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| products = | services = Automobile customisation | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = 3,600 (2013) | parent = Volkswagen Group | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = | footnotes = | intl = yes }} Bentley Motors Limited () is a British registered company that designs, develops, and manufactures Bentley luxury motorcars which are largely hand-built. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG. Now based in Crewe, England, Bentley Motors Limited was founded by W. O. Bentley on 18 January 1919 in Cricklewood, North London. Bentley cars are sold via franchised dealers worldwide, and as of November 2012, China was the largest market. Most Bentley cars are assembled at the Crewe factory, but a small number of Continental Flying Spurs are assembled at the factory in Dresden, Germany. and bodies for the Continental are produced in Zwickau, Germany. Bentley won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, and 2003. Iconic Bentley models include the Bentley 4½ Litre, Bentley Speed Six, Bentley R Type Continental, Bentley Turbo R, and Bentley Arnage. As of 2015, Bentley produce the Continental Flying Spur, Continental GT, and Mulsanne. Rolls-Royce bought Bentley from the receivers in 1931 and subsequently sold it to Vickers plc in 1980 when Rolls-Royce themselves went bankrupt. In 1998, Vickers sold it to Volkswagen AG. The sale included the vehicle designs, model nameplates, production and administrative facilities, the Spirit of Ecstasy and Rolls-Royce grille shape trademarks, but not the rights to the Rolls-Royce name or logo which are owned by Rolls-Royce Holdings plc and were licensed to BMW AG. ==Cricklewood== Before World War I, Walter Owen Bentley, and his brother, Horace Millner Bentley, sold French DFP cars in Cricklewood, North London, but W.O, as Walter was known, always wanted to design and build his own cars. At the DFP factory, in 1913, he noticed an aluminum paperweight and thought that aluminum might be a suitable replacement for cast iron to fabricate lighter pistons. The first Bentley aluminum pistons were fitted to Sopwith Camel aero engines during World War I. In August 1919, W.O. registered Bentley Motors Ltd. and in October he exhibited a car chassis, with dummy engine, at the London Motor Show. Ex–Royal Flying Corps officer, Clive Gallop, designed an innovative 4 valves per cylinder engine for the chassis. By December the engine was built and running. Delivery of the first cars was scheduled for June 1920, but development took longer than estimated so the date was extended to September 1921.〔 The durability of the first Bentley cars earned widespread acclaim and they competed in hill climbs and raced at Brooklands. Bentley's first major event was the 1922 Indianapolis 500, a race, dominated by specialized cars with Duesenberg racing chassis. They entered a modified road car driven by works driver, Douglas Hawkes, accompanied by riding mechanic, H. S. "Bertie" Browning. Hawkes completed the full 500 miles and finished 13th with an average speed of 74.95 mph after starting in 19th position. The team was then rushed back to England to compete in the 1922 RAC Tourist Trophy.〔〔Davidson, Donald, Schaffer, Rick, ''Autocourse Official History of the Indianapolis 500'', page 60〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bentley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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