--- title: Bentley · HICONIUM description: The Bentley Boys’ Le Mans winners — brute torque dressed as a gentleman’s express. canonical_url: https://hiconium.com/manufacturers/bentley image: https://hiconium.com/og/marque/bentley.png --- > HICONIUM · Index: https://hiconium.com/llms.txt · Every page: append `.md` or send `Accept: text/markdown`. > Path: [Home](https://hiconium.com/) › [Manufacturers](https://hiconium.com/manufacturers) › Bentley > On this page: [The essential Bentleys](#the-essential-bentleys) · [Every Bentley on file](#every-bentley-on-file) · [Vintage · W.O. Era](#vintage--wo-era) · [Post-war Classics](#post-war-classics) · [Mulliner Coachbuilt](#mulliner-coachbuilt) · [Endurance engineering became a line of high-speed grand tourers.](#endurance-engineering-became-a-line-of-high-speed-grand-tourers) · [Who drew and built the Bentley files](#who-drew-and-built-the-bentley-files) · [Wings that never match.](#wings-that-never-match) ![Bentley — manufacturer stage](https://hiconium.com/_derived/images/marques/stage/bentley.jpg.w1920.q75.webp) [Manufacturers  /  Bentley](https://hiconium.com/manufacturers) # Bentley Crewe, England · est. 1919 Endurance engineering became a line of high-speed grand tourers. Bentley’s collector hierarchy starts with Cricklewood cars and narrows around coachbuilt post-war Continentals. Correct chassis and coachwork identities separate original cars from re-creations. Models 11 Top value €6M Period 1919– [Explore models](https://hiconium.com/manufacturers/bentley#essential) [Manufacturer profile](https://hiconium.com/manufacturers/bentley#house-profile) ![Bentley — manufacturer stage](https://hiconium.com/_derived/images/marques/stage/bentley.jpg.w1920.q75.webp) 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](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/41-2-litre-blower) [1928–1930 ### Speed Six The most successful racing Bentley — back-to-back Le Mans wins. Collectibility 96 / 100 Indicative value €4.5M](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/speed-six) [1952–1955 ### R-Type Continental The fastest four-seater of its day; a fastback masterpiece. Collectibility 95 / 100 Indicative value €1.8M](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/r-type-continental) Complete catalogue ## Every Bentley on file 11 models · 3 families By family Sort Filter ## 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. [1921–1929 · 3 variants 3 Litre The car that started it; won the very first Bentley Le Mans. €350k 51 sales · median $259.59K 88 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/3-litre) [1927–1931 · 2 variants 4½ Litre The Bentley Boys’ workhorse — a Le Mans winner in 1928. €1.4M 92 sales · median $339K 92 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/41-2-litre) [1929–1931 · 3 variants 4½ Litre "Blower" Birkin’s supercharged icon — the most romantic Bentley of all. €6M 97 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/41-2-litre-blower) [1928–1930 · 2 variants Speed Six The most successful racing Bentley — back-to-back Le Mans wins. €4.5M 96 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/speed-six) [1930–1932 · 2 variants 8 Litre W.O.’s magnum opus — the grandest, fastest of the Cricklewood cars. €3M 31 sales · median $791.06K 94 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/8-litre) ## 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. [1952–1955 · 2 variants R-Type Continental The fastest four-seater of its day; a fastback masterpiece. €1.8M 33 sales · median $691.71K 95 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/r-type-continental) [1955–1962 · 3 variants S1 / S2 Continental Coachbuilt S-series GTs — the last of the bespoke Continentals. €600k 117 sales · median $244.79K 86 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/s1-s2-continental) [1991–2003 · 3 variants Continental R The turbo coupé that revived the Continental name at Crewe. €120k 36 sales · median $54.83K 80 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/continental-r) ## 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. [2017–2018 · 2 variants Continental Supersports The 710 hp W12 flagship — fastest four-seat Bentley of its day. €250k 78 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/continental-supersports) [2020–2021 Mulliner Bacalar Roofless two-seat barchetta; twelve built, every one bespoke. €1.7M 90 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/mulliner-bacalar) [2023– · 2 variants Mulliner Batur The 740 hp W12 send-off coachbuild; eighteen coupés made. €2M 91 Open the file](https://hiconium.com/vehicles/bentley/mulliner-batur) 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. - [W.O. Bentley Founder and chief engineer — four Le Mans winners. 4 files · engineering engineering 4 files](https://hiconium.com/people/wo-bentley) [The whole register of people](https://hiconium.com/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](https://hiconium.com/_derived/images/marques/history/bentley/logo-1919.png.w1920.q75.webp) 1919–1931 Crosby’s hand-drawn original — asymmetric feathers as built-in forgery protection. ![Bentley crest, 1931–1991](https://hiconium.com/_derived/images/marques/history/bentley/logo-1931.png.w1920.q75.webp) 1931–1991 Redrawn under Rolls-Royce ownership; the wings soften, the B slims. ![Bentley crest, 1991–2002](https://hiconium.com/_derived/images/marques/history/bentley/logo-1991.png.w1920.q75.webp) 1991–2002 The Vickers-era lightening: thinner lines, finer feathers — still mismatched. ![Bentley crest, 2002–2025](https://hiconium.com/_derived/images/marques/history/bentley/logo-2002.png.w1920.q75.webp) 2002–2025 The Volkswagen-era cut: sculpted silver feathers, the Continental GT’s badge. ![Bentley crest, 2025–](https://hiconium.com/_derived/images/marques/history/bentley/logo-2025.png.w1920.q75.webp) 2025– Young Nam’s redraw — peregrine-sharp, diamond-cut, the tail feathers gone for the first time.