Quote:
Originally Posted by oldE
Tabs, you had it exactly backwards. BMW bought the RR name when VW got the factory.
Rolls Royces do indeed use a BMW V12. Bentlies use VW engineered V8 and W12.
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Closer. I was in the RROC at the time since I owned a vintage RR, and it was quite the dust up. VW bought the company Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, with all the models and the factory in Crewe, and found out the Rolls-Royce name wasn't included because it belonged to Rolls-Royce Aviation, the company that makes airplane engines.
BMW was salty on the VW deal - they'd started selling RR/B their V12 engines in the 90s because they thought that would give them an inside track with buying the company down the road. Ticked at losing to their rival, they went to Rolls-Royce and made a deal for the automotive rights to screw with VW.
Now, ironically the Bentleys are most like the historical Rolls-Royce cars, while Rolls-Royces are really just fancy BMWs.
Now let's talk Phaeton! ;-)