Founded by the mechanical engineer Walter Owen Bentley in 1919 they produced the best cars he knew how to until 1931. Renown then for their reliability and ruggedness this vintage period was the true Bentley period before financial difficulties saw Rolls-Royce purchase the company in 1931. Only 3031 vintage Bentleys were manufacturered and one third with the synomous dark greed Vanden Plas tourer coachwork. They were supplied in 3 litre, 41/2 litre, speed six and 8 litre versions with some of the 4 ? litre cars modified for racing by Jim Birkin for racing. These " blower" cars had a huge supercharger fitted and fetch vast sums of money today. Bentley had tremendous success with motorsport dominating the 24 hours Le Mans Race throughout the 1920's. After 1931 under the guidance of Rolls Royce the Derby Bentley or Silent sportscar supplied in 3 ?, 4 ? and overdrive configuration abounded with some of the finest coachwork of a most stylish period. Post war years saw, like the Rolls-Royce, the introduction of the pressed steel bodies (coachbuilt bodies were still supplied) This model was the mark VII, a fine car built but prone to corrosion. The late 1950's & 1960's saw the introduction of the "S2 series before, similar to the RR cloud range, some adorned with fantastic "continental" coachwork. A frequent visitor to our workshop for major or minor coachwork restoration and refinishing servicing and maintenance. Surprisingly the islands have a high concentration of the enthusiastic pre-war Bentley collection