Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North London, and became widely known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. Bentley has been a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1998 and consolidated under VW's premium brand arm Audi since 2022.
H. J. Mulliner & Co. was a well-known British coachbuilder operating from Bedford Park, Chiswick, West London. The company which owned it was formed by H J Mulliner in 1897 but the business was a continuing branch of a family business founded in Northampton in the 1760s to hire out carriages. In December 1909 the controlling interest in this company passed to John Croall & Sons of Edinburgh. Croall sold that interest to Rolls-Royce in 1959.
The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is a luxury automobile produced by Rolls-Royce Limited from April 1955 to March 1966. It was the core model of the Rolls-Royce range during that period. The Silver Cloud replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, replaced by the Silver Shadow. The John P. Blatchley design was a major change from the pre-war models and the highly derivative Silver Dawn. As part of a range rationalisation, the Bentley S1 was made essentially identical, apart from its radiator grille and badging.
The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is a full-size luxury car produced by British automaker Rolls-Royce in various forms from 1965 to 1980. It was the first of the marque to use unitary body and chassis construction.
The Bentley Mulsanne is a large (performance) luxury saloon produced by Bentley Motors from 1980 until 1992, though derivative models including the Continental T and Azure continued in production into the 2000s.
The Bentley Continental R is a luxury coupé manufactured by British automobile manufacturer Bentley Motors from 1991 to 2003. It was the first Bentley to feature a body not shared with a Rolls-Royce model since the 1965 S3 Continental and was the first to use the GM 4L80-E transmission. The Continental R was the fastest, most expensive, and most powerful Bentley automobile of its day. It was also the most expensive production car in the world at its introduction. A convertible derivative, called the Bentley Azure, was launched in 1995.
The Bentley S1 was a luxury car produced by Bentley Motors Limited from 1955 until 1959. The S1 was derived from Rolls-Royce's complete redesign of its standard production car after World War II, the Silver Cloud. Each was its maker's last standard production car with an independent chassis. The S-series Bentley was given the Rolls-Royce - Bentley L Series V8 engine in late 1959 and named the S2. Twin headlamps and a facelift to the front arrived in late 1962, resulting in the S3. In late 1965, the S3 was replaced by the new unitary construction Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow-derived T series.
The Rolls-Royce Camargue is a 2-door luxury saloon manufactured and marketed by Rolls-Royce Motors from 1975–1986. Designed by Paolo Martin at Pininfarina, the Camargue was the first post-war production Rolls-Royce not designed in-house.
The Bentley Mark VI is an automobile from Bentley which was produced from 1946 until 1952.
The Bentley R Type is the second series of post-war Bentley automobiles, replacing the Mark VI. Essentially a larger-boot version of the Mk VI, the R type is regarded by some as a stop-gap before the introduction of the S series cars in 1955. As with its predecessor, a standard body was available as well as coachbuilt versions by firms including H. J. Mulliner & Co., Park Ward, Harold Radford, Freestone and Webb, Carrosserie Worblaufen and others.
The Bentley S2 is a luxury car produced by Bentley from 1959 until 1962. The successor to the S1, it featured the new Rolls-Royce–Bentley L-series V8 engine and improved air conditioning made possible by that engine's increased output. Power steering was also standard, and a new dashboard and steering wheel were introduced. Some early S2s were built with the earlier S1 dashboard.
The Bentley S3 is a four-door luxury car produced by Bentley from late 1962 until 1965.
The Bentley Turbo R is a high-performance automobile which was produced by Bentley Motors Limited from 1985 to 1999. The "R" stood for "roadholding", to set it apart from its predecessor. It initially inherited the turbocharged engine from the Mulsanne Turbo and also sported a retuned suspension and wider tyres on aluminium alloy wheels, a first for a Bentley. From the 1987 model year, however, the Turbo R's V8 engine was retuned with fuel injection for added torque. Motor Trend called the Turbo R "the first Bentley in decades deserving of the famous name" in their review of the car on its introduction to the United States in 1989.
The Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit is a full-size luxury car produced by Rolls-Royce Motors, in Crewe, England, from 1980 to 1997. It was the first model in the SZ series. The Silver Spur is a long-wheelbase version of the Silver Spirit, produced from 1980 to 2000. It was the first car to feature a retractable Spirit of Ecstasy: the spring-loaded mascot sank into the radiator shell if dislodged from its position.
The Rolls-Royce Corniche is a two-door, front-engine, rear wheel drive luxury car produced by Rolls-Royce Motors as a hardtop coupé and as a convertible.
Park Ward was a British coachbuilder founded in 1919 which operated from Willesden in North London. In the 1930s, backed by Rolls-Royce Limited, it made technical advances which enabled the building of all-steel bodies to Rolls-Royce's high standards. Bought by Rolls-Royce in 1939, it merged with H. J. Mulliner & Co. in 1961 to form Mulliner Park Ward.
The Rolls-Royce 20/25 was the second of Rolls-Royce Ltd's pre-war entry level models. Built between 1929 and 1936, it was tremendously popular, becoming the most successful selling inter-war Rolls-Royce. Its success enabled Rolls-Royce to survive the economic difficulties of the Great Depression years and remain one of world's great brands. A total of 3,827 20/25s were produced, of which over 70% are still on the road today.
James Young Limited was a top class British coachbuilding business in London Road, Bromley, England.
The Rolls-Royce 25/30 built between 1936 and 1938 is an updated version of the 20/25 with larger engine to provide more power, as over-large bodies had often been fitted to the earlier model leading to complaints about its performance.
John Polwhele Blatchley was a London-born car designer known for his work with J Gurney Nutting & Co Limited and Rolls-Royce Limited. He began his career as designer with Gurney Nutting in 1935, moving up to Chief Designer before leaving in 1940 to join Rolls-Royce. There he served as a draughtsman (1940–43), stylist in the car division (1943–55), and chief styling engineer (1955–69).
