Do you wonder what car British royalty like to ride around in? Well, the answer to your question is Bentley. Bentley is a stately automobile that offers the luxury that you would only expect a queen or king to obtain. But these cars are also offered to the common man and woman. If you like learning about the history of expensive, great looking automobiles then you will like this piece. Let’s dive right into the history of this great British automobile.
The Birth of Bentley
England gave birth to the Bentley in January of 1919. The founder was Walter Owen Bentley, and he was known for his rotary aero-engines used in World War I. The car’s reputation and performance were built by a very wealthy group of automobile enthusiasts. In 1931, Bentley was sold to Rolls-Royce, obviously very well known for great luxury automobiles. They were chief rivals at that time. The Bentley was far more popular and much better built at the time of the merger.
Bentley and Rolls-Royce
Because of some jealousy by Rolls-Royce, Bentley was stepped back a bit. It basically became a Rolls-Royce with a smaller price tag. But in the 1980s, the Bentley came storming back. It returned to prominence, and once again became known as a high performance driving machine. But in 1998, Bentley again found a new home with Volkswagen. Volkswagen won the rights in a bidding war with BMW. Although some of the other vehicles were licensed out to BMW, Bentley continues to remain solely in the possession of Volkswagen.
Bentley and Royalty
In 2002, Queen Elizabeth was presented with a Bentley. She was given an official State Limousine to celebrate the Golden Jubilee. Even since then, the Bentley has seen its demand rise extremely. It rose so much that the 9,500 vehicle that are made a year cannot meet the demand. With close to 4,000 of those cars being sold in America. In 2005, Bentley released its first convertible model. This was met with great success, and Bentley has since then released two more versions of automobile with convertible. These were launched in 2006.
Bentley’s history has always been met with wealth and stature. People enjoy driving Bentleys because it makes them feel important, and they enjoy the high performance and great luxury. It is easy to see that when you look at their cars. Bentley will always be very popular with consumers as long as their name remains with royalty. They have found their niche in the automobile market, and have done very well with it. Bentley’s are not seen very often on the roads. But when you see what, odds are that it makes you stop and turn around. Such is the aura and mystique of the Bentley.
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