The Bentley Story: A Photographic History: Story

Fabled thundering Le Mans race cars, daredevil Bentley boys, and the most luxurious sports performance cars ever built

Walter Owen Bentley's huge, snarling race cars aggressively dominated motor racing for years. Revered and feared; driven in the 1920s by hard-partying young men known as the Bentley Boys, Bentleys beat all-comers, winning the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race five years out of six, and developed into the world's most admired sports car. Bought by Rolls-Royce in 1931 after running into financial trouble, Bentley languished in semi-obscurity for half a century as Rolls-Royce focused on its own marque. Ironically, when Rolls-Royce hit financial problems in the 1990s, Bentley emerged from the wilderness, its glories revived with mighty turbo-charged luxury super cars and reclaimed its performance luxury driving identity.