W. O. Bentley founded Bentley Motors Limited on 18 January 1919. Before the First World War, he and his brother, Horace Millner Bentley, sold French Doriot, Flandrin & Parant (DFP) cars in Cricklewood. W. O. Bentley wanted to design and build his own cars, noticing that aluminium might be a suitable replacement for cast iron to fabricate lighter pistons. The first Bentley aluminium pistons were fitted to Sopwith Camel aero engines during the First World War.
In October 1919, a car chassis with a dummy engine was exhibited at the London Motor Show. Ex–Royal Flying Corps officer Clive Gallop designed an innovative four-valves-per-cylinder engine for the chassis. The engine was built and running by December. The durability of the first Bentley cars earned widespread acclaim, and they competed in hill climbs and raced at Brooklands.
Bentley's first major event was the 1922 Indianapolis 500. Works driver Douglas Hawkes, accompanied by riding mechanic H. S. "Bertie" Browning, drove a modified road car. Hawkes finished 13th after starting in 19th position. The company became widely known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 and 2003.
The original model was the three-litre. As customers put heavier bodies on the chassis, a larger 4½-litre model followed. The 4½-litre "Blower Bentley" is perhaps the most iconic model of the period, with its distinctive supercharger projecting forward from the bottom of the grille. This model was uncharacteristically fragile for a Bentley. In 1930, Birkin finished second in the French Grand Prix at Pau in a stripped-down racing version of the Blower Bentley.
Other Cricklewood Bentleys included the 6½-litre and the 8-litre. The new 8-litre was a success. The 4½-litre model later became famous in popular media as the vehicle of choice of James Bond in the original novels. John Steed in the television series The Avengers also drove a Bentley.
The Bentley enterprise was always underfunded. Inspired by the 1924 Le Mans win by John Duff and Frank Clement, Woolf Barnato financed Bentley's business. Barnato had inherited his father's South African gold and diamond mines. He initially invested in excess of £100,000, saving the business and its workforce. Barnato held 149,500 new shares, giving him control of the company, and he became chairman.
The Bentley Boys were a group of British motoring enthusiasts including Barnato, Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin, George Duller, Glen Kidston, S.C.H. "Sammy" Davis, and Dudley Benjafield. They favored Bentley cars and kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive. Bentley was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 1927 to 1930.
During the March 1930 Blue Train Races, Barnato raced and beat Le Train Bleu for the first time. He then aimed to better that record with his 6½-litre Bentley Speed Six on a bet of £100. He drove against the train from Cannes to Calais, then by ferry to Dover, and finally London, and won. Both his H.J. Mulliner–bodied formal saloon and a Gurney Nutting streamlined fastback "sportsman coupé" became known as the "Blue Train Bentleys."
The Wall Street crash of 1929 and the resulting Great Depression throttled the demand for Bentley's expensive motor cars. In July 1931, a receiver was appointed. Rolls-Royce purchased Bentley Motors to prevent it from competing with their most expensive model, the Phantom II. Rolls-Royce took over the assets of Bentley Motors (1919) Ltd and formed a subsidiary, Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. W. O. Bentley left to join Lagonda when his contract expired at the end of April 1935.
Production resumed at the Rolls-Royce works in Derby. The new Bentley 3½ litre appeared in 1933, a sporting variant of the Rolls-Royce 20/25. Rolls-Royce's advertisements for the 3½ Litre called it "the silent sports car." All Bentleys produced from 1931 to 2004 used inherited or shared Rolls-Royce chassis and adapted Rolls-Royce engines.
In preparation for war, Rolls-Royce and the British Government searched for a location for a shadow factory. Crewe was chosen due to its road and rail links and location away from aerial bombing. Construction of the factory started in July 1938. After the war, Rolls-Royce moved motor car operations to Crewe. The first steel-bodied model produced was the Bentley Mark VI in 1946.
Problems with the RB211 aero engine led to a financial collapse for Rolls-Royce in 1970. The motorcar division became a separate business, Rolls-Royce Motors Limited, which Vickers plc bought in August 1980. Under Vickers, Bentley set about regaining its high-performance heritage, typified by the 1980 Mulsanne. By 1991, Bentley sales achieved parity with Rolls-Royce.
In 1998, Vickers sold Rolls-Royce to Volkswagen AG, including Bentley with its name and logos. Volkswagen spent £500 million to modernise the Crewe factory and increase production capacity. As of early 2010, about 3,500 people worked at Crewe, compared with about 1,500 in 1998. Volkswagen invested nearly US$2 billion in Bentley and its revival.
Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with an official State Limousine in 2002. The Bentley Continental GT was introduced as a large luxury coupé. Current models include the Bentayga, Continental GT (Gen 4), and Flying Spur (Gen 3). In November 2020, Bentley announced that all new cars sold will be electric by 2030.
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