The elegant Bentley Continental arrived in June 1952 and has been an example of how timeless car style can transcend years of ownership and partnership changes for an automobile manufacturer. Vintage Bentleys are still sought after today and are often fixtures at weddings for a classy first drive for the lucky bride and groom as well as fancy rentals to impress prom dates.
The Bentley brand was created in 1919 by W.O. Bentley, who had always dreamed of designing and selling his own line of cars. The brand was purchased by Roll-Royce in 1931 after the stock market crashed in 1929 and the Bentley business was unable to recover. Rolls-Royce started the Bentley company out again under the name Bentley Motors Ltd. and brought out a new Bentley 3-1/2 liter in 1933, which was basically a sportier version of the Rolls 20/25.
Until WWII, Bentley did not produce complete cars but instead sold a “rolling chassis” which was almost complete from the instrument panel forward. This allowed the buyers to choose a coachbuilder for their cars. The Bentley Continental came on the scene in 1952, and H.J. Mulliner & Co. took over the coachwork for most of these cars and created a fastback coupe. Other coachbuilders used the same chassis to create drophead coupes or sports saloons.
The Bentley brand took on new ownership again in 1998 when Roll-Royce was put into partnerships with both BMW and Volkswagen. Between 1998-2002, BMW supplied engines for Roll-Royce and Bentley and gave VW temporary use of the Rolls name and logo. After January 1, 2003, however, VW took over and became the sole provider of Bentley cars and relocated Rolls-Royce production. The Bentley Continental was reintroduced at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show as a high performance supercar with environmentally friendly Flex Fuel technology.
If you have one of these vintage classics, you need to protect it with Bentley car insurance. The team at Classic Auto Insurance is experienced in crafting policies that have the best service and rates in the industry for exotic and high performance cars. Get your Bentley insurance quote online today!
About the Author
Drew Yagodnik is Vice President of Classic Automobile Insurance Agency, Inc. Classic Automobile Insurance Agency has been protecting collector, classic and exotics since 1992.
