Otto Explains — Legendary Cars
The Legendary Cars That Defined Bentley
Short Answer
Eight cars changed Bentley as a company. The 3 Litre built its racing reputation, the 3½ Litre redefined it under Rolls-Royce, the Mark VI made it a builder of complete cars at Crewe, and the T Series ended the separate chassis. The Mulsanne Turbo and Turbo R gave Bentley its own performance identity again, the Continental GT relaunched it under Volkswagen, the Bentayga took it into SUVs and hybrids, and the Torcal made it electric.
How did Otto choose these cars?
Only by what each car changed: how Bentley engineered, built or sold its cars, or which market it served. Fame alone is not enough, so celebrated cars such as the Blower, the R-Type Continental and the Batur are in Otto’s list of ten iconic Bentleys instead. The eight run from the first production 3 Litre of 1921 to the electric Torcal of 2026, and each section ends with the change it caused.
How did the 3 Litre establish Bentley?
It was the first Bentley customers could buy, delivered from September 1921, and it was built until 1929, with 1,622 made. Its four-cylinder engine had four valves per cylinder and twin spark plugs, a specification Bentley describes as advanced for a road car of 1920. At Le Mans a 3 Litre won in 1924, making Bentley the first British constructor to win the race, and again in 1927, when ‘Old Number 7’ survived a multi-car crash at White House corner to take victory. What changed: Bentley became known as a maker of fast, durable sporting cars that could win endurance races.
How did the 3½ Litre redefine Bentley under Rolls-Royce?
It was the first Bentley built at Rolls-Royce’s Derby factory after the 1931 takeover, and it shared no parts with the Cricklewood cars. Instead of a racing car for the road, it was sold as “the Silent Sports Car”. Derby also built Bentleys in greater numbers, around 500 a year against about 200 at Cricklewood. What changed: Bentley became a refined, quiet fast car made by Rolls-Royce.
Why was the Mark VI a turning point?
It was the first car built at Crewe, from 1946, and the first Bentley offered with a factory-built Standard Steel saloon body, so customers no longer had to commission a coachbuilder. It was also the first Bentley with a Rolls-Royce equivalent. Of 4,001 Mark VIs, 3,171 had the Standard Steel body. What changed: Bentley moved to Crewe, where it has built cars ever since, and became a maker of complete cars.
How did the T Series change the way Bentleys were built?
Launched at the Paris Motor Show on 5 October 1965, it was the first Bentley with unitary monocoque construction. The S-Series before it had been the last Bentley with a separate chassis, and with the T Series the era of independent coachbuilders came to an end. Rolls-Royce sold the same car as the Silver Shadow, which Otto covers among the cars that defined Rolls-Royce. What changed: Bentley became a modern monocoque car, closely twinned with a Rolls-Royce.
How did the Mulsanne Turbo and Turbo R give Bentley its own identity again?
After Vickers bought the car business in 1980, Bentley went back to performance. The Mulsanne Turbo of 1982 used a turbocharged V8 with 50% more power than the car it replaced, and the Turbo R of 1985 added retuned suspension, the R standing for roadholding. Buyers responded: by the late 1980s Bentley sold twice as many cars as Rolls-Royce. What changed: instead of the quieter twin, Bentley became the performance marque of the pair.
How did the Continental GT relaunch Bentley under Volkswagen?
Launched in 2003, it was the first all-new car developed under Volkswagen ownership, Bentley’s first car with all-wheel drive and the first with the W12, an engine Crewe went on to hand-build more than 100,000 times before production ended in 2024. The first generation ran until 2011, and the fourth generation arrived in 2024 with a hybrid V8. What changed: the Continental GT began what Bentley calls the renaissance of the brand, and it is still built in its fourth generation.
Why was the Bentayga a turning point?
It took Bentley into a new kind of car. Revealed at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, it was Bentley’s first SUV, with a 608 PS W12, and 19,781 first-generation Bentaygas were built. In 2018 the Bentayga Hybrid became the first plug-in hybrid Bentley and the first to use a V6 petrol engine; Otto explains how hybrids and plug-in hybrids differ. What changed: Bentley entered the SUV market and took its first step towards electrification.
How does the Torcal change Bentley?
It is the first fully electric Bentley. Unveiled in London on 23 September 2026, the Torcal is a low SUV designed, engineered and built in Crewe, and it is the brand’s fourth model line. Under its Beyond100+ strategy, Bentley aims to be exclusively electric from 2035. What changed: Bentley began its move away from combustion engines.
Common Questions
- Was the Bentley T Series the same car as the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow? Yes, in essence. The car launched in 1965 was sold by Bentley as the T Series and by Rolls-Royce as the Silver Shadow.
- What does the R in Turbo R stand for? Roadholding, according to Bentley. The Turbo R of 1985 replaced the Mulsanne Turbo with retuned suspension.
- Was the Bentayga Hybrid Bentley’s first hybrid? Yes. Revealed in 2018, it was the first plug-in hybrid Bentley, combining a 3.0-litre V6 with an electric motor.
- How many Bentley 3 Litres were made? 1,622, built from 1921 to 1929.
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