| Walter Owen Bentley's automobiles were some of the greatest of their time. W.O. Bentley was born in 1888 and was trained to be a railroad engineer. Luckily for motoring enthusiasts, he created masterpiece automobiles of his own name. He pioneered the use of aluminum pistons in 1914 for DFP cars, designed a rotary engine for aero use in WWI, and eventually produced his first car in 1919. It took three years to get the first Bentleys to market. |
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It took just nine years for Bentley cars to dig a hole to great to escape from on their own. In 1931 Bentley was sold to Roll-Royce. Styling, design, and engineering at Bentley had fallen behind the competition. The first model to incorporate Rolls-Royce influence was the 3-1/2 Litre, shown above in 1934 trim. Styling is distinctly Rolls-Royce while mechanicals were not "off the shelf" parts from the new parent company. |
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