Bentley was originally founded on 18 January 1919 by W. O. Bentley. Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel. After the war, W. O. Bentley designed and made production cars that won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1924 and following models which repeated those successes each June 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930.

Purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931, when the factory was sold, and production stopped for 2 years, the name was revived for a Rolls-Royce "silent sports car" made at the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby, and later in Crewe. The business, minus the Rolls Royce name, has been owned by the Volkswagen Group of Germany since 1998. The business is now based in Crewe, Cheshire, England, with the Central Production Facilities there. As of November 2012, China is the largest individual market for Bentley automobiles.^[10]