There are various luxury car brands, such as Jaguar, Maybach, Lexus or Maserati. Yet there are two brands that stand out above the rest in terms of luxury, history and status.
Who are these ultimate Masters of Luxury? The first is the champion of luxury motoring: Rolls-Royce. The other is slightly less focused on pure luxury, but traditionally offers a little more driving pleasure: Bentley. It is often said that Rolls-Royces are built for the rear passenger, while Bentleys are primarily made for the driver. Even though this is over-simplified, it does contain some truth. Bentley has always regarded sporty performance and handling as driving pleasure, and therefore as luxury. Rolls-Royce, on the other hand, has created an image of a car for kings, and kings are in the backseat.
The two British luxury brands seem inextricably linked. In 1931, Rolls-Royce even became the owner of Bentley. In the early twentieth century the two brands competed with each other, but when the Great Depression struck in 1929, only Rolls-Royce had a plan B. Rolls-Royce continued to make money by building aircraft engines, while Bentley defaulted on the mortgage. could pay. So Walter Owen Bentley accepted a takeover offer from the British Central Equitable Trust. What he did not know, however, was that this trust was only a front for Rolls-Royce... In this way, Rolls-Royce turned its rival into a source of income. Because both brands had an overlapping market, many parts and styling elements were exchanged. During the seventy years that Rolls-Royce owned Bentley, their cars were often virtually identical, apart from their characteristic hood ornaments.
In 1971, Rolls-Royce also did not escape financial problems. Ultimately, the aircraft engine division was separated from the car manufacturer. A nationalization followed and later a sale, but Rolls-Royce remained the owner of Bentley for a long time. The separation began in 1998 and in 2003 Rolls-Royce and Bentley became fully independent. Although, they did not become 'independent', but they did become independent of each other. For example, Rolls-Royce became part of the BMW Group, while Bentley was included in the VW Group. The takeover by a large group can often be the death knell for a small exclusive brand. But fortunately, both Bentley and Rolls-Royce have flourished under intelligent German management. Nowadays they both have a strong personality again, which does justice to their past. The brands are again completely different, but Rolls-Royce still accentuates ultimate luxury and Bentley flirts with sportiness. Bentley even returned to the circuit.
In addition to oceans of luxury, Bentley has always placed a lot of emphasis on sportiness. So there was also racing. The first victory came more than a hundred years ago, on the legendary Brooklands bowl track, the first permanent circuit in the world. Bentley's greatest successes came during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the 2003s, Bentley won this most important long-distance race in the world five times. In 2017, Bentley returned to Le Mans one more time, to win again. In 3, the Bentley Continental GTXNUMX became champion in the prestigious GT Endurance championship. Yet it is too simplistic to portray Bentley as a racehorse and Rolls-Royce as a luxury horse. Of course, Rolls-Royce is the king of luxury. For example, only eighteen examples of the Phantom IV were built and sold in the XNUMXs, and every buyer was a head of state or member of a ruling royal family. And even though Rolls-Royce has abandoned this kind of extreme exclusivity, the goal remains to let occupants float silently across the road. The current Ghost, for example, is equipped with no less than 100 kg of sound-insulating material. Because extra weight comes at the expense of acceleration and handling, Bentley takes a slightly different approach to this. Bentley also offers a lot of comfort, but compared to Rolls-Royce, it seeks a more compromise between luxury and driving pleasure. For example, in addition to all the luxury, the current Bentley Continental GT Speed also has 659 hp, a top speed of 335 km/h and an acceleration from 0 to 100 in 3,6 seconds. That's serious sports car performance.
Rolls-Royces have never been slow, on the contrary. Traditionally, the question of how much power the cars had was simply answered with 'sufficient'. Nowadays you can simply find out how much horsepower a Rolls has, and that is not little. The current models have around 600 hp and go from 0 to 100 in about five seconds. That is already quite powerful, but Rolls-Royce took an extra step in 2016 with the introduction of the Black Badge package. Rolls-Royce itself describes the Black Badges as the dark alter egos of the standard models. They are dark, bold, fast and powerful. With more direct handling and better acceleration, a Black Badge feels the road and therefore floats less. A soft growling engine sound dispels the characteristic silence. A Black Badge sacrifices a little driving comfort for a lot of extra driving pleasure. As a result, these Rolls-Royces are moving more towards the Bentley philosophy. And that is a good strategy for the future, because it allows Rolls-Royce to attract younger buyers.
In 2021, both Rolls-Royce and Bentley reported record financial figures, despite having been on an upward trend for years. So they are both very excited about the future. But the future of the automotive industry is electric. How do they feel about that? For brands that want to float silently over the road but also want to be able to accelerate quickly, electric driving is of course a fantastic solution. Still, many of their customers appreciate tradition. So waving a flag at the forefront of the Electric Revolution was out of the question for both. The market is now ready for it, and both brands do not want to lag behind and become an old-fashioned polluter. Bentley recently launched its second hybrid type. This Flying Spur Hybrid is the cleanest and most efficient Bentley ever. By 2024, all Bentleys will have a hybrid option. The first fully electric Bentley will be released in 2025, and by 2030 all models will be fully electric. Rolls-Royce will launch its first fully electric model, the Spectre, in 2023. And Rolls-Royce also wants to have a fully electric offering by 2030. Just like a century ago, Bentley and Rolls-Royce are competitors again. And that's how it should be. They are at their best when they continually push each other to new heights.
MASTERS MAGAZINE
In the summer edition of MASTERS an interview with Sven Kramer, a driving impression of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport and a study into the Effect of Max. But above all, it features people who bring light to the darkness. Such as Henk Jan Beltman, who took over Tony's Chocolonely because with a company you can make the world a more beautiful place. Chef Emile van der Staak, who has the ambition to change our food culture and therefore cooks with plants and vegetables that he obtains from the food forest. Designer Nienke Hoogvliet, who has introduced natural seaweed paint as an alternative to harmful textile paint. And Anna Nooshin, who criticizes the current social media culture of pretty pictures. In her documentary she also shares the less beautiful aspects of her life. All people who ask questions, hold up mirrors, take steps. Steps towards a healthier world and more understanding society.
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