2024-01-07 05:05:00
It is October 1997. Vickers Pic, owner of the prestigious Bentley and Rolls-Royce brands, decides to put the two jewels of the English automobile industry up for sale. For the BMW brand, this sale is a godsend.
After purchasing Rover, the German brand will acquire two prestigious brands to complete its premium group. But Volkswagen decided otherwise and presented a new offer of 430 million pounds at the last minute.
When VW bought Bentley, everything had to be redone. Photo Bentley.
A merciless standoff
We therefore find ourselves in a paradoxical situation. On the one hand Volkswagen which bought Rolls-Royce and Bentley and which owns everything except the right to use the Rolls-Royce name or logo, which belongs to Rolls-Royce pic.
On the other hand, BMW which has the right to use the Rolls name and logo and which threatens to no longer supply engines for future models if an agreement is not reached with Volkswagen. For VW this is a problem.
This would involve ceasing production of Rolls-Royce models for at least a year. For the two German giants, no choice, we must negotiate.
This first generation sold 66,000 copies. photo Bentley
Bentley pour Volkswagen, Rolls pour BMW
After six months of negotiations, the press release comes out. The two rivals will divide up the English jewels.
Volkswagen keeps Bentley and the Crewe factory. Rolls-Royce is entrusted to BMW for 400 million francs, a friendly price. Until the end of December 2002, BMW authorizes Volkswagen to use, under license and free of charge, the Rolls-Royce brand.
Production is not interrupted and this delay gives BMW time to build its own factory.
We must save Bentley
When Volkswagen took control of Bentley, the British company was far from its former splendor. Bentley had only delivered 414 cars the previous year and the Crewe factory was in poor condition.
Volkswagen executives discovered buckets everywhere in the red brick buildings, because of leaks in the roof.
The only positive point is that the previous owner launched the Arnage recently. But there is urgency.
We must develop a new model that both lives up to the myth, is more accessible to build volume, while being profitable and developed quickly.
The Continental is also available as a convertible. Photo Bentley
The leather-covered interior retains the British charm. Photo Bentley.jpg
A convertible version will join the range. Photo Bentley.
Ambition
Even before the arrival of the Germans, Bentley had started thinking about a more accessible and modern model with the Java concept in 1994.
The British manufacturer will even go so far as to produce a very small series for the Sultan of Brunei, one of the richest men in the world, at the head of one of the largest car collections on the planet.
But for Ferdinand Piëch, all-powerful boss of VW, we must start from scratch and be much more ambitious.
The W12 as a starting point
Ferdinand Piëch, who is above all an engineer, had the idea of developing an engine with a unique architecture, especially for the future Bentley.
This will be the W12 which, later, will also be used in other models of the group including the Phaeton or the Audi A8.
The performance of the 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 was impressive for the time with 552 hp, while maintaining a certain compactness. Combined with all-wheel drive, it will bring Bentley into the 21st century.
The Supersports version will prove that Bentley still rhymes with performance. Photo Bentley
A Phaeton platform
The first Bentley of the Volkswagen era, the Continental GT will share its platform and engine, although deprived of supercharging, with the Volkswagen Phaeton, another car imposed by Ferdinand Piëch.
For Volkswagen, we must now give this engine a dress. For the design of the future Bentley, it is absolutely necessary to leave the square lines typical of Rolls, to stand out from it, without shocking the brand’s usual clientele.
To be different while being easily identifiable as a Bentley, mission impossible?
Today Bentley has become a profitable manufacturer. Photo Bentley.jpg
A must-have design
This mission of the highest importance is entrusted to designer Dirk Van Braeckel. This one was inspired and sent to England in 1999 and will be inspired by the Bentley R Type Continental from the 1950s.
“We were a small team that worked quickly. A drawing doesn’t get better if you tinker with it endlessly. We had a solid idea of the car and that’s what came out. More and more people consider the Continental GT an icon. Like the Porsche 911. The basic design is so powerful that we can only let it evolve. Evolving a revolution in this way represents a terrible balancing act.”
The lines modernize the brand image. Photo Bentley.jpg
winning formula
When it was released, the Continental GT was not only one of the fastest cars in the world. It quickly became recognized for its ability to reach extraordinary speeds with disconcerting ease and limousine comfort.
Presented in 2002 at the Paris Motor Show and marketed the following year, the new Bentley was an immediate success.
A car that has become cult
66,000 units were sold worldwide before its replacement in 2017 by a Bentley Continental GT 2.
Since then, all Bentleys have adopted the design inspired by this model, making Bentley an extremely profitable manufacturer.
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