Rolls-Royce Era Bentley Cars

1931 - 1980

Crewe was a railway town until construction began in July 1938 and a short five months later the first Merlin airplane engine was built to support the war effort. At its peak in 1943, 10,000 people were employed at the factory. Car production ceased during the war years but when the war ended, the factory at Derby was committed to building new-era jet engines. Car production moved to Crewe, where employees had to be retrained to build cars. 

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Bentley Models from 1931 - 1980

The Bentley Mark VI launched in 1946 and was the first new Crewe-built vehicle. It was based on the short-lived Mark V; the major change was the new Pressed Steel body, designed by Ivan Evernden. It was the first-ever ‘complete’ Bentley. Before the Mark VI, Bentley had made only the chassis and engines. The engine capacity was increased to 4 1/2 litres, up from 4 litres, for the last year of the Mark VI’s life, before it was replaced by the R-Type, the first Bentley to be offered with an automatic transmission. The most famous and influential R-Type model was the Continental. This two-door, four-seat vehicle, mechanically based on the R-Type saloon, had a body designed by Bentley chief stylist John Blatchley and built by HJ Mulliner. Inspired by the one-off pre-war Embiricos Bentley coupe, it became a seminal piece of post-war design. In 1955, the R-Type was replaced by the S1, the first car to be developed and built at Crewe. The S1 was longer and roomier than the R-Type; automatic transmission was standard. It was also the last Bentley fitted with a six-cylinder engine.

Its successor, the S2, saw the debut of the all-aluminum 6.25-litre V8. The S2 was the first Bentley that had power steering as standard. The S3, distinguished by its four-headlamps in the front wings, followed in 1962. The T-series, launched in 1965, was Bentley’s first ever car made with a unitary construction, as opposed to a separate chassis. It had independent self-leveling suspension for superior ride comfort and was the first Bentley to use four-wheel disc brakes. Two-door and convertible Continentals were offered. In 1968, engine capacity increased to 6.75 litres, the capacity of the current Arnage.  In 1977, the T2 was launched. It had fully automatic split-level air conditioning, a world first, and power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering. The reality is that when production moved from Derby to Crewe there were very few differences between Rolls-Royce and Bentley models.Bentleys would be little more than a rebadged Rolls-Royce with a different model name, and a different grille. The only exceptions to this policy were the R-type Continental Models. Pure Bentley’s with no Rolls-Royce equivalent. In 1971 (the year WO passed away), Rolls Royce PLC hit financial trouble after a series of issues with an aero-engine.

In order to protect the company, the UK government devised a rescue plan which split the automotive venture away from the aerospace venture, making Rolls-Royce Motor Cars an independent manufacturer which owned the Bentley brand. During this period of independence the Bentley brand saw only a face-lift of its T-series model.