The British have a peculiar view of the automobile. In fact, it can almost be called a national reverence, especially about vintage iron. Anything old is fodder for a ground-up restoration no matter how prosaic or dull the vehicle. Spindly Austin 7's of the '20s are venerated like doddering old aunties.

英国人对汽车有着独特的看法. 事实上,几乎可以称得上是一种对国家的尊敬,尤其是对早期的古董. 任何旧的东西都可以重新修复不管是这种车辆有多零散有多迟钝；修长的奥斯汀7世以及20世都已经是人们喜欢的老爷车.

Like many of the pioneers in the auto business world-wide, the Bentley's road to this year's podium at Le Mans has been a rough one. W.O. Bentley began his "automotive" career as a railroad engineering apprentice at the turn of the century and immediately got into racing via the motorcycle circuit, a common practice among young Brits before World War I.

像许多享誉世界的汽车企业先锋一样,宾特利在LeMans的表现也经历了坎坷. 宾特利先生作为一个铁路工程在世纪之交学徒开始他的"汽车”生涯,立即投入机动赛车通过巡回的方式，一战前这是一种英国青年人之间很平常的练习。

Bentley gravitated through an aviation engineering stint during that war and at its end, became determined to form an auto manufacturing company of his own. Bentley Motors, Ltd. was formed in 1919 with very little capital on hand, a plight that was to plague the company for the next decade.

战争时期宾特利通过在航空工程服役的影响,在战争结束后,就下定决心,形成自己的汽车制造公司. 宾特利汽车有限公司成立于1919年,当时资本很少,公司在接下来的10年都将处于一个困境。



In the decade before World War II, the Bentley line became, in effect, the hot-rod Rolls-Royce. The Bentley chassis of that era started off life in the late '20s as a smaller Rolls that was originally conceived as a car for the up-and-coming executive. Aborting this concept as The Depression deepened, the company installed a slightly hopped-up 3.5-liter R-R engine and had more "sporting" body work installed. In this guise, it was quite successful and it quickly acquired the quasi-official title of "The Silent Sports Car."

二战前的二十年,是宾特利路线转换了,实际上就是热棒的劳斯莱斯. 在后来的20年作为一个小型车轧，宾特利的底盘在最初的构思是作为汽车新兴的执行.但是受到经济萧条的深化这一理念夭折了，为此公司安装了一个细小的3.5公升的RR引擎而且增加了许多的运动元素。这一修改很成功,而且很快取得了半官方名称叫"沉默的跑车"

The turbulent financial times of the '60s culminated with the company becoming part of the Vickers conglomerate which in turn recently sold the Rolls-Royce name to BMW and the Bentley name, factory and assets to Volkswagen. The resulting conflict between the two German giants has lead not only to massive law suits but corporate animosity between the two.

发生在六十年代的金融动荡时期，宾利公司从属于Vickers公司，该公司近日又将劳斯莱斯出售给了宝马汽车公司。宾特利品牌、工厂以及资产都归大众公司所有.冲突造成了德国两个汽车巨人不但诉讼到法庭,而且还使两公司之间产生了敌意

To its credit, the leaders of VW have resurrected the Bentley motorsports tradition in general and its return to Le Mans in particular. This, of course, pleases British auto enthusiasts immensely and helps to mollify the fact that a British automotive icon is owned by a German company.

出于公司的信任，大众公司领导人恢复了宾特利汽车传统的运动元素尤其是Le Mans.当然,这极大的满足了英国汽车爱好者并帮助平息了英国汽车标志归属于德国公司的这一事实.



But W.O. Bentley would be even more pleased that "his" company was finally wrestled away from Roll-Royce.
但是宾特利将更加高兴的是,"他"的公司终于脱离了劳斯莱斯。


车标故事：

宾利自1919年英国人宾利奥云先生创立了宾利汽车后，一直是誉满全球的顶级名车。是世界上唯一将豪华与性能同时推至顶峰的汽车，是尊贵与超凡力量的结合。
　　宾利汽车拥有完美的发动机，轻而易举就可以提升驾驶速度。在1924至1930年间，宾利在全世界以讲求耐力及速度而驰名的法国勒芒赛事中五夺冠军；及后于2003年再度摘冠，足以证明宾利的表现及性能历久不衰，卓越超凡。同样重要的是，宾利秉承传统的人手精耕细作工艺生产汽车，从车身外观和色泽、皮革到内饰陪衬，以及内部配件都可以根据客户的要求订制。
　　宾利除了表现车主的成就和地位以外，更为车主带来了速度与舒适，以及纯英国风味的高贵享受。被专业人士称为“一生中最想拥有的车”。英女皇登基50周年，更指定以全新宾利为御用座驾出席庆祝活动。
宾利(又译本特利)汽车1924年曾在勒芒24小时耐力赛中夺得冠军，一下子扬名世界车坛。但由于经营不善，宾利汽车公司在1931年被劳斯莱斯吞并，公司也更名为劳斯莱斯-宾利汽车公司。1997年，劳斯莱斯品牌被德国宝马收购，宾利品牌则落入德国大众之手。接手宾利之后，大众为宾利在英国克鲁的工厂投入了5亿英镑进行设备更新与改造。今后宾利汽车公司仍用世代相传的手工工艺制造宾利豪华轿车