1905, 16-year-old W.O. started his apprenticeship at Dabei Locomotive Works in northern England. In his spare time, he is keen on designing and manufacturing some scooters and taking an active part in small long-distance test competitions. What excites him most is that he and his brother won the gold medal in the long-distance running from London to Edinburgh. From then on, W.O. became attached to racing and fell madly in love with the sport. The endless pursuit of speed in motor racing has also become the source of his continuous research and continuous improvement of Bentley's technical level.
Inspired by the track, W.O. came up with the idea of making a performance-oriented lighter car. 19 12, the Bentley family raised funds to introduce the French DFP sports car and established Bentley &; Bentley company. W.O. improved this new car by replacing the engine with an aluminum piston, which improved the performance of the car. In World War I, he was employed by the Aviation Technical Committee of the Royal Navy to improve the Clegate engine in France. The aluminum alloy piston he designed was quickly adopted by aircraft engines, which also enabled him to accumulate a lot of manufacturing experience and master enough engineering technology. So, after the war, he was full of ambition and began to design and manufacture his own car like lightning. 19 19 completed the new car design at the beginning of this year. At this time, the company also raised funds and established the later famous Bentley Automobile Co., Ltd.
The design concept of W.O. is "to create the best in excellent and extremely fast cars". This concept runs through all the cars produced by Bentley, and its value has been confirmed again and again in motor racing. 1919 w.o. introduced a Bentley 3.0 car named after itself. This 3-liter engine, with an output of 85 horsepower and a speed of more than 80 miles per hour, is invincible in a series of races, creating 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 Le Mans France. Illustrator Gordon? To this end, Crosby designed a logo for the front of the car, with a B in the middle and unfolded wings on both sides. It is solemn and domineering, eye-catching and unobtrusive. Since then, it has become an important symbol of Bentley and a representative symbol of luxury cars.
Join hands with Rolls Royce.
However, a series of glories failed to save W.O.' s mistakes in management and marketing. 193 1 year, Bentley was shrouded in the terrible shadow of bankruptcy. At this critical moment, Rolls-Royce bought Bentley for125,000, and Bentley officially joined Rolls-Royce Motor Company. Bentley automobile production line was moved to Crewe, England in 1946. Since then, Bentley has been transformed into a "sports car version" of its luxury RV by Rolls-Royce, and the prices of some models even exceed Rolls-Royce.
1946 in may, Bentley launched designer Ivan? The Bentley Mawei designed by Evenden has achieved great success in the market. Only 1952 sold 5,200 vehicles, making it the best-selling model in Bentley history.
1952 by John? The Bentley R-type Europe designed by Blancheli is even more exciting. It won high praise with advanced technology, excellent performance and beautiful shape, and quickly conquered the world. Known as the "magic pet car with a modern sense", it has become one of the most collectible models and has won the favor of countless rich and noble people. Among them are onassis, the Greek ship king, the biggest Italian Agnelli family and Rockefeller, the oil tycoon. The Bentley S sedan produced in the following year 1 1 is considered as one of the representative works of the automobile industry.
Backward technology returns to the public.
In the 1990s, Bentley introduced the most new cars in 65,438+00 years. However, in the development of modern automobile industry, mass production shows great economic benefits and strong competitive strength. Rolls royce Automobile Company's elaborate manual production mode is at a disadvantage in the competition with its competitors. Although Bentley is still the most expensive brand and the most luxurious car in the world, it has been technically surpassed by its competitors, which made it impossible for the company to do this in the late 1990s. Rolls-Royce is in trouble because of its operation and has to find a buyer to survive.
1In June, 1998, BMW lost to Volkswagen in its bid for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. On July 28th, BMW bought the trademark and logo of Rolls-Royce for 40 million pounds, and signed an agreement with Volkswagen, stipulating that BMW will start producing Rolls-Royce cars from 2003, while Volkswagen will still produce Bentley luxury cars at the Crewe factory from 2003. So Bentley is officially owned by the public.
Expensive Bentley
Bentley is called "the ultimate car in life". It has a clear brand positioning-the world's top sports luxury car, and Bentley's goal is to directly target young rich people. Unlike Rolls-Royce, Bentley's owners are between the ages of 30 and 50. He may be the president of a large enterprise. He has become famous, but he is still striving for it. He is full of enthusiasm and enthusiasm. Judging from his birth, his wealth comes not from inheritance, but from personal struggle; He has unusual judgment and is very confident; If he is happy, he can drive by himself and enjoy high-speed exciting exercise.
Ultra-luxury cars always seem to give people a feeling of elegance and insufficient horsepower, but Bentley can find a new way to develop luxury cars with both horsepower and dignity. Bentley provides a choice opportunity for young rich people who want to experience high-speed and exciting driving experience without worrying about "fall in price" because of their driving, making the ultra-luxury Bentley the ultimate choice for the rich people in the world to show off their wealth.
If you visit Bentley's workshop in Crewe, England, you can understand why it is expensive. There is no manipulator in the whole workshop except the paint room. Its production line is the slowest in the world, and the car body can only move 6 inches per minute on the production line. The exquisite craftsmanship of Bentley can be seen only from the leather ornaments in the car: on average, each Bentley car needs more than 400 pieces of leather, and it takes 15 cows to obtain these leathers, and each cow only uses about 4 square meters of leather; Not all cowhide can be used. Bentley only favors Connolly-grade cowhide, which comes from a specialized cattle farm. The owner took special measures to carefully protect the back of the cow to prevent it from being injured by the horn during the fight. It takes 15 hours for a skilled worker to pack a steering wheel, and 13 days to complete the whole interior of a car. Each leather piece has the signature of the person in charge; All the skins are hand-sewn by professional craftsmen, whose skills have been handed down from generation to generation, so they can inherit the traditional British art of making cars. Even the engines are assembled by hand, and each screw is tightened by hand with a wrench. It takes 200 hours to make the interior of each Bentley elegant RL (Deluxe Elegant Extended Edition).
The workers who make Bentley are like a group of manual artists. In fact, they will never live up to such praise. Many workers have family traditions. Grandpa and grandson make leather for Bentley, and both father and son are painters in Bentley. This handicraft family can be seen everywhere in Bentley. In Bentley, all inspections are carried out by specially trained experts, not machines. For example, the engine of the test car is made by a Mr. P. Brown, and the top of each engine has his autograph. This is enough to show that the luxury of Bentley elegant RL is innate, which includes almost all luxury features.
100% handmade is the reason why Bentley is expensive. It may only take a week to produce another car, but it takes half a year to produce a Bentley.
Bentley's sky-high price reflects the respect for wealth everywhere, even in the sales process. Bentley store in Saite Shopping Center is one of Bentley's most luxurious exhibition halls in the world. This exhibition hall is first-class from construction to post-design, and European-style technology is adopted from the design of the gate, the laying of the floor and the use of lighting. The decoration standard of the exhibition hall is as thick as a dictionary, and the book uses nearly 1/4 to describe the practice of the signboard of Bentley exhibition hall. Five Bentley cars of various models are displayed behind the fence in the luxury hall. Even if you want to get close to the car, you need to make an appointment in advance. Sales staff are all bachelor degree or above, so they have to undergo strict training, and there are rules on what shoes to wear to work, how to tie a tie and how to greet guests.
Bentley will provide a full set of uniforms, including hats and leather shoes, to the owner and driver free of charge; Free training for drivers, such as the characteristics of Bentley, matters needing attention in driving Bentley, and even training drivers' driving etiquette: how to open the door for the owner, how to get on the road, and what to do when the owner invites guests to take a bus. Car owners don't have to worry about what to do every maintenance cycle, and the service staff will take the initiative to contact.
For Bentley owners, Bentley is no longer a means of transportation, but more like a jewel to wear with you, or a work of art, or even a pet. Bentley himself regards his car as a work of art. If the accessories are broken, Bentley can rebuild it for the owner, but the old products should be recycled.
Works of art will increase in value over time, and so will Bentley. Every year, 3,000 car owners drive new and old Bentley, wear waterproof barber shirts, get together in open spaces in rural England, and have a picnic on a wool carpet with rubber on the back.
Because of its luxury and dignity, Bentley has replaced Rolls-Royce as the only car brand designated by the British royal family and has become the car for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.