A Brief History
Bentley came into being in the 1910s, headed by successful British racing driver W O Bentley. His first prototype, the EXP1, arrived in 1920 with sales of production cars from 1921.
Racing was in the Bentley blood from the very beginning with the legendary Le Mans successes of the 'Bentley Boys' during the 20s and 30s. Although it would be 70 years before they would again see the winner's flag at Le Mans.
Following the great depression of the 30s, Bentley was acquired by Rolls Royce. The Bentley brand ultimately suffered as a result, declining over many years to the point that the brand almost disappeared during the 1970s.
The revival began with the 1982 introduction of the Mulsanne Turbo and subsequent Turbo R. Elegant, powerful vehicles that bought the brand back to the attention of the sporting luxury car market. Many considered them to be the best cars in the world at that time, surpassing even the Rolls Royce.
The Continental R continued the theme in the 1990s with it's 6.75L turbocharged V8, followed by the Azure convertible and BMW powered Arnage. After it's purchase by the VW group in 1998, a new modern coupe appeared in the form of the 200mph Continental GT, opening up the Bentley brand appeal to a whole new market.
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