Bentley Motors in Crewe, England has a lengthy history of both the manufacturing and the racing of luxury cars. The company was founded in 1919 by its Walter Bentley, known previously for his range of military aero-engines, in particular the engine for the Sopwith Camel.
It was from here Walter Bentley found that his use of aluminium in the construction of his aero-engines and components both gave better performance and durability, let alone many options for casting and machining. As at this period in history many manufacturers were still replying heavily on cast steel components, thus making them heavy, prone to overheating and less durable.
So with this new type of engine, Walter Bentley applied it to the first cars and in 1921 the first Bentley the BR1 came off the production line. A year later Bentley cars were seen at numerous races and hill-climbs around the UK and even entered into the American Indianapolis 500 endurance race. But it was two years later in 1924 when Bentley was finally put on the map with a coveted win at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in France. To top this Bentley cars went on to win no less than four consecutive race wins from 1927 to 1930.
After the 1929 Wall Street Crash in the USA, Bentley car sales severely slumped world-wide. The problem became so severe the company was sold to the Rolls Royce Corporation in 1931. Fast forwarding to the present-day, the Bentley marque which has been owned by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen AG since 1998 is proving to be now as popular as ever. Even with the current global uncertainty the Bentley brand is enjoying a re-surge in sales in many emerging markets around the world, like India, Qatar and China.
Bentley has gone through much transformation in the last 10 years with its new owners, the cars are still hand-made and hand-finished in the same factory in Crewe, plus they are still produced with such high standard and attention to detail.
The new 2012 Bentley Continental GTC has just been launched just over a month ago and features an all new lighter body and chassis, with a slightly more powerful engine which will also run on bio-ethanol fuels. The car has received much critical acclaim and all important new orders.
Other new forthcoming developments are the option of diesel engines across the range of vehicles. The diesel engines expected to be used are the V8 TDi and V12 TDi powerful and economical engines, which have been developed by the Volkswagen group.
Gregory Greene is writing on behalf of Bramleys in Surrey, the best choice for a Bentley Specialist or when choosing a garage as a Mercedes Specialist Surrey for your next luxury sports car.
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