Manufacturers  /  Bentley

Bentley

Crewe, England · est. 1919

Endurance engineering became a line of high-speed grand tourers.

Models
11
Top value
€6M
Period
1919–
Explore modelsManufacturer profile
Bentley — manufacturer stage

Curated entry points

The essential Bentleys

Three cars that explain the manufacturer: its origins, its engineering peak and the shape of its modern ambition.

1929–1931

4½ Litre "Blower"

Birkin’s supercharged icon — the most romantic Bentley of all.

Collectibility
97 / 100
Indicative value
€6M
1928–1930

Speed Six

The most successful racing Bentley — back-to-back Le Mans wins.

Collectibility
96 / 100
Indicative value
€4.5M
1952–1955

R-Type Continental

The fastest four-seater of its day; a fastback masterpiece.

Collectibility
95 / 100
Indicative value
€1.8M

Complete catalogue

Every Bentley on file

11 models · 3 families

Vintage · W.O. Era

5

The cars W.O. Bentley built between the wars — vast, torquey machines that took the Bentley Boys to five wins at Le Mans. The blue-chip core of any pre-war collection.

Post-war Classics

3

The cars that carried the name through the Rolls-Royce years — the R-Type Continental was the fastest four-seater on earth, and the Continental R revived a great badge.

Mulliner Coachbuilt

3

Bentley’s in-house coachbuilder at full craft — bespoke, open-top specials built in runs of barely more than a dozen, each tailored to its single owner.

The house

Endurance engineering became a line of high-speed grand tourers.

W.O. Bentley set out in 1919 to build “a fast car, a good car, the best in its class,” and his big, slow-revving engines did exactly that. Ettore Bugatti famously dismissed them as “the world’s fastest lorries” — and then watched them win.

The Bentley Boys, a clutch of wealthy amateur racers, drove the green cars to five Le Mans victories between 1924 and 1930. Tim Birkin forced through the supercharged "Blower" against W.O.’s wishes; it never won the 24 Hours, but it became the most romantic Bentley of all.

After Rolls-Royce absorbed the marque the R-Type Continental carried the spirit forward as the fastest four-seater of its day. Today Mulliner — the in-house coachbuilder — has revived the craft with the Bacalar and Batur, hand-built specials in runs of barely more than a dozen.

Founded
1919
W.O. Bentley founded the company in London on 10 July.
R-Type Continental output
208 cars
Production ran from 1952 to 1955; H.J. Mulliner bodied 193 of them.
Original engine architecture
Four valves and twin ignition
The 3 Litre combined four valves per cylinder with twin spark plugs, twin magnetos and extensive use of light alloys.
Documented sale
US$6.05m
Gooding sold the 1928 4½ Litre Le Mans Sports “Bobtail”, chassis KM3088, at Pebble Beach in 2012.

Selected milestones

A bloodline, not a list.

  1. 1919

    Bentley Motors is founded

    W.O. Bentley establishes the company in London and begins developing the 3 Litre.

  2. 1921

    The first production Bentley is delivered

    The first customer 3 Litre leaves in September, four months after EXP 2 gives Bentley its first race win at Brooklands.

  3. 1924

    Le Mans becomes the proving ground

    John Duff and Frank Clement win the 24 Hours in a 3 Litre, beginning the run of five Bentley victories in the decade.

  4. 1931

    Rolls-Royce acquires Bentley

    Financial difficulty ends the independent Cricklewood period; production subsequently moves to Derby.

  5. 1952

    The Continental line begins

    The H.J. Mulliner-bodied R-Type Continental establishes the light, high-speed four-seat Bentley as a distinct collector category.

  6. 1998

    Volkswagen Group takes ownership

    New investment in Crewe separates Bentley’s next product cycle from its long Rolls-Royce association.

  7. 2003

    The modern Continental enters production

    The Continental GT moves Bentley into higher-volume series production while returning the Continental name to the centre of the range.

  8. 2020

    Mulliner returns to coachbuilding

    The twelve-car Bacalar begins a new run of limited coachbuilt Bentleys.

What defines Bentley

Torque before revs

Bentley engines are developed to deliver sustained pace and useful output from low engine speeds.

Speed with four seats

From the R-Type Continental onward, the central grand-tourer line combines high-speed ability with space for passengers and luggage.

Coachwork is part of the identity

Body maker, original configuration and matching chassis and engine records materially affect how a Bentley is understood and valued.

The hands

Who drew and built the Bentley files

One name in the register stands behind this manufacturer. Their own file follows the work wherever it went.

The whole register of people

The mark

Wings that never match.

London, 1919: W.O. Bentley needs a badge before his first car is finished, and F. Gordon Crosby — The Autocar’s great motoring illustrator — draws him a winged B by hand. Crosby’s quiet insurance policy: the wings do not match, a different feather count on each side, so that any forger copying them symmetrically would expose himself.

The wings have been redrawn only a handful of times in a century — under Rolls-Royce, under Vickers, under Volkswagen. The latest cut arrived in July 2025 from an internal competition won by interior designer Young Nam: falcon-sharp geometry, and the tail feathers gone for the first time.

F. Gordon Crosby, 1919 · redrawn by Young Nam under Robin Page, 2025

Bentley crest, 1919–1931

1919–1931

Crosby’s hand-drawn original — asymmetric feathers as built-in forgery protection.

Bentley crest, 1931–1991

1931–1991

Redrawn under Rolls-Royce ownership; the wings soften, the B slims.

Bentley crest, 1991–2002

1991–2002

The Vickers-era lightening: thinner lines, finer feathers — still mismatched.

Bentley crest, 2002–2025

2002–2025

The Volkswagen-era cut: sculpted silver feathers, the Continental GT’s badge.

Bentley crest, 2025–

2025–

Young Nam’s redraw — peregrine-sharp, diamond-cut, the tail feathers gone for the first time.