delivered to the music hall star ‘Gentleman’ Jack Buchanan in October 1930. W.O. took the second car, chassis YF 5002, as his personal car, commissioning H.J. Mulliner to build a saloon body on the 12-foot short-wheelbase chassis. Originally registered GK 706, this car was W.O.’s personal transport from October 1930 for the next two years. He drove it for thousands of miles in Britain and Europe, and recalled travelling from Dieppe to Cannes, ‘…in the day, without having to switch on the lights, cruising at around 85mph for hour after hour’. For a present, his wife commissioned a painting by celebrated artist Ray Nockolds showing her back-seat view of W.O. at the wheel.
Reunited by the BDC
When Bentley Motors was taken over in 1931, W.O. Bentley had to sell his beloved 8 Litre. Later in his life, however, he was reunited with it at a Bentley Drivers’ Club celebration held in his honour.
The CEO’s company car
In 2006 W.O.’s 8 Litre was acquired by Bentley Motors and sympathetically restored. It has since become a symbolic ‘company car’ for each successive Bentley CEO, preserving a tradition that dates back to the company’s founder.
Bentley Mark V
The 4 ¼ Litre Derby Bentley
It was advertised as the ‘Silent Sports Car’ – was refined, reliable and loved by owners, among them land speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell. But by the late 1930s it had become obvious that its chassis design was becoming dated. Competitors with newer designs were crowding in and sales were in decline. The Bentley Mark V was the company’s answer – but its time was short-lived, as the outbreak of WWII halted all car production until 1946. Following the war the first car to emerge from the Crewe works was the highly successful Bentley Mark VI. This was effectively the fully-developed form of the Mark V, including all the components and engineering revisions originally planned for its predecessor.
Independent front suspension
The Mark V was powered by an OHV crossflow 4257cc six-cylinder engine, similar in concept to that of the 4 ¼ Litre Bentley but substantially revised. A new and robust cruciform chassis featured deep side members, making it stiffer to the benefit of both refinement and handling. Brakes were servo driven and the four-speed overdrive gearbox now featured synchromesh on 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears. But the biggest change was the adoption of independent front suspension with coil springs and wishbones.
Prototypes and one-offs
The first Mark V prototypes were warmly received by the Board of Directors and a series of Mark V Bentleys were prepared for long-distance testing in continental Europe during 1938. The company also commissioned an aerodynamic version called the Corniche; it was designed by Georges Paulin, creator of the influential Embiricos Bentley, and bodied by Carosserie Vanvooren in France. Unfortunately this ‘missing link’ between pre-war Embiricos and post-war Continental was badly damaged in a crash on 7th August 1939 in France; the chassis was returned to Derby while the entire body was removed and repaired at a local coachworks. The repaired body was later waiting on the dockside at Dieppe when it was caught in a bombing raid and completely destroyed. Another one-off prototype was an eight-cylinder version of the Mark V, nicknamed the ‘Scalded Cat’ due to its electrifying performance.
Ready for sale
According to automotive historian Ken Lea, the Bentley Mark V was ‘probably the most thoroughly developed and tested car the company had seen.’ It was signed off for production in time for its planned debut at the 1939 Olympia Motor Show, where it would have been displayed with bodywork by a number of independent coachbuilders. Following the outbreak of war in September 1939 both production and the motor show were cancelled.
The Bentley Lineage Collection’s Mark V
The Bentley Mark V in the company’s Lineage Collection is one of only seven remaining in the world. Designated as chassis number B-32-AW (with connections for the optional heater) it was ordered by coachbuilder James Young on 7th July 1939 to be fitted with a two-door coupé body for display at the New York World Fair. The order was cancelled on the outbreak of war but the company decided to go ahead with production of a small number of Mark V Bentleys for internal trials. B-32-AW was finally completed in May 1940 by Park Ward with a standard steel four-door sports saloon body. After internal assessment by the company, it was delivered to first owner Geoffrey Smith on the 19th October 1940. Recently, it has been sensitively restored to its original specification by the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust.
R-Type Continental
A template for Bentley grand touring
In 1952, cars that could hit a top speed of 115mph were uncommon. Cars that could cruise at 100mph with four occupants (and luggage) were unheard of – until the R-Type Continental. Although only 208 were produced, the R-Type Continental created a template for Bentley grand touring that lasted decades. It even inspired the design team working on the first Continental GT, fifty years later.
Re-Inventing Bentley
Pre-war, two coachbuilt specials had shown what a Bentley of the future might be. Both the ‘Embiricos’ Bentley and the Corniche featured streamlined bodies and were capable of cruising at high speeds on the fast roads of the continent. One man who took careful note of these one-off creations was the company’s chief projects engineer, Ivan Evernden. Although a lifelong Rolls-Royce employee, he was inspired to reinvent Bentley for the post-war world and distance it from its more staid cousin. He was assisted by John Blatchley, chief of the newly-created styling department at Crewe, who sketched a low, long and lithe body shape, with its radiator inclined backward from the vertical, a steeply raked windscreen, rear wheelspats and a fastback roofline. Fins were added to the rear wings to aid stability at high speed. A quarter-scale model was made and tested in the company’s aero-engine division’s tunnel at Hucknall, in Nottinghamshire. Evernden estimated that air speeds of up to 120mph were attainable. “Much more could have been done” he wrote in July 1962, “…but the purpose of the exercise was to reduce the aero drag of a conventional car and not to make a space capsule for an astronaut.”
Creating the R-Type Continental
Using the R-Type chassis as a base, Evernden and Blatchley designed a grand tourer in the Bentley tradition, using aerodynamics and lightweight construction to create a vehicle capable of running for long periods at high speed across Continental Europe. It became an icon of its era; beautifully crafted, fast and exclusive. Mechanically, the standard 4,566cc, six-cylinder in-line engine was gently tuned, raising the power from 140 to 153bhp, with a higher final drive ratio to take advantage of the lighter, more aerodynamic body. Coachbuilders H.J. Mulliner were tasked with creating the new, streamlined Bentley coupé. To save weight, the bodywork was made in aluminium, as were the window frames, the windscreen surround and the backlight. Even the seat frames and bumpers were aluminium. To pare weight to a minimum, a radio was considered superfluous. Weight was the critical factor; tyres that could carry a two-ton motor car at speeds of over 115mph didn’t exist in 1950. Evernden calculated that if the new grand tourer were to cruise at 100mph or more, it would have to weigh a maximum of 34 cwt (around 1750 kilograms). Even so, this combination of weight and speed was right on the limit for the specified Dunlop Medium Distance Track tyres. All the hard work paid off. In September 1951, at the Montlhèry track near Paris, the sleek new Bentley averaged 118.75 mph over five laps, with a best lap speed just under 120mph.
Production approval
Up to this point the prototype – OLG 490, nicknamed Olga – was a semi-official project. Some on the Board of Directors felt it was ‘too sporty’ for a company that also made Rolls-Royce limousines. But with the help of allies within the company and its overseas dealerships, Evernden persuaded The Board that a market existed for a coachbuilt Bentley grand tourer. As he had hoped, orders came in from all over the world, even at the immense price of £6,928 including UK purchase tax. To put this in context, in 1952 Britain the average annual salary was £468, and the average house cost £1891. Many owners specified extras, which had an impact upon the weight of some models produced during the R-Type Continental’s three years of production. A bigger bore engine with a capacity of 4,887cc maintained the performance, with a practical top speed of around 115mph and easy cruising at 100mph. Later production cars also differed from ‘Olga’ in having a lower roofline, a one-piece windscreen and revised wing line. By the time production ended in 1955, 208 R-Type Continentals had been built. All but 15 of them were bodied by H.J. Mulliner.
A modern magic carpet
Accolades followed the launch of the R-Type Continental. The Autocar summed up its appeal; “Whatever memorable motoring experiences one may have had, this was something different…this Bentley is a modern magic carpet which annihilates great distances and delivers the occupants well-nigh as fresh as when they started.”
S1 Continental Flying Spur
1958 S1 Continental Flying Spur
In 1952, Bentley’s chief designer J.P. Blatchley and engineer Ivan Evernden collaborated on an unofficial project to restore Bentley to the pinnacle of grand touring. Their creation, the R-Type Continental of 1952, caused a sensation. With its sleek bodywork by H.J. Mulliner and ability to cruise all day at 100mph, it was hailed as the ultimate grand touring coupé. H.J. Mulliner’s later Continental Flying Spur extended the Continental formula with the added practicality of four doors.
A four-door Continental
Given the success of the R-Type Continental, Bentley continued to offer a Continental driveline and chassis following the launch of the new S-Series in 1955. H.J. Mulliner, Park Ward, James Young, Hooper, Graber and Franay all produced their own two-door designs upon the chassis, but it was H.J. Mulliner that first produced a four-door, the Continental Flying Spur.
Heraldic inspiration
The new four-door was named by Arthur Talbot Johnstone, H.J. Mulliner’s Managing Director, after the heraldic device of his family, the clan Johnstone of the Scottish Borders. The first example actually featured the clan Johnston’s spur mascot on its radiator grille. Following the success of the H.J. Mulliner Flying Spur, other coachbuilders offered their bespoke interpretations of a four-door Continental. Of a total production of 432 S1 Continentals, H.J. Mulliner created the coachwork for 217 models.
The Bentley Collection’s S1 Flying Spur
The S1 Continental Flying Spur in Bentley’s Lineage Collection is a 1958 H.J. Mulliner model with the 180bhp 4.9 Litre straight-six engine, finished in black with grey interior. It would have cost £8034, around ten times the average UK salary at the time. This example has the optional automatic gearbox and air conditioning, and even today is capable of covering long distances in great comfort. It’s a grand tourer in the Bentley tradition, and an inspiration for the design team that created today’s Flying Spur.
End of an era
The R-Type Continental and S-Type Continental represented the last flourish of the coachbuilding era, where Bentley produced the chassis and driveline while the bodywork and interior was crafted by independent coachbuilders. From 1946 Bentley also offered complete cars built at Crewe: over time, it became harder and harder for independent coachbuilders to match the factory offering. The S-Series Bentley was the last to feature a separate chassis, and with the arrival of the T-Series in 1965, the era of the independent specialist coachbuilder came to an end.
Bentley Brooklands
First produced in 1993, 2007 saw the triumphant return of the Bentley Brooklands. Descended from an incomparable bloodline of truly potent coupés and taking power to a new level, the Bentley Brooklands featured the most powerful V8 engine Bentley had ever created, capable of top speeds of 184mph (296km/h).
The Azure range
The Azure Range
The Azure is a convertible that was unmatched, in performance and potency and one that is truly evocative. The Azure first made its debut in 1995 and was produced in its original appearance until 2003. The second generation Azure, first announced in 2005, brought a higher performance grand tourer to the market which was heralded in 2009 with an end-of-life Azure T limited edition.
Azure
The open road. The open skies. The Azure. Originally launched in 1995, and subsequently followed by the second generation in 2006, the Azure is a convertible that was unmatched, in its time, in performance and potency and one that is truly evocative. In every sense a Bentley, with perfect interior refinement and a flowing silhouette. This is a car that takes a mere 25 seconds for its roof to glide away revealing the freedom of the heavens. A computer-controlled four-speed automatic gearbox brings a smoother shift and more interaction to the driving experience translating the power of the 6.75 Litre twin turbocharged, V8 engine into effortless propulsion. The Azure was not only a luxury car but also a serious performance car, accelerating from 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds (0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds), with a top speed of 171 mph (274km/h) available on demand.
Azure T
Luxury and power is an intoxicating mix; one which the Azure had so naturally perfected. Next came the Azure T. All the elegance, fluid lines and hand craftsmanship of the Azure, but with a new potency that made it more desirable than ever. A sporting pedigree that can be traced back to a celebrated era of Bentley design reflected in its muscular, imposing stance. Yet this was an unquestionably contemporary car; a luxurious British masterpiece in the finest tradition. From its distinctive, confident presence through to the sophisticated styling of the interior creating a pure luxury open-top experience for four companions. The Azure T bestowed a sense of freedom; the infinite space of the sky matched by the indescribable feeling of the wave of torque. 1000Nm (738 lb-ft) released by the iconic 6.5 Litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine. Now with the heightened potential of 500bhp (373kW) and the sheer exhilaration of reaching 60mph in just 5.2 seconds (0-100km/h in just 5.5 seconds), with a top speed of 179 mph (288 km/h). A formidable force, perfectly balanced to assure and inspire.
The Arnage range
The pinnacle of the luxury Saloon market
For years, the Arnage enjoyed extraordinary success at the pinnacle of the luxury saloon market. Since its debut in 1998, the Arnage conveyed an air of sophisticated understatement as the four-door flagship of the Bentley range. The Final Series production was a celebration of the Arnage era with a limited production of just 150 cars.
Arnage
Introduced in 1998 the Arnage, named after a corner at the famous Le Mans racing circuit, became Bentley’s best-selling model. Initially powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4 Litre V8 engine, the Arnage boasted impressive performance and refinement. In 1999 this Arnage became known as the Arnage Green Label, when the range was expanded to include the popular Arnage Red Label derivative, powered by Bentley’s 6.75 Litre turbocharged V8 engine.
Arnage R
Arnage R since its introduction in 2002, has been an unrivalled example of the Grand Touring philosophy, making every journey a unique experience of power, luxury and control. This is a place where two very different worlds are perfectly united. Tradition and technology in absolute harmony. From the flawless leather of the seats to the computer-controlled six-speed gear box, driver and passengers sit in an environment of stunning aesthetics and fingertip control. An oasis from which to savour every nuance of the twin-turbocharged 6.75 Litre V8 engine, with 400bhp at your command. A 0-60mph time of 5.9 seconds (0-100km/h in 6.3 seconds) and a top speed of 155mph (249km/h) waiting to be relished.
Arnage RL
Launched in 2001, the Arnage RL is the culmination of world-class coachbuilding that spans generations. It is a car that takes personalisation to a new level, where the vehicle is a canvas on which you can paint your vision. With its extended wheelbase, 2 inches (50mm) to the front and 8 inches (200mm) to the rear compartment, the RL retains the classic Arnage profile whilst offering even more palatial comfort for the passengers. But make no mistake; this is a car to drive. The turbocharged 6.75 Litre V8 engine, harnessed by a highly engaging sixspeed automatic gearbox, makes this an experience impossible to miss. The Arnage RL gave its owners the opportunity to realise virtually anything imaginable – all designed and handcrafted by the most skilled automotive artisans in the world. These are people who understand not only the heritage of Bentley, but also the pleasures of luxury in a contemporary world. From fashioners of burnished walnut and fine hides to the audio experts who can turn the interior of a Bentley into a concert hall, to specialists who can bring the cinema or television to the rear seat.
Arnage T
Launched in 2002, the Arnage T delivers silent luxury that contrasts sharply with the power available underneath your right foot. Surrounded by sublime handcrafted excellence, it’s easy to forget the potency that lies ahead of you. 6.75 Litres of energy contained in a masterful V8 engine, supported by a state-of-the-art computer controlled four-speed gearbox and countless electronic systems guiding every movement. An Electronic Stability Programme for spirited handling with no compromise to stability or safety. Technology that lives for the road without sacrificing a single moment of your driving experience.
Arnage Final Series
From its debut in 1998 the Arnage conveyed an air of sophisticated understatement as the four-door flagship of the Bentley range. Over the next decade the car experienced a period of constant refinement to its body, design, chassis and powertrain to maintain its class-leading position in the high luxury market. To celebrate 10 years of the Arnage, 50 years of its mighty V8 engine and 90 years of the marque, Bentley Motors launched Bentley Arnage Final Series. This model featured a unique specification, combining the performance of the 500 bhp Arnage T with the refinement of the Arnage R and design elements from the Brooklands coupé, for the ultimate expression of British luxury and effortless power in a four-door saloon – a grand finale, for the grandest of Bentleys, in an exclusive run of only 150 cars.
Continental
Early in the 21st century, a stunning, two-door Bentley was unveiled, one that refined and redefined the language of grand tourer design. The revolutionary Continental GT has combined phenomenal performance and exquisite craftsmanship for more than a decade, with continual enhancements pushing the boundaries of technology, from sheer power to the choice of finishes.
This modern classic has been giving rise to countless Continental stories since the day it was launched. From four-time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen breaking the world ice speed record in a Continental GT Convertible to pop art legend Peter Blake creating a unique exterior for a Continental GT V8 S, this is a car that continues to inspire.
Flying Spur
The Bentley Flying Spur was created to be a superlative four door sedan – for drivers and passengers alike. With enough space for four adults to travel in extraordinary comfort, the Flying Spur offered surging power combined with agility. Its acceleration, handling and all-wheel drive capability all contributed to an exceptional drive experience, taking both performance and luxurious interior craftsmanship to a new level.
Mulsanne
The Bentley Mulsanne spent a decade as the flagship model of the Bentley range. The world’s finest handmade car represents the ultimate combination of both luxury and performance. The range offered a choice of two remarkable vehicles: the Mulsanne; and the Mulsanne Speed for more dynamic driving. The Mulsanne was given a face lift in 2014, with new design cues and interior options, and a new derivatives joined the Mulsanne range: Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase offering extra legroom and comfort.
Bentayga
Bentayga is the first Bentley SUV – also the world’s first true luxury SUV. Launched in 2015, Bentayga was named after the Roque Bentayga, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, and was designed, engineered and crafted to offer unprecedented levels of refinement and performance. Bentayga was created after consultation with Bentley owners and meticulous research to ensure this new model included the luxurious features and dynamic drive experience one expects of a Bentley.