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BRIEF HISTORY
The Bentley brand is to luxury cars what Everest is to mountains.
Those with wallets deep enough to meet the six-figure price tags of
the company's vehicles are treated to towering levels of refinement
and prestige. Bentley coupes and sedans are mostly hand-assembled in
Great Britain at the manufacturer's state-of-the-art Crewe factory.
This fusion of old-world craftsmanship with new-world technology is
what the Bentley marque is all about.
Founded by Walter Owen Bentley, Bentley Motors was born in England
in 1919. Two years later, the first model debuted, the rapid
"3-litre" Bentley. Larger cars followed, and racing success at Le
Mans earned the Bentley motorcars status among British sports car
enthusiasts. Financial woes (brought on in part by the Wall Street
Crash of 1929) triggered the brand's sale to Rolls-Royce in 1931.
The first new Bentley after this event was the "3 1/2-litre,"
introduced in 1933 and based on a Rolls chassis that never saw
production.
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In subsequent decades, Bentley slowly slid into anonymity with
vehicles that, at times, were little more than rebadged
Rolls-Royces. The company's fortunes finally took an upturn in
1980s. A new company policy dictated a more distinctive brand image,
and it yielded the Mulsanne Turbo sedan, named after the famous
corner on the Le Mans circuit. Bentley sales increased, and in 1998
BMW began supplying engines to both the Bentley and Rolls-Royce
brands. This relationship created a conflict when Volkswagen made a
surprise bid later that year and acquired both marques, but the two
German automakers reached an agreement that saw VW handing over
control of Rolls to BMW in 2003, while keeping Bentley and the Crewe
factory.
There are high-dollar ultraluxury cruisers, and then there are
Bentleys. Whether it's the Arnage sedan or the Continental GT coupe,
these luxury cars are sumptuous enough to make even the most jaded
tycoon purr with delight.
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