Bently I wish it was in there

  • Thread starter Thread starter nice7
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Well, I guess VW figure they're not going to pick up too many Bentley customers via a video game - all about demographics, I guess.
 
I did not realize VW owned Bentley.

I also did not realize this forum was staffed with Polyphony and manufacturer decision makers who'd actually know the answer to that.
 
Originally posted by milefile
I did not realize VW owned Bentley.

I also did not realize this forum was staffed with Polyphony and manufacturer decision makers who'd actually know the answer to that.

I did use the word 'guess'.
 
Originally posted by milefile
I know. But seriously... does VW own Bentley? I thought Rolls Royce did.

Oooh - well behind...

There's a bit of a sordid history here. Vickers owned Rolls Royce (who owned Bentley) up until 1998, and then sold the group to VW that year.

On Friday, June 5, 1998 the announcement that Volkswagen AG had won the take-over battle for the ownership of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, beating off competition from BMW AG came as some surprise.

The final decision was taken by the shareholders of Vickers plc, owner of Rolls-Royce Motors, at an extraordinary general meeting at which Chairman Sir Colin Chandler announced that 5.1m shareholders had voted in favour of Volkswagen AG and 109,000 against. The meeting had been stormy, with angry outbursts from small investors who wanted to keep the company British.

Volkswagen AG's offer had been the highest on the table - £430m - although the total consideration could be up to £470m to reflect the rise in working capital in the business. The deal meant that Volkswagen AG comfortably beat a £340m bid from BMW.

Following the sale it was necessary to address the issue of the Rolls-Royce name. The marque was then owned by Rolls-Royce Plc, the aero engines group which has strong business links with BMW and had backed its bid. In fact, Crewe had never owned these rights and since 1971 had operated under licence from Rolls-Royce Plc. The final negotiated outcome, agreed with all parties, and was that BMW would acquire the rights to the Rolls-Royce name and other trademarks associated with Rolls-Royce, including the Spirit of Ecstasy. In addition, BMW would continue to supply engines and other components to Bentley and Rolls-Royce at Crewe. From January 2003, Rolls-Royce’s would be built elsewhere by BMW. Of course, none of this affected Volkswagen AG’s ownership of Bentley and the Crewe site.

The rights to the Rolls Royce name return to BMW next year, so expect some ultra-luxury cars with large BMW V12s coming up.
 
I was only partially serious there. I guess they're okay. I just stopped liking them when they started to look like all the other cars.

I used to have a Cabriolet and before that a Scirocco. That car was awesome. Silver with black leather and very fast. Eventually the Chicago winters disintegrated the front end. I had to start off in 2nd, turn the wheel slightly to shift, and the incessant rattling... I can't remember what the hell ever happened to that thing.
 
There's quite a few nice looking VW Exotic concept cars.

I've lost a few races to Scirocco's. :(

Cabriolet's are girls cars dude. :D just phuken with ya.
 
Originally posted by j2s
whatever happened to their (VW's) W16?
did it get off the drawing board?

Things have gone quiet there, but I would think it would slot pretty readily into a Bugatti or a Bentley.
 
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