Bentley Make Overview

Bentley Motors is one of the longest-running luxury marques in the automotive world. The British automaker was founded in 1919, and existed as its own company until being absorbed into Rolls Royce in 1931.

During this period, Bentley produced many models under the Rolls umbrella, including the Continental and the Corniche. In the 1980s Bentley reemerged as a separate name, but remained under Rolls Royce ownership until both were bought by Volkswagen in 1998. In 2003, control of Rolls was transferred to BMW, who had supplied engines for both British marques in the prior years.

Many of the modern Bentleys house a Volkswagen-designed 6.0 liter W-12 engine, which produces 600 horsepower. The W-12 is created from the pairing of two of VW's VR6 engines. The Bentley Continental GT and Continental Flying Spur currently share the W-12 with the VW Phaeton, VW Touareg SUV, and the Audi A8.

Bentley is one of the most well-respected marques in automotive history, lauded for the ability to combine a Rolls Royce-quality handcrafted interior with exceptional performance. Bentley is an extremely well-respected name in auto racing as well.

Current models are eligible for a high level of customization, through Bentley's in-house personal commissioning craftsmen at Mulliner. This goes far beyond the idea of picking special features from a list. The experts at Mulliner will personalize the car in almost any way that a buyer can dream up: longer wheelbase, unique styling, special amenities, personal embroidering, etc....