Bentley & Rolls-Royce 1990-2002: A Brooklands Portfolio
This book covers the final years of Bentley and Rolls-Royce as an exclusive British automaker to the turbulent final period of splitting up and foreign ownership. Production has carried on serenely and the variations produced have, on the whole, kept to a high standard. The articles here are written by the world's most informed motoring journalists and give a remarkable insight into these glamorous cars. These are contemporary articles covering road and comparison tests, new model introductions, driver's impressions. Models covered include: Bentley Turbo R, Brooklands, Continental R, T, SC, Azure, Arnage R, T & Red Label, Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, Silver Spur, Flying Spur, Silver Dawn, Silver Seraph, Corniche.
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Bentley 4½ Litre Owner’s Workshop Manual: 1927 onwards (all models, including ‘Blower’)
The 4.5-litre Bentley is still one of the most iconic pre-war cars, and the supercharged 4.5-litre Blower Bentley is one of the most sought-after and most valuable cars for collectors. The road cars were originally built by Bentley as rolling chassis to be fitted with often bespoke coachwork bodies by their buyers. At a time when their rivals were seeking to gain publicity by taking part in motor-racing events, Bentley decided to put together a competition programme to help to market its cars. The Bugatti and Lorraine-Dietrich companies had focused on building cars to compete in the Le Mans 24-Hour race, which was established in 1923. A victory in the this race quickly elevated any manufacturers position, and so Bentley decided to take on the challenge. A privateer 3-litre Bentley first won Le Mans in 1924, but without success in 1925 and 1926, Bentley decided to recruit a British team of drivers and mechanics "united by their love of insouciance, elegant tailoring, and a need for speed," to renew the marques success. These characters soon became known as the "Bentley Boys"! The Bentley Boys, including such characters as Woolf Barnato, Dr. J. Dudley Benjafield, Sir Henry Tim Birkin and Bernard Rubin, won several high-profile races in Bentleys, including four consecutive Le Mans victories between 1927 and 1930, Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin winning with a 4.5-litre car in 1928. Bentleys founder, W.O. Bentley took the view that increasing the size of an engine was always preferable to supercharging (which Mercedes had been using for some time), but he was defied by Sir Henry Tim Birkin, who with the aid of a former Bentley mechanic, built a series of five supercharged Blower Bentleys to compete at Le Mans. The first car Bentley Blower No.1 was presented at the British International Motor Show at Olympia in 1929, and 55 copies were built to satisfy the Le Mans rules. These cars were sanctioned by Bentley majority shareholder, and by-now Chairman Woolf Barnato, despite the disapproval of W.O. Bentley, who had lost control of his company as a result of the knock-on effect from The Great Depression. Because W.O. Bentley, who was chief engineer of his company he had founded, refused to modify the engine to allow a supercharger to be integrated, the supercharger was mounted externally, in front of the cars radiator, and driver from the end of the engines crankshaft, giving the car its instantly recognisable look. The Blower Bentleys Achilles Heel was its reliability, and it never won Le Mans, although Tim Birkin did finish second in the 1929 French Grand Prix. Today, 4.5-litre Bentleys are highly sought-after, and unsupercharged cars change hands for in excess of £75,000, while Blower Bentleys can fetch more than £2.5 million, despite never winning a race!
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Bentley Cars 1940-1945
Brooklands Book of Road Tests and Articles, Specifications and New Model Introductions Compilation of contemporary articles from the Autocar and Motor magazines. It includes the No. 1 Bentley, Le Mans 1930, Record Breaking, Mark V, Birkin, 3 Litre, Blower, 1930 Supercharged 4.5 litre, Speed Six, Barnato’s Le Mans Hat Trick, 4½ Litre, 3½ litre, 3 Litre, Supercharged, etc.
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Bentley Cars 1940-45
Brooklands Book of Road Tests and Articles, Specifications and New Model Introductions. It includes the No. 1 Bentley, Le Mans 1930, Record Breaking, Mark V, Birkin, 3 Litre, Blower, 1930 Supercharged 4.5 litre, Speed Six, Barnato's Le Mans Hat Trick, 4½ Litre, 3½ litre, 3 Litre, Supercharged etc.
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Bentley Continental R
Developmental history of Bentley and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
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Bentley Four-Cylinder Models in Detail
Through 80 years these legendary Bentleys have remained the object of fascination and desire of all motoring enthusiasts. In 1921 the 3 litre was developed and was the favorite of young sportsmen. It won at LeMans in 1924 and 1927. In 1927 the 4 1/2; litre four-cylinder was developed and won at Lemans in 1928. The author takes you on a tour of the development, design and history, offering an in-depth examination of these splendid, charismatic Bentleys.
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Bentley MkVI: Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, Silver Dawn & Silver Cloud; Bentley R-Series & S-Series
The development and production history of the elegant and luxurious mainstream Rolls-Royce and Bentley models built between 1947 and 1965. Arguably, these cars - all built on chassis and echoing pre-war practices - were the last of the 'traditional' Rolls-Royce and Bentley models. Many, many of these cars have survived to the present day: all are eminently collectible. Covering concept, design and development, production, promotion, publicity and the coach built cars. There is also helpful practical advice on buying and running these cars today, together with appendices of chassis number sequences and dates, build numbers and modifications and development by chassis number. Illustrated with over 160 black and white and colour photos, this book is a must have for anyone interested in automotive history.
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Bentley Motor Car Centenary Factory Release Album 1885-1985
One of a series covering 100 years of The Motor Car from 1885-1985 specific to the Bentley Marque 1912 -1985. The book contains upwards of 20 full-page sepia illustrations of various cars plus a colour section of 25 'cigarette' type cards in colour with informative text. The articles in the book are as follows: W.O.Bentley The 3-litre Bentley The 6 1/2, 4 1/2 and Supercharged 4 1/2 litre Bentley racing successes The 8-litre and 4-litre 3 1/2-litre Bentley 4 1/4-litre and MarkV MarkVI and R-type R-type Continental S-series T-series The current Bentleys.
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Bentley Six-Cylinder Models In Detail: 6 1/2-litre, Speed Six, 8-litre & 4-litre 1926-1931
WO Bentley had launched his first model, the four-cylinder 3 Litre, in 1921, as a sporting car for the discerning driver, intending that it should provide 80mph performance, with exceptional reliability founded on the quality of its engineering and construction. All cars even came with a five-year guarantee. It quickly became the favourite of wealthy young sportsmen and, to prove a point, 3-litres won at Le Mans in 1924 and 1927. In 1925 the company launched WO’s latest creation, the six-cylinder 6 1/2-litre, intended as a fast luxury car to rival the Rolls-Royce Phantom and to steal a part of its market. This was a car of quite different character from the 3-litre, and well suited to elegant enclosed coachwork, It was joined in 1928 by the Speed Six version, which derived its extra performance from having twin carburettors and a higher compression ratio. In the steady hands of Woolf Barnato, Bentley’s principal financial backer, Speed Sixes won at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930. Next, in 1931, came WO’s true supercar, the 8-litre. Enormous, strikingly handsome, fabulously expensive and capable of 100mph in any form, it is one of motoring’s immortals, but by now the company was in trouble, and the 4-litre which was hastily introduced to revive its bank balance sadly failed to do so. As a background to these events, the author opens with an account of the company’s performance, and its problems, during the later years of the 1920s. Then comes a detailed examination and analysis of the 6 1/2-litre – its engine, transmission, chassis and running gear – with extracts from contemporary reports and road tests, and information on production changes and modifications. This is followed by equivalent coverage of the Speed Six, 8-litre and 4-litre models. The author describes the Speed Six’s illustrious competition history, and reviews the range of bodies offered by coachbuilders, from open tourers to stately limousines, for the six-cylinder cars. Outstanding examples of all models have been photographed specially for this book and are featured in detail in some 150 colour shots. There are also more than 150 black-and-white photographs drawn from archive sources. Offering an in-depth examination of these splendid, charismatic Bentleys, this book provides an unrivalled store of knowledge for the many who care passionately about them, and serves as a tribute to the men who made them.
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Inside the Rolls-Royce & Bentley Styling Department 1971 to 2001
From a small design team working on the Silver Spirit/Mulsanne, to becoming Chief Stylist, Graham Hull peels back the curtain on an idiosyncratic institution during his time at Crewe. Throwing light on a factory motivated as much by pride as the bottom-line, all of the projects - whether production, special commission, or aborted designs - are covered, and the often unique styling process is explored. This process was a key element in the resurgence of the dormant Bentley marque, that, with its fortunes on the rise, became the star of the Geneva Motor Show, attracting commissions from wealthy enthusiasts for totally bespoke vehicles. Founding fathers Royce and Rolls melded engineering with marketing, but as marketing took over, this union fractured. The drama of how this British institution was divided between BMW and VW, and how aesthetic design, never cherished by British management, was increasingly recognised, is fundamental to the story. The bewildering number of projects during the 1990s is a genuine eye-opener and a phenomena that demanded unique people, skills, and facilities.
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Original Rolls-Royce & Bentley 1946-65: The Restorer’s Guide to the ‘standard’ saloons and mainstream coachbuilt derivatives
The two decades between 1945 and 1965 saw some remarkable motor cars emerge from the new Rolls-Royce factory at Crewe. The Mark VI Bentley was the first model to be built entirely by Rolls-Royce, using a body supplied by Pressed Steel, although coachbuilt cars were still available. The Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn version followed in 1949, this and its Bentley sister both receiving 'big boot' bodies in 1952. Meanwhile the 120mph Continental appeared. The entirely new Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Bentley S-series, almost identical to each other, arrived in 1955, and from 1959 a V8 was installed. By their side, coachbuilt S-series Continentals continued. Original Rolls-Royce & Bentley 1946-65 is the essential companion to these cars. The aim of this book is to reveal, in words and color photographs, how the various models altered through the course of production. Drawing on factory records, parts lists, catalogs and other data, the author has provided a meticulous survey of the standard steel cars built at Crewe. Over 250 specially commissioned color photographs, showing the detail changes to these cars, accompany the authoritative text.
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Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit & Silver Spur, Bentley Mulsanne, Eight, Continental, Brooklands & Azure
Introduced in 1980, the Silver Spirit and Bentley Mulsanne are the most successful post-war Rolls-Royces, and their longevity means ownership of these fine cars is as practical as it is pleasurable. This complete history examines the cars' design and development, along with a full technical appraisal and helpful ownership information.
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Twenty Years of Crewe Bentleys (1946-1965)
This book covers the models from the Mk VI to the S3 produced at Crewe from 1946 to 1965. It includes summaries of specification, chassis numbers and delivery dates, body builders and a summary of road tests amongst other interesting information.
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