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The Saloons The Continentals The Concepts The History: Bentley's History in Le Mans A late May day in 1923 and a 3-litre Bentley leaves London for the coast. On board are two drivers, one mechanic and a few spares. Spool 79 years and one fortnight to an early June day. As you read this another Bentley is on its way to exactly the same place: Le Mans.
© 1998
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Bentley History: Bentley's Renaissance Managing director of the time, David Plastow, promised members of the Bentley Drivers Club a Bentley resurgence; and so it was to prove. In 1980, Rolls-Royce merged with Vickers. Building up the Bentley marque was a key strategy to improving the company’s performance.
The renaissance proper began in 1982, when the Mulsanne Turbo was launched. This 140mph Bentley – nicknamed ‘Crewe’s Missile’ – accelerated faster than some Ferraris and yet still had all the refinement and civility one expected from a Bentley. Bentley sales were booming. Soon Bentley, not Rolls-Royce would become the dominant marque at Crewe, The Eight, which followed in 1984, had a chrome mesh radiator, like a racing ’20s Bentley, and used stiffened suspension. The Mulsanne Turbo was replaced by the Turbo R (for Roadholding) in 1985 and was a defining moment in Bentley’s history – it was even faster and more refined but, most significantly, represented a breakthrough in dynamic handling.
For the first time in Bentley’s history, the body for the new Arnage would be made in-house.
Bentley and Rolls-Royce go their own separate ways At about this time, Vickers
announced its intention to sell Bentley and Rolls-Royce. The price of
developing new models was becoming prohibitive. BMW expressed an
interest, so did Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz. In the end, the
two brands – which united in 1931 – were destined to go their own ways.
Volkswagen bought the company and the Crewe factory, while BMW acquired the
rights to use the Rolls-Royce name and set up a new factory near Goodwood
in West Sussex, southern England. |
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Then began the biggest investment programme in Crewe’s history. Over £500million was spent to rebuild and re-equip the entire Crewe factory, re-engineer and improve the Arnage and develop new models.
The first sign of all this – and the new owner’s understanding of the Bentley marque – was the Arnage Red Label. Launched in 1999, it mated the traditional yet further improved, 6.75-litre V8 to the existing Arnage. Sales of the BMW-powered Arnage – the Green Label – dried up almost overnight; there was no doubt which engine Bentley drivers preferred. The Red Label eventually turned into the Arnage T, R and RL with more money invested in re-engineering the Arnage than was spent on the original Arnage programme.
Continued investment in the Arnage range and the introduction in 2006 of the new Arnage-based Azure convertible clearly demonstrates Bentley’s allegiance to its heritage. The new Azure becomes Bentley’s flagship and reaffirms the company’s position as the prime provider of full four-seater convertibles at the very pinnacle of the market. The Continental GT and Continental Flying Spur transform Crewe To recoup the hefty investment in Crewe, production needed to increase substantially. Accordingly, development work soon began on a new ‘Mid-Sized’ Bentley model, as the vehicle was flagged during its development. The car would be designed, engineered and built in Crewe with key components bespoke to Bentley. The engineering department expanded massively and today, there is a 550-strong design and engineering team at Crewe dedicated to the creation of new Bentleys.
The first version of the ‘Mid-Sized Bentley’ would be a coupé; it would be followed by a closely related saloon. Together these vehicles would increase Bentley production from below 1,000 a year to nearer 9,000 cars. The inspiration for the Continental GT’s styling came from the ’50s R-Type Continental, but in every other way this was a thoroughly modern car. The engine was a twin-turbo 6-litre 552bhp W12. Maximum torque was an enormous 479lb ft at only 1600rpm; the Continental GT had explosive low-rev performance as well as an enormously high top speed, independently verified at over 200mph. Yet, as with all great Bentleys, it was quiet and refined. A proper four-seater, it offered luxury saloon levels of comfort, yet had the performance of a top-end sports car.
The Continental Flying Spur, which followed two years later, in 2005, sought to plug the gap between top-end luxury cars such as the Bentley Arnage and 12-cylinder versions of the top-end, mass-made prestige saloons. It was based on the Continental GT – same powertrain, same basic suspension design. Yet its behaviour was discreetly different. The ride was more comfort biased; it offered much more rear seat room. Every body panel, apart from the bonnet, was new. Yet it was also a true 200mph vehicle, the fastest four-door in the world.
In September 2005, Bentley announced the introduction of the Continental GTC, a new luxury 2+2 convertible that completes the Bentley Continental model range. The GTC goes on sale at the end of 2006. photos: Bentley
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