Bentley (Volkswagen Group) vs McLaren

W.O. Bentley established the brand with a simple engineering goal: to build a fast car, a good car, the best in its class. The legendary "Bentley Boys" captured consecutive victories at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans, but persistent financial struggles forced a sale to arch-rival Rolls-Royce in 1931.

In a highly dramatic corporate bidding war for the assets of Vickers plc, Volkswagen outbid BMW to secure the historic Crewe factory and rights to Bentley, while BMW managed to capture the separate rights to the Rolls-Royce automotive name, permanently decoupling the two British luxury icons.

Volkswagen revitalized the brand by developing the Bentley Continental GT, powered by a massive twin-turbocharged W12 engine. Utilizing shared platform efficiencies, the coupe dramatically increased Bentley's global production volume while maintaining its signature hand-crafted wood-and-leather character.

By mid-2026, Bentley Motors adjusted its historic Beyond100 decarbonization timeline to accommodate high-margin plug-in hybrid powertrains alongside pure electric platforms. The Crewe facility captured record revenues via its highly customized Mulliner coachbuilding division.

Under Gordon Murray's uncompromising engineering vision, McLaren Cars launched the revolutionary McLaren F1. Featuring a central driving position, a gold-lined engine bay, and a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, it secured the title of the world's fastest naturally aspirated production car.

The company was structurally separated and relaunched as McLaren Automotive under Ron Dennis' leadership to build a permanent high-volume supercar brand. The introduction of the MP4-12C targeted Ferrari's dominance, establishing an advanced modular production system.

Following a series of intense post-pandemic supply chain disruptions that strained corporate liquidity, the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, completed a 100% equity acquisition of the entire McLaren Group, stabilizing the company's long-term operational runway.

In a transformative transaction, Abu Dhabi advanced mobility investment firm CYVN Holdings acquired 100% outright ownership of McLaren Automotive. The brand was merged with British EV startup Forseven into a new entity, McLaren Group Holdings, to accelerate its high-performance electric supercar development.