He regularly competed at motorcycle racing and this gave him the desire for speed but couldn't he still craved power. In 1912 he and his brother, H.M. Bentley, acquired the UK agency for the French Doriot, Flandrin & Parant (DFP). On his first race in the Aston-Clinton hill-climb, W.O. broke the class record .The DFP was sporty, speedy & stable. This then paved the way for the foundations of the cars he later began to produce. They were also to be influenced by an aluminium paperweight piston, he noticed on a desk in the DFP factory in France. His lightweight pistons quickly became the "secret ingredient" of Bentley.

During the Great War he created the Bentley Rotary I (BR1) following an Admiralty Commission to power the Sopwith Camel, therefore prevailing the skies. The BR1 and the subsequent BR2 showed accurately what Bentley's could achieve with raw design materials, producing machines of power. His contribution to the war was one in which he was extremely proud of.

In 1919, he started on his dream car, one that exudes, power, & quality. With an outstanding team, so in October, the first deafening sound of the very first Bentley engine, the 3-litre, was heard. The rest of the car was yet to be created. After the first testing of the complete vehicle, 2 more prototypes followed. Nearly 2 years later, the first Bentley was finally sold to Noel van Raalte, a wealthy and influential playboy, on September 21st, 1921.The two things that mattered most to potential car buyers in the 1920's were reliability and speed, these were shown on the race track. In 1922 a Bentley 3-litre snatched the British Double Twelve Hours record at an average speed of 86.79mph. In 1923 a Bentley 3-litre finished fourth at the 24-hour race at Le Mans. More honours followed - a win at Le Mans in 1924; the twenty-four hour world record at Montlhery by a Bentley travelling at an average speed of 95mph.

But W.O. knew he could do more. The demand for the Bentley chassis grew along with the need for heavier and more luxurious coachwork. He needed a more powerful, more refined engine. The 6.5-litre was launched in 1925, providing the foundations for the famous Speed Six racer, the innovative 4.5-litre, and the Le Mans triumphs of 1927 - 1930 showed Bentley's racing domination.

But in 1929 Black Thursday, shadowed the future of the now famous winged "B". They showed an 8 litre against its Rolls-Royce rival. Unfortunately the Great Depression caused. Rolls-Royce Ltd to buy the financially vulnerable Bentley Motors. The production moves to Derby, and a new era begins. The Silent Sports Car", the 3 -litre combination of agility with luxury, power with silence is created, one which W.O said to have been "the best car ever to bear my name".

As technology advances, a 4 -litre engine, an overdrive gearbox, independent front suspension in the successful Mark IV are produced. The future Bentley Continental commences with its partner Rolls Royce. Production moved to Crewe and Bentley Mark VI, with a modified 4 -litre engine and a shortened version of the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith chassis, became the first motor car to be built entirely at Bentley's Crewe works, and the first standard pressed steel body .It became one of the biggest marques of the Bentley history & changed production forever.

After years of production, the Bentley Mark VI was becoming tired.. The new R-Type was then born. It resembled the Mark VI, but was technically advanced. Then, the R-Type Continental.. This bore the iconic aluminium-body, with higher gearing and lightweight, streamlined coachwork by H.J. Mulliner. Its was able to run up to 100mph in third gear, with a top speed of just under 120mph, made it the fastest four-seater car in the world. Naturally it was reputed as the ultimate in high-speed luxury. Along with the motoring partnerships, by 1955 the only differences, between the Bentley S Series and the Silver Cloud was, the external styling. Only the Continental variants differed from the styling of the Rolls-Royce.

Redesigning stared in 1965, when the Bentley T Series, & the Silver Shadow were produced. It showed independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and air-conditioning. it was the first Bentley built with an intergrated chassis and bodyshell. Some saw this as the final exclusion of its original beginnings within the production line. However the Bentley Drivers Club, kept the loyalty to the winged B going strong. Sales of the new cars started to decline. But for without the BDC, there would have been more than one occasion when Rolls-Royce considered ending the Bentley production altogether. How Bentley survived, is anyone's guess. The introduction of the T2 and the Bentley Corniche drophead coupÈ didn't restore faith in the marque. Even when the liquidation of Rolls-Royce happened, due to over budget of the RB211 jet, public belief was low.

In 1980, the Silver Spirit was created. It was the Bentley Mulsanne, named after the corner at Le Mans, at the end of the longest straight on any racetrack in the world. Rolls-Royce had abstained from all references to Bentley's racing past. The naming of the Mulsanne was the light at the end of the tunnel. It spurred the searching for the power in which Bentley first sought. Promising what the B wings promised. Its V8 engine turbocharged to 300bhp, the Bentley Mulsanne Turbo became the star of the 1982 Geneva Motor Show. A 2200kg car, that reached 60mph in just 7 seconds. With a top speed of 135mph it was the fastest Bentley in history. The response was sensational. The 1984 Bentley Eight showed a chrome wire-mesh grille, reminiscent of the racing Bentleys of the 1920s. Then the 1985 Bentley Turbo R firmly re-established the Bentley marque. By 1989 the majority of the cars produced from Crewe were Bentleys, not Rolls Royce. Ten years after the introduction of the Mulsanne Turbo, Bentley would outsell Rolls-Royce two-to-one.

At the 1991 Geneva Motor Show, the two-door Continental R glowed. In 1992 the Continental R was put into production, its turbocharged and intercooled 6.75-litre V8 offered 150mph performance. In 1993 the four-door Bentley Brooklands, named after the Surrey racetrack, replaced the Bentley Eight and Mulsanne. 1994 saw a 408bhp Turbo S, and 1995 the first Bentley Azure. With its distinctive Pininfarina styling it was unveiled at Geneva as the most powerful four-seater convertible in the world.

Branding was firmly established, original foundations laid. The future development was clear. The Brooklands became a 300bhp, 6.75-litre turbocharged V8 capable of 140mph. The Continental T was an integral part of the Bentley range, with 420bhp, a top speed of 170mph and 875Nm of torque, breaking records for production of a motor car. The Turbo R Series made in 1997 would accelerate from 0 - 60mph in under 6 seconds. Then Bentley introduced, at Le Mans, the first completely new model in nearly 20 years, the Arnage, powered by a BMW 4.4 litre twin turbocharged V8.

The acquisition of Bentley by the Volkswagen Group in 1998 continued the original dream along with new technologies. In 1999 the launch of the pure-bred Bentley Arnage Red Label, with the venerable 6.75-litre V8, up-dated and re-invigorated, W.O's wish of the mix of power and craftsmanship worthy of the flying B. VW were committed wholeheartedly. New designs of a race car & that of a limousine for the Queen were underway. Also under guarded secret was the development of the so-called MSB, a "mid-size Bentley", to surpass the Bentley revival. As the 600bhp Bentley Speed 8 began to make its mark at Le Mans, the MSB, or now named the GT CoupÈ, was undergoing final tests. The stunning Continental GT was unveiled at Paris attracting 3200 orders months before the first one would be delivered.

In 2003, Bentley Speed 8s finished third and fourth at the 12-hour race in Sebring, Florida. And then, eighty years since their debut, Bentleys finish first and second at Le Mans. The launch of the Limited Edition Bentley Arnage Limousine followed in 2005 by the Bentley Continental Flying Spur. The Bentley Arnage Drophead CoupÈ is confirmed for production, as is the Azure. 2006 the Continental GTC is announced.

With the revival complete, we await the next chapter.

Source-www.bentleymotors.com

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