Founded by the mechanical engineer W O Bentley in 1919. Renowned for their reliability and ruggedness this vintage era was the true Bentley period before financial difficulties saw Rolls-Royce purchase the company in 1931. Only 3031 vintage Bentleys were manufactured - one third with the synonymous, dark green Vanden Plas tourer coachwork. They were supplied in 3 litre, 4 1/2 litre, Speed Six and 8 litre versions. Some of the cars were modified for racing by Jim Birkin - these "blower" cars had a huge supercharger fitted and fetch vast sums of money today. Bentley had tremendous motorsport success, dominating the 24 Hour Le Mans race throughout the 1920's. After 1931, under the guidance of Rolls-Royce, the Derby Bentley or 'Silent Sportscar' was offered with some of the finest coachwork of a most stylish period. Post-War years saw, like the Rolls-Royce, the introduction of pressed steel bodies, such as the Mark VII, a fine car but prone to corrosion. The late 1950's saw the introduction of the S2 series, similar to the RR Cloud range, some with the fantastic "Continental" coachwork.