W. O. Bentley

W. O. Bentley
From left to right, Frank Clement, W. O. Bentley, and John Duff after winning the 1924 Le Mans race.
Born	September 16, 1888 England, United Kingdom
Died	August 2, 1971 England, United Kingdom

Walter Owen Bentley, MBE (16 September 1888 – 2 August 1971) was the founder of Bentley Motors. He was often known as W. O. Bentley or just "W.O."

Before Bentley Motors

He attended Clifton College in Bristol in the United Kingdom from 1902 until 1905 when, at the age of 16, he left to start work as an apprentice railway engineer with the Great Northern Railway at Doncaster in Yorkshire. During this time he also experimented with motorcycles, riding and racing Quadrant, Rex, and Indian models. He completed his apprenticeship in the summer of 1910. He spent a brief period studying theoretical engineering at King's College London, and a period with the National Motor Cab Company where he was in charge of cab maintenance, Bentley in 1912 joined his brother, Horace Millner ("H.M.") Bentley, in a company called "Bentley and Bentley" selling French DFP cars. Dissatisfied with their performance, W.O. designed new aluminium alloy pistons and a tuned camshaft for the DFP engine, taking several records at Brooklands in 1913 and 1914. During World War I, he was a captain in the Royal Naval Air Service, where he played a major role in improving the design and manufacture of Clerget engines for the Sopwith Camel and the Sopwith Snipe aircraft. These were known as the BR1 (Bentley Rotary 1) and BR2 and were made by Humber. For this he was awarded an MBE, and an award of £8,000 from the Commission for Awards to Inventors.

Bentley the manufacturer

After the war, he founded his own motor car company, Bentley Motors, in 1919. W.O. designed a high-tech four-cylinder engine and sturdy chassis, the Bentley 3 Litre. Its durability earned widespread acclaim. The 3 Litre won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1924 and following models repeated this each year from 1927 through 1930. His motto was, "To build a good car, a fast car, the best in class." His racing manager was an old school friend, Richard Sidney Witchell. Bentley set many records at Le Mans: "Bentley Boy" Woolf Barnato was the only driver to win on all three times he entered, giving him the highest victory percentage. Bentley's racing success failed to keep the motor car company afloat, and W.O. was forced to sell a majority share to raise cash. The "Bentley Boys" came up with the money, with Woolf Barnato, heir to Kimberley diamond magnate Barney Barnato, becoming the majority shareholder. W.O. stayed on to design another generation of cars, the six-cylinder 6½ Litre, but his control was slipping. Against his wishes, Barnato allowed the supercharged "Blower" version of his 4½ Litre car to be built, but durability was poor and the car failed on the track.

Sale of Bentley Motors

The Wall Street Crash affected Bentley's business greatly, especially as the company had just launched the 8 Litre as a grand car for the ultra-rich. After unsuccessful attempts to save the company, Barnato and Bentley were forced to sell their company. The company of D. Napier and Son had manufactured cars in England until 1925 when they had shifted focus to aero engines; they were now anxious to return to the motor car market and entered friendly negotiations to purchase Bentley, and W.O. began work designing his next car for the new company. In November of 1931, the British Central Equitable Trust, an anonymous holding company, turned in a surprise last-minute bid to purchase Bentley, out-bidding Napier. This holding company turned out to be a front for arch-rival Rolls-Royce, who had been disturbed by the 8 Litre's encroachment upon the market turf of their Phantom II. W.O. remained with the company until 1935, working on the 3½ Litre and other models; but Rolls-Royce closed the racing department, and Bentley eventually decided to go.

After Bentley Motors

Bentley moved with the majority of the racing department staff to Lagonda, which had recently been saved from receivership by Alan Good. There, Bentley again went racing, and his Lagonda MG45 Rapide won Le Mans in 1935. His 4480 cc V12 engine was a masterpiece of engineering, developing 180 hp (134 kW).

After World War II, Lagonda was bought by David Brown, who combined it with Aston Martin. Brown had purchased Lagonda largely to gain Bentley's engineering expertise, and immediately placed his 2.6 L straight-6 engine under the bonnet of his DB2. This durable DOHC engine would continue in use at Aston through 1959. Bentley remained as an engineer at Aston Martin for a time, moving to Armstrong Siddeley where he designed a twin overhead cam 3 litre engine before retiring.

Personal life

W.O. married three times. In 1914 he married his first wife Leonie Gore; she died in 1919 in the Spanish flu epidemic. Next he married Poppy (Audrey Hutchinson) in 1920; they divorced soon after the company was sold in 1931. He married Margaret in 1934. He had no children. Bentley died in 1971 as a revered patron of the Bentley Drivers' Club. His widow Margaret lived until 1989.

Trivia

Bentley Motors uses the licence plate "1 WO" for each new model car upon their premiere disclosure to the press in honour of W.O.

External links

• Channel 4: Bentley v Mercedes Site with a short biography of Bentley.

References

• Malcolm Bobbitt (2003). Bentley: The Man behind the Marque. Derby, United Kingdom: Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd. ISBN 1-85983-352-7. 
• W. O. Bentley (1969). My Life and My Cars. Cranbury, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes and Company, Inc.. ISBN 0-498-07342-4. 

v • d • e Bentley Motors company ownership and road car timeline, 1920s–present — a marque of the Volkswagen Group
type / class	1920s		1930s				1940s		1950s		1960s		1970s		1980s		1990s				2000s				2010s
	independent (1919–1931)			Rolls-Royce (1931–1998)																Volkswagen Group (1998–>)
sports car	3 L	4½ L					WWII
saloon		6½ / Six	4L / 3½ 4¼L / V					VI	R	S1 / S2 / S3		T1		T2	Mulsanne								CFS
large saloon		8 L												Camargue						Arnage					Mulsanne
coupé													Corniche			Continental & C Turbo		Continental R/S/T				C GT
convertible																			Azure				C GTC
founder: Walter Owen Bentley • Bentley Motors corporate website • A marque of the Volkswagen Group • Bentley Boys