Bentley Motors Ltd. Cricklewood, London, UK 1919 - 1931

Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd., Derby, UK 1933 - 1935

Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd., Crewe, Cheshire, UK 1946 - 1971

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, Crewe, Cheshire, UK 1971 to date.

Walter Owen Bentley better known as "W.O." was trained as a locomotive engineer with the Great Northern Railway. By 1909 he was racing a Rex motorcycle at Brooklands and acquired his first car in 1910. He joined his brother Henry's company selling DFP cars in 1912 and putting his engineering expertise to good use designed new lightweight aluminium alloy pistons for them. These and a redesigned camshaft enabled DFP to take Class B records in 1913 and 1914. During the First World War he was responsible for improvements to the Clerget rotary engines which were made under licence by Gwynne & Humber.

Selling motor cars was not his forte and he was a poor business man too, but he was a very good engineer and like many before and since had an ambition to build his own cars. So in 1919 Bentley Motors was founded with a paid up share capital of only £18,575. The prototype Bentleys were constructed in New Street Mews off Baker Street in Central London and a chassis with dummy engine was exhibited at the London Motor Show in October 1919. The "3-litre Bentley" as it was called had been the subject of an article in The Autocar as early as May that year and illustrated by Gordon Crosby their resident artist. As there was no actual car to show, the drawing was pure fiction and he also designed the radiator and winged "B" badge.

The first cars were finally delivered in September 1921 with a chassis price of £1050, which made it one of the most expensive on the British market. I spite of this sales were encouraging and rose from 21 in the last three months of 1921 almost doubling each year to reach 402 in 1924.

Although the standard body was the light Vanden Plas 4-seat tourer there was a demand for heavier coachwork and so a long chassis option was introduced in 1923. Bentley cars were the first to be described by their engine capacity and probably the first to be known by the colour of their radiator badges:-

Blue Label - The basic model with 117.5 inch wheelbase and made up to 1929. The long chassis (130 inch wheelbase) was made from 1923-1929.

Red Label - Basic 117.5 inch wheelbase, but engine performance increased by raising the compression ratio to 5.3:1, made from 1924-1929 .

Green Label - Short Chassis model with 108 inch wheelbase and engine compression ratio further increased to 6.3:1. Guaranteed to exceed 100 mph with light bodywork. Available from 1924 to 1926.

It was possible to specify any one of these coloured badges to suit the car's colour scheme and so it is never an accurate guide to the specification. There were even some yellow and maroon badges made. In all 1,630 of the 3-litre cars were made.

These 3-litre engines were designed by W.O. assisted by Frank Burgess, who had gained his experience with Humber where he had been involved in designing the 1914 TT cars. He had also been one of the works drivers of these cars which had engines that owed a good deal to the 1912 Peugeot Grand Prix cars designed by Ernest Henry. Instead of twin overhead camshafts there was only one, but the 4 valves per cylinder and hemispherical combustion chamber design was retained. They produced about 70 bhp and had a surprisingly high bore/stroke ratio of 80mm x 149mm, but this may have been to keep the Road Tax lower under the ridiculous government imposed "RAC horsepower" formula.

The Bentleys marque started to prove itself in long distance races and a team of three finished 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th in the 1922 Tourist Trophy with unusual flat radiators. More important were their two wins at Le Mans in 1924 and 1927. By then there was a mystique about Bentley which has continued to today. There were many celebrities and wealthy patrons and so when, inevitably, the company was struggling financially it was rescued by Woolf Barnato who took control and was appointed chairman in 1925.

Development continued and in 1925 the 6½-litre chassis was available in three lengths from 132 to 150 inches with a six cylinder engine of 6,597cc. This car was intended for the heavier coachbuilt saloons to rival Rolls Royce, but the Bentley name and the cost of a chassis at £1,450 did not appeal to that rarified market and only 545 were built. There was a sports version known as the Speed Six which had an engine tuned to give 180 bhp and it was this model that gave Bentley two further wins at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930. They were not a commercial success as only 182 were made. In 1930 it became the 8-litre with an engine capacity of 7,983cc and an output of 200 or 220 bhp depending on the choice of compression ratio. It was an exceptional car, capable of over 100 mph even with saloon coachwork, but the Depression was not the time for such a car and although 100 chassis were laid down only 67 were completed before the receivers were called in.

Back in 1927 "W.O." had realised the 3-litre was no longer powerful enough and that a bigger 4-cylinder engine was needed, so the 4½-litre was developed using the same cylinder diameter as the 6½-litre. This brought the engine capacity up to 4,398cc and gave 110bhp. These cars could exceed 90 mph in standard form with a light body and they were made in the same two chassis sizes as the 3-litre model. The Le mans cars, which won them their third victory in

1928, were built on the shorter 117.5 inch wheelbase and it was anticipated that this would be the more popular size as the 6½-litre catered for the carriage trade. This proved to be incorrect and the majority of the production was ordered for formal coachwork.

The best known and most controversial Bentley was the Blower 4½-litre which was originally developed privately as a private project for Sir Henry Birkin to race under the sponsorship of Dorothy Paget for who's racing stable he drove. The Rootes type blower and it's installation was designed by Amhurst Villiers, the leading exponent of positive displacement supercharging.

The draughtsman for this project was Cyril Trim who was later employed on the Vale Special and ended his career at Vauxhall Motors. In this form the power output was doubled to 220bhp and it made a formidable, if expensive and thirsty, road car.

In order to qualify for the Le Mans the regulations stipulated that a minimum of 50 be produced and these were made at the Cricklewood factory, whilst the racing cars were prepared at Dorothy Paget's stables at Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire. All this was without the approval of "W.O." but he was overruled by Woolf Barnato who was himself a keen racing driver. These Blower Bentleys were fast, setting the lap record in 1930, but lacked the stamina for long distance road racing and so were not successful at Le Mans in 1929 or 1930. Sir Henry Birkin did, however, manage an unexpected second place in the Formula Libre French Grand Prix in 1930. The total production of 4½-litre cars was 665.

The last true Bentley was the ill starred 4-litre which had a sound, if uninspiring, 6-cylinder engine designed by Ricardo fitted in the 8-litre chassis. This engine departed from traditional Bentley practice with pushrod overhead inlet valves and side exhaust and gave about 120bhp, which was 100bhp less than the engine it replaced. The result was a very under powered and heavy car of which only 50 were sold.

Two offers for the company were received, one from Napier and the other from a mystery bidder called the British central Equitable Trust Ltd. The latter was successful and was revealed to be Rolls-Royce.

A new company was formed, wholly owned by Roll-Royce, and an entirely new model of Bentley was shown to the public at the Olympia Motor Show in 1933. It had a new but conventional chassis and was fitted with an up rated version of the Roll-Royce 6-cylinder 20/25 engine of 3,669cc with an output of 105bhp. It was called the Bentley 3½-litre, but was usually referred to in the motoring Press as the Rolls-Bentley. Following Rolls-Royce practice it was only supplied in chassis form, but there were preferred coachbuilders, Park Ward for the saloon and Vanden Plas for the tourer and ordering from either of these cut delivery times. Although there was dissention from some Bentley customers, the new car with it's smooth engine and syncromesh gearbox on third and top gears, was a much nicer car to drive. It was almost as fast as the old 4½-litre, but much more comfortable, and there were many satisfied customers. Even "W.O." was impressed by it! As always seems to happen with each model they get heavier and require a bigger engine to deliver the original performance. So the 3½-litre "Rolls-Bentley became the 4¼- Bentley in 1936 by using a slightly tuned version of the 4,257cc engine from the Rolls-Royce 25/30. In 1938 there was an overdrive top gear fitted so that 90 mph could be maintained with the engine only revolving at 1,500 rpm. Production figures were 1,177 for the 3½ and 1,234 for the 4¼.

Immediately prior to the Second World War they announced the Mark V, with independent front suspension and synchromesh on second gear, in 1939. Only 30 chassis were built of which 11 were experimental and a further 6 sets of parts were retained for spares. One was fitted with streamlined saloon coachwork and called the Corniche and a further chassis was fitted a straight 8 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV engine of 5.6 litres and called the "Scalded Cat".

Amazingly one of these Mark V cars was entered for Le Mans by H.S.F.Hay in 1949 and rewarded him with sixth place.

Production recommenced in 1946 with the Mark VI which used the same engine as the Silver Wraith Rolls-Royce of 4,267cc with overhead inlet and side exhaust valves, but featured a high lift camshaft and twin carburettors. For the first time there was a "standard Steel2 body made by Pressed Steel of Oxford and finished at the Crewe factory to a high standard. About 20% of the production was fitted with bespoke bodies. The engine was enlarged to 4,566cc in 1951 and renamed the "R-type" and in 1952 it acquired a larger boot and an automatic transmission option. The best Bentley from this period was the R-type Continental which had a very attractive "fast-back" 2-door aluminium panelled body by H J Mulliner.

The S-type was introduced in early 1955 and shared the same Pressed Steel body and 4,887cc engine as the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, so that there was no difference apart from the radiator grille which cost an extra £130 for the Roller. Again there was a "Continental" with Mulliner or Park Ward coupe body and the additional option of a convertible by Park Ward. These attractive "Continental" models continue to command a much higher price than the standard steel bodied cars.

In order to remain competitive, particularly in America, a new model with a light alloy V-8 engine of 6,230cc was introduced in 1959 using the same body, but called the S2. It was restyled as the S3 in 1962 with the fashionable twin headlights. There was a "Continental" model, but it was less attractive than the earlier models and only used the standard engine. It was the last Bentley to have a separate chassis and was phased out in 1966.

The next change was the T-type of 1965 which had an integral-construction 4-door body, self-levelling independent suspension on all wheels and a General Motors "Hydramatic" automatic gearbox.

The "Continental" model was no longer available but there was a Bentley Corniche from 1971.

By 1980 sales of the Bentley badge had all but dried up and it was not until 1982 that a new Bentley with sporting performance was added to the model range. This was the "Mulsanne Turbo" which used a Garrett AiResearch tubocharger to raise the power output to 300bhp.

Although the top speed was governed to 135 mph this model could accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds. The Bentley marque was once again a force to be reckoned with.

For 1985 two further models were added to the Bentley marque, the "Turbo R" a further improvement with refined suspension and larger wheels and tyres, and the economy "Eight" with mesh grille and lower specification interior. In 1992 the Mulsanne and Eight were replaced by the "Brooklands" which contined until 1998 as the basic model.

The sporting image of the Bentley had obviously been underestimated by Rolls-Royce as these new models equalled their sales by the mid 1990's.

The sporting image was selling Bentleys again and so the "Continental R" of 1991 was a distinctively styled 2-door coupe developed from the Project 90 concept car of 1985. The engine was by now giving 335bhp and a 4-speed General Motors automatic gearbox was fitted.

The 1995 "Continental" convertible version was called the "Azure", styled and built by Pininfarina and in 1996 the short wheelbase "Continental T" with 410bhp was added to the model range.

An agreement with BMW resulted in the 1998 base models being fitted with their turbocharged 4,398cc V-8 engine giving 354bhp and a 5-speed automatic gearbox. The Bentley version was called the "Arnage" whilst the "Azure" and "Continental T" models continued unchanged. A further model was added in 1998 called the SC (Sedanca Coupe) with, as the name implied, a fixed rear section to the body with a convertible front and power increased to 408bhp.

For some years the company had been owned by the Vickers engineering group, but they sold Rolls-Royce Motors to Volkswagen in 1998. At first it seemed as if the supply of BMW engines would be withdrawn but an agreement between Volkswagen and BMW was reached whereby the Bentley marque will remain with Volkswagen and Rolls-Royce will revert to BMW in 2002.

The Bentley marque is catered for by :

The Bentley Drivers' Club: secretary, Miss Patricia Pedler. Club office address :

16 Chearsley Road, Long Crendon, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP18 9AW

Bibliography:

W.O.Bentley, Engineer, by Donald Bastow, published by Haynes, 1978.

The Cars in my Life, by W.O.Bentley, published by Hutchinson, 1961.

Bentley, the Silent Sports Car 1931-1941, by Michael Ellman-Brown,

published by Dalton Watson, 1989.

Bentleys Past and Present, by A.F.Rivers Fletcher, published by Gentry Books, 1982.

From Cricklewood to Crewe, by Michael Frostic, published by Osprey 1980.

Bentley, Fifty Years of the Marque, by Johnnie Green, published by Dalton Watson, 1969.

The Vintage Bentley, 1919-1931, by Michael Hay, published by Dalton Watson, 1986.

All the Pre-war Bentleys, as new, By Stanley Sedgewick, from Bentley Drivers Club 1976.

Bentley, the cars from Crewe, by Rodney Steel, published by Dalton Watson, 1988.

The Bentley Bedside Book, by Hugh Young, from Bentley Drivers Club, 1961.