Great Cars: BENTLEY

A long time ago, Bentleys were racing cars. In 1930, a Bentley won the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race for the fifth time, roaring along at 130 miles an hour and overtaking a Mercedes to claim victory. The next year, Bentley was absorbed by Rolls-Royce, which eventually made the Bentley into a Rolls with a different grille. But the memory of those distant glory years never faded, and a few years ago Bentley began reaching for its own identity as a sort of Rolls sports sedan. With stiffened suspensions, more horsepower, more rubber and a few gentlemanly sporting cues -- what Bentley literature called ''the spirit of the racetrack,'' it sought to lure the well heeled who wanted a little fun. While it didn’t lure too many out of their Ferraris, Bentley did attract a few Hip Hop stars. Now in the hands of BMW, the world will see if Bentley can once again evoke the spirit of the cars that won Le Mans five times and then carted the rich and titled for seven decades. It’s looking promising – in 2003, Bentley came in first at LeMans.

EP 311

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