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.
in August 1919, and in October he exhibited a car chassis, with a dummy engine, at the London Motor Show.
Delivery of the first cars was scheduled for June 1920, but development took longer than estimated so the date was extended to September 1921.
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.
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 [boxer]'s stature, Captain Woolf Barnato was nicknamed "Babe".
Barnato had incorporated Baromans Ltd in 1922, which existed as his finance and investment vehicle.
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.
In 1925, he acquired his first Bentley, a 3-litre.
Barnato injected further cash into the business: £35,000 secured by debenture in July 1927; £40,000 in 1928; £25,000 in 1929.
They kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive; Bentley was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 1927 to 1930. Birkin developed the 4½-litre, lightweight Blower Bentley at Welwyn Garden City in 1929 and produced five racing specials, starting with Bentley Blower No.1 which was optimised for the Brooklands racing circuit.
Barnato injected further cash into the business: £35,000 secured by debenture in July 1927; £40,000 in 1928; £25,000 in 1929.
Barnato injected further cash into the business: £35,000 secured by debenture in July 1927; £40,000 in 1928; £25,000 in 1929.
They kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive; Bentley was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 1927 to 1930. Birkin developed the 4½-litre, lightweight Blower Bentley at Welwyn Garden City in 1929 and produced five racing specials, starting with Bentley Blower No.1 which was optimised for the Brooklands racing circuit.
They kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive; Bentley was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 1927 to 1930. Birkin developed the 4½-litre, lightweight Blower Bentley at Welwyn Garden City in 1929 and produced five racing specials, starting with Bentley Blower No.1 which was optimised for the Brooklands racing circuit.
As a result, it was unreliable. During the March 1930 Blue Train Races, Barnato raised the stakes on Rover and its Rover Light Six, having raced and beaten Le Train Bleu for the first time, to better that record with his 6½-litre Bentley Speed Six on a bet of £100.
Two months later, on 21 May 1930, he took delivery of a Speed Six with streamlined fastback "sportsman coupé" by Gurney Nutting.
Uncharacteristically fragile for a Bentley it was not the racing workhorse the 6½-litre was, though in 1930 Birkin remarkably finished second in the French Grand Prix at Pau in a stripped-down racing version of the Blower Bentley, behind Philippe Etancelin in a Bugatti Type 35. The 4½-litre model later became famous in popular media as the vehicle of choice of James Bond in the original novels, but this has been seen only briefly in the films.
In July 1931 two mortgage payments were due which neither the company nor Barnato, the guarantor, were able to meet.
On 10 July 1931 a receiver was appointed. Napier offered to buy Bentley with the purchase to be final in November 1931.
They also sold the Cricklewood factory in 1932.
Bentley left to join Lagonda. When the new Bentley 3½ litre appeared in 1933, it was a sporting variant of the Rolls-Royce 20/25, which disappointed some traditional customers yet was well received by many others.
In 1934 he was appointed to the board of the new Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd.
Unhappy with his role at Rolls-Royce, when his contract expired at the end of April 1935 W. O.
Construction of the factory started on a 60-acre area on the potato fields of Merrill's Farm in July 1938, with the first Rolls-Royce Merlin aero-engine rolling off the production line five months later.
25,000 Merlin engines were produced and at its peak, in 1943 during World War II, the factory employed 10,000 people.
The first steel-bodied model produced was the Bentley Mark VI: these started to emerge from the newly reconfigured Crewe factory early in 1946.
James Young (London) built in 1954 a Sports Saloon for the owner of James Young's, James Barclay. The early R Type Continental has essentially the same engine as the standard R Type, but with modified carburation, induction and exhaust manifolds along with higher gear ratios.
After July 1954 the car was fitted with an engine, having now a larger bore of 94.62 mm (3.7 in) with a total displacement of .
By the 1970s and early 1980s Bentley sales had fallen badly; at one point less than 5% of combined production carried the Bentley badge.
In 1971, Rolls-Royce itself was forced into receivership and the UK government nationalised the company—splitting into two companies the aerospace division (Rolls-Royce Plc) and automotive (Rolls-Royce Motors Limited) divisions—the latter retaining the Bentley subdivision.
By the 1970s and early 1980s Bentley sales had fallen badly; at one point less than 5% of combined production carried the Bentley badge.
Under Vickers, Bentley set about regaining its high-performance heritage, typified by the 1980 Mulsanne.
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs, and a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1998. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W.
Rolls-Royce Motors was subsequently sold to engineering conglomerate, Vickers and in 1998, Vickers sold Rolls-Royce to Volkswagen AG. Intellectual property rights to both the name Rolls-Royce as well as the company's logo had been retained not by Rolls-Royce Motors, but by aerospace company, Rolls-Royce Plc, which had continued to license both to the automotive division.
In 1998, BMW started supplying components for the new range of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars—notably V8 engines for the Bentley Arnage and V12 engines for the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, however, the supply contract allowed BMW to terminate its supply deal with Rolls-Royce with 12 months' notice, which would not be enough time for Volkswagen to re-engineer the cars. BMW paid Rolls-Royce plc £40m to license the Rolls-Royce name and logo.
After negotiations, BMW and Volkswagen AG agreed that, from 1998 to 2002, BMW would continue to supply engines and components and would allow Volkswagen temporary use of the Rolls-Royce name and logo.
After negotiations, BMW and Volkswagen AG agreed that, from 1998 to 2002, BMW would continue to supply engines and components and would allow Volkswagen temporary use of the Rolls-Royce name and logo.
This arrangement ceased at the end of 2006 after around 1,000 cars, with all car production reverting to the Crewe plant. Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with an official State Limousine in 2002 to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.
All BMW engine supply ended in 2003 with the end of Silver Seraph production. From 1 January 2003 forward, Volkswagen AG would be the sole provider of cars with the "Bentley" marque.
Production of the two-door convertible Bentley Azure finished in 2003.
It was replaced by a large luxury coupé powered by a W12 engine built in Crewe and named Bentley Continental GT. It was confirmed in April 2005 a four-seat convertible Azure derived from the Arnage Drophead Coupé prototype would begin at Crewe in 2006.
By the autumn of 2005, a convertible version of the successful Continental GT, the Continental GTC, was also presented in the autumn of 2005.
This new Bentley is a supercar combining extreme power with environmentally friendly FlexFuel technology, capable of using petrol (gasoline) and biofuel (E85 ethanol). Bentley sales continued to increase, and in 2005 8,627 were sold worldwide, 3,654 in the United States.
This arrangement ceased at the end of 2006 after around 1,000 cars, with all car production reverting to the Crewe plant. Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with an official State Limousine in 2002 to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.
It was replaced by a large luxury coupé powered by a W12 engine built in Crewe and named Bentley Continental GT. It was confirmed in April 2005 a four-seat convertible Azure derived from the Arnage Drophead Coupé prototype would begin at Crewe in 2006.
These two models were launched in late 2006. A limited run of a Zagato modified GT was also announced in March 2008, dubbed "GTZ". A new version of the Bentley Continental was introduced at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show: The Continental Supersports.
In 2007, the 10,000 cars-per-year threshold was broken for the first time with sales of 10,014.
For 2007, a record profit of €155 million was also announced.
These two models were launched in late 2006. A limited run of a Zagato modified GT was also announced in March 2008, dubbed "GTZ". A new version of the Bentley Continental was introduced at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show: The Continental Supersports.
Bentley reported a sale of about 7,600 units in 2008.
deliveries dropped 49% to 1,433 vehicles) and it suffered an operating loss of €194 million, compared with an operating profit of €10 million in 2008.
These two models were launched in late 2006. A limited run of a Zagato modified GT was also announced in March 2008, dubbed "GTZ". A new version of the Bentley Continental was introduced at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show: The Continental Supersports.
However, its global sales plunged 50 percent to 4,616 vehicles in 2009 (with the U.S.
As a result of the slump in sales, production at Crewe was shut down during March and April 2009.
Though vehicle sales increased by 11% to 5,117 in 2010, operating loss grew by 26% to €245 million.
In Autumn 2010, workers at Crewe staged a series of protests over proposal of compulsory work on Fridays and mandatory overtime during the week. Vehicle sales in 2011 rose 37% to 7,003 vehicles, with the new Continental GT accounting for over one-third of total sales.
In Autumn 2010, workers at Crewe staged a series of protests over proposal of compulsory work on Fridays and mandatory overtime during the week. Vehicle sales in 2011 rose 37% to 7,003 vehicles, with the new Continental GT accounting for over one-third of total sales.
The current workforce is about 4,000 people. The business earned a profit in 2011 after two years of losses as a result of the following sales results: On 23 March 2020, Bentley announced to halt production due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The current workforce is about 4,000 people. The business earned a profit in 2011 after two years of losses as a result of the following sales results: On 23 March 2020, Bentley announced to halt production due to COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2020, Bentley announced that it will cut around 1,000 (one quarter of 4,200) job places in the UK as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 3 November 2020, Bentley announced that all new cars sold will be electric by 2030.
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