W. O. Bentley

Walter Bentley
Born(1888-09-16)16 September 1888
Hampstead, England
Died13 August 1971(1971-08-13) (aged 82)
Woking, England
Alma materKing's College London
Known forFounder of Bentley
NationalityEnglish
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Isle of Man TT career
TTs contested2 (1909–1910)[1]
TT wins0
TT podiums0

Walter Owen Bentley, MBE (16 September 1888 – 13 August 1971) was an English engineer who founded Bentley in London. He was a motorcycle and car racer as a young man. After making a name for himself as a designer of aircraft and automobile engines, Bentley established his own firm in 1919. He built the firm into one of the world's premier luxury and performance auto manufacturers, and led the marque to multiple victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After selling his namesake company to Rolls-Royce in 1931, he was employed as a designer for Lagonda, Aston Martin and Armstrong Siddeley.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference WO_TT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).