February 22nd, 2010 by dee

In 2009, the list of Top 10 Luxury starts with Bentley. This British manufacturer of automobiles now has been driving on the bright and prosperous track. However, the ways are not smooth and even all the time. In spite of Bentley’s tremendous success today, it has been through great ups and downs.

Bentley Motors Limited was founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley. Before World War I, W.O. Bentley was in partnership with his brother H.M. Bentley, but he was always dreaming about designing and manufacturing his own range of cars. After great efforts, Bentley Motors Ltd was established in August 1919. In October the same year, a chasis with dummy engine was on display at London Motor show. In December, Bentley’s engine began to run. And the business was right on the track. In June, 1920, orders were taken for deliveries.

However, development was much longer than estimated. It was not until 1913 when Mr. Bentley paid a visit to DFP factory and was inspired by the aluminium paperweight. He decided to use lightweight metal to make engine pistons instead of cast irons. Thereafter, the Great War witnessed the application of aluminium pistons in aero engines.

Besides technical problems, lack of funds posed obstacles for Mr. Bentley to promote his cars. In 1925, Bentley turned to millionaire Woolf Barnato for help. In this refinancing deal, Barnato became chairman and effectively owned the company. Although large deal of Barnato’s fortune was devoted to keep Bentley running smoothly, the Great Depression cut down the increasing demand for the company’s expensive products. And 1931 saw the selling of Bentley to Rolls-Royce. What was worse, instead of improving, sales had fallen badly by the 1970s and early 1980s. Since the parent company fail to address the problems with aero engine development, they at last got separated.

The 1980s saw the turning point of Bentley Motors, during which it again became a separate, high-performance car line. Its new sporting image created a new interest in the name and sales as a proportion of output started to rise. .In 1998, Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors were purchased from Vickers by Volkswagen Group for £430 million.

Now Bentley’s sales continue to climb. In 2007, with sales of 10,014, the 10,000 cars-per-year threshold was broken for the first time in the company’s history.

Having driving through these ups and downs, Bentley had confidence in its even brighter future.

Tags: Bentley

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