Bentley Through The Years

A famous early Bentley came in the form of the ‘Bentley 4½ litre’ - a vehicle designed to cause a stir in the Le Mans 24 hours race. At the time, winning at Le Mans race was a huge accolade for any manufacturer. The Bentley went on to win the race in 1928.

Just 720 4 ½ Litre cars were produced between 1927 and 1931, minor figures by today’s standards but in a time before robotic production lines - quite impressive. Production ended as Bentley was sold to Rolls Royce for £125,175

The Speed Six was introduced in 1928 and went on to become the most successful racing Bentley. Only 182 models were built at the time and customers had a choice of wheelbase length; 138 inches, 140.5 inches and 152.5 inches. The Speed Six was a more sporting version of the Bentley 6 1/2 Litre, for racing purposes but for use on the roads too. The Speed Six went on to win at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930.

The Bentley R Type was the first successful Bentley following on from World War 2. The R Type was extremely similar to the Rolls Royce Silver Dawn, which it shared the majority of parts with, excusing the obvious trademark Rolls Royce front grille. 

 The R Type had interesting features such as an automatic choke for the carburettor, an iron block with an aluminium head and also a straight 6 engine. Performance figures included a 0-60 of 13.25 seconds and a top speed of 101.7mph. The car was on sale at the time for £4,481.

Released in 1985, the Turbo R was hailed as "the first Bentley in decades deserving of the famous name" by MotorTrend. Engineering Director, Mike Dunn, was the man to make amends for the Mulsanne Turbo which was described as soft and poorly-controlled. Dunn solved this problem by demanding a 50% increase in stiffness, over the 10% which had been suggested. The outcome was a well-rounded limousine with supreme comfort. 

The R stood for ‘roadholding’, concerning the way the car was planted and supple as it ate up the miles with ease.

Produced from 1998 all the way up until 2009, the Arnage was large luxury saloon (as we’d come to expect at this stage in Bentley’s existence) featuring the BMW 4.4 litre V8 only tweaked by the experts at Cosworth Engineering. 

The Arnage came at a time where the ownership of Bentley was contested for by BMW and Volkswagen. The outcome was two separate Arnages, the Red Label and the Green Label. The Red Label used a revised 6.75Litre engine from the Turbo R and the Green Label used a revised 32-valve V8 BMW engine.

The continental flying spur was only the second Bentley created after VW took ownership in 1999, the Continental GT being the first. The Flying Spur carries a 6 litre W12 engine with twin turbochargers, which all adds up to a healthy 600 horsepower and 533 pound-feet of torque. The Flying Spur earns its name thanks to the 0-60 time of 4.5 seconds and the top speed of 200mph. Mind boggling when you consider the cars weighs 2.5 tonnes.

Probably the most recognised Bentley on the roads nowadays, famous for being the number one choice for celebrities and footballers of Britain. First released in 2003, the Continental has remained largely unchanged to the untrained eye, but those ‘in the know’ will be aware of drastic engine and interior changes as well as subtle exterior tweaks. 

The Continental GT has come in V8 and W12 form as well as Coupé and Convertible form too. the Second generation of the continental came in 2011 with a more muscular exterior and curves, again in both V8 and W12 models and the Continental GT continues to be Bentley’s best seller, although they have done well to remain exclusive.

The Mulsanne is the current Bentley in production which most emulates the Bentleys of old. The Mulsanne is a purpose built luxury saloon targeted at the most superior or of executives. This is the first flagship car to be independently designed by Bentley Motors in just short of 80 years. Since the Bentley 8 Litre from 1930, most Bentleys were built on a similar platform to the whichever Rolls Royce models were on sale at the time. 

The prices for the new Mulsanne start from £230,515 but buyers often spend well above this figure, spec’ing the car out with a vast range of luxurious optional extras.

Next year we will see the release of the most daring project Bentley have undertaken in some time. As large SUV/ 4x4 vehicles have become increasingly popular across the world, Bentley has addressed a hole in their model line up with their newest vehicle, the Bentayga. Powered by a 6.0 Litre W12 engine, the output will be around 600hp with 664lb/ft of torque and all this adds up to a 0-60 speed of 4 seconds flat.

Bentley boldly promised to create the most luxurious, powerful and fastest car in the premium SUV segment and, as it stands, they look set to deliver. The starting price will be around £160,000.