All language subtitles for The Cars That Built The World S01E02 Create A Market Build An Empire

- [narrator] previously on
the cars that built the world,

(flame igniting)

pioneering inventor karl
benz finally finds the fuel

to put internal
combustion on wheels.

- This new invention
would allow you to travel

where you wanted,
when you wanted.

- [narrator] while
visionary engineers

gottlieb daimler and
wilhelm maybach--

- hey.

- [narrator] look to
out do benz.

- Eight horsep-- (laughing)

- [narrator] by
maximizing engine power

and creating the
first modern motorcar.

- The mercedes was
really the template

for everything that followed.

- [narrator] now, a powerful
new duo emerges in England.

- You production, me
marketing and sales.

- Henry royce
couldn't sell a car

if his life depended on it,

but he could design a car
that rolls could sell.

- [narrator] and will
take on its rivals

through one singular goal.

- Making the best car
the world has ever seen.

- Now, that sounds
like a challenge.

- [narrator] but to build
a car-making empire,

they must turn the automobile

from an experimental
toy for the few

into a life-changing
advancement for everyone,

(engine roaring)
as benz,

daimler, maybach,

rolls and royce,

ford,

bentley,

porsche,

honda,

and toyota

create the cars
that built the world.

(pensive music)

two years into a partnership
with millionaire charles rolls,

henry royce is certain their
new car, the rolls-royce 4050,

runs smoother than industry
leaders benz and daimler,

and he's found a truly
english way to test it.

- How exactly is this cup of tea

supposed to help me sell cars?

- Well, if I've done my job
right, we won't spill a drop.

And that means our new
engine specs are spot-on.

- Ready when you are.

- [narrator] alongside them,

managing director
claude johnson.

- Royce designed the
cars, rolls sold the cars,

and johnson ran the business.

- [henry] now start her up.

(engine cranking)

- what henry royce wanted

was for whatever he put
his name to to be the best.

- All right, johnson,
don't be shy.

Give it more.

Pick it up, pick it up!

Keep going, keep going!

Even more!

- Come on!

More!
- More!

Give it all you got!

- [henry] go, go, go!

(dishes clinking)

(laughing)

- henry, I'm impressed.

Not a single drop.

- What you have to remember

is what other cars
were like at the time.

They were so noisy and
they were so coarse,

and then this
rolls-royce turned up,

and you could barely hear it.

Sometimes they'd balance
a penny on the chassis

and people would
watch in amazement.

It was absolutely
unprecedented at the time.

- The rate at which these
things were progressing

from crude machines
was incredibly fast.

And of course, it all
got back to reliability,

because no one cared
how refined your car was

if it was gonna leave you
on the side of the road.

- [narrator] to prove
their car's reliability,

the company targets the 1907
world performance record:

7,000 miles of nonstop
driving without a breakdown.

The new rolls-royce
reaches nearly 15,000 miles

without a hitch.

- There was absolutely
no magic bullet here.

It was just hours, days,
weeks, months, years

of perfecting every component.

That's why they became known

as the greatest
cars in the world,

because they just kept going.

They just didn't go wrong.

- [narrator] when word gets out,

rolls-royce can't make their
new model 4050 fast enough,

even though they
sell for $6,000 each,

more than $150,000 today.

(phone ringing)

- mr. Davidson, it is
absolutely a pleasure

to hear from you once again.

(phone ringing)
lady hamilton.

No, your wish is my command.

What color would you like?

(phone ringing)
mr. Cooper.

We will have it ready
for you by next week.

My office will be in touch.

- [narrator] but
while rolls-royce

brings reliable
luxury to the rich,

(laughing)

(reverent percussion music)

in germany, karl benz has
taken a different tack.

His reliable, affordable cars

have made him germany's
top automaker.

He's now head of a car empire

worth over four million marks,

some $180 million today.

And while he no longer
runs the business,

he owns a share of the company

and takes profits
from every car sold.

- Karl benz, he had come up with

the first successful automobile,

and he really stuck to that
vision for how you build cars.

- He had enormous success.

His vision of getting cars

to more people than
anybody else had come true.

He was a man who was
on top of the world.

- [narrator] but
as benz succeeds,

in stuttgart, his greatest
rival is struggling.

Daimler's 1901 mercedes
moved the industry forward,

changing from old-fashioned
carriage designs

to lower, faster, modern cars.

But six years later, their
sales trail benz 10 to one.

A frustrated board
pushes technical director

wilhelm maybach aside in favor
of a familiar younger face:

Gottlieb daimler's son, paul.

- Paul daimler had a
really tough job actually

because he followed
in the footsteps

of two of the most
brilliant engineers

the world had ever seen,

gottlieb daimler
and wilhelm maybach.

- [narrator] the
pressure's on daimler

to deliver an
innovative new engine

that will attract buyers and
outsell benz and the brits.

- They can build more,
but we can build better.

Hmm?

We did it with the
first mercedes.

Now we need to do it again.

- [narrator] it's a
task daimler's director,

ernst berge, won't
let him forget.

- That is what I'm trying to do.

- I don't need you to try.

I need you to succeed.

I'll let you get back to work.

- [narrator] as paul daimler
strives for a breakthrough,

rolls-royce's new car
is becoming an icon.

- Have you seen this?

They're calling it
the silver ghost.

- What?

Why not call it by its
proper name, the 4050?

- Who cares?

It's a damn catchy name.

I'd like it a lot more
if I thought of it.

Now, henry, you can't just
build the world's greatest car.

You've gotta sell it too.

- The silver ghost itself
must've been

an incredible sight.

You've got this incredibly
heavy complex chassis,

this engine that's
more than seven liters,

and this fabulous
silver bodywork,

complete with the flying
lady emblem at the front.

It was just a,

a wonderful expression of
opulence and optimism.

- [narrator] but
cars aren't enough

to capture charles rose's
restless imagination.

- You're both missing
the real news.

Flight is the future
of transportation.

- [narrator] as the
20th century progresses,

nothing is more thrilling

than the wright brothers'
expansion of flight.

Since their first
12-second flight in 1903,

they've increased flying
times over 600-fold,

achieving a new
world record in 1908

of two hours and 20
minutes in the air.

And no one latches
onto the excitement

more than charles rolls.

- Charles rolls's
adventurous nature

was a perfect
match for aviation.

This was his character,
and this is something

where he really differed
from henry royce.

- [narrator] rolls buys the
first wright brothers plane

available in britain and
makes more than 200 flights,

becoming the first person
to fly to France and back.

But while rolls turns his
attention to aviation,

a future rival is about to
take aim at his business.

(light suspenseful music)

walter owen bentley
has just completed

a five-year apprenticeship
on the railways,

only to quit on his last day.

- Hey.

Are you just gonna
throw it all away?

- No, not at all.

I got no interest
in driving trains,

but I've got a better idea.

Imagine this:

Bentley and bentley motorcars.

- What do we know about cars?

- That...

Is the future.

- [narrator] bentley is just 22

when he teams up
with his brother

and sets his sights on cars.

- If you're an engineer
in the early years

of the 20th century,
then the car world

must've seemed like the
most exciting place to be.

The technology's
evolving so fast.

The market is
growing all the time.

All the big brains are all
working on the next solution.

- Let's celebrate.

(sighing)

- [narrator] but in the first
decade of the 20th century,

no one works harder
at the car business

than 47-year-old
american henry ford.

- I will build a car for the
everyman with a price so low

that no man will be
unable to afford one.

- [narrator] his strategy:

Simple, affordable
cars for the masses.

Ford introduces his
model t in August 1908.

By 1910, he's sold over 20,000.

- Henry ford was really
the first automaker

to get cars into the
hands of everyday people.

- [narrator] at the
relative bargain of $850,

his simple, rugged model
t makes driving attainable

to more than the rich.

Meanwhile, in England, henry
royce has a different approach.

His silver ghost sells
for nearly 20 times

the price of a model t.

He's determined to
monopolize the luxury market

by continually improving
the car's design.

- Henry.

Henry.

- Claude.

- I don't quite know
how to say this.

- What is it?

- It's...

It's charles.

- [narrator] just six years
into his remarkable partnership

with henry royce, charles
rolls becomes the first brit

to die in an airplane crash.

- He was in a wright flyer
and he made a maneuver

and the aircraft just
followed up around him

and he plunged to the ground.

But like so many great people,
he died doing what he loved.

(somber orchestral music)

- [narrator] for the
rest of his life,

henry royce retreats
into solitude.

(pensive electronic music)

- we're here to see mr. Doriot.

- Sure, he'll be
with you in a second.

Just have a seat.
- Thank you.

- [narrator] just two
years after giving up

his railroad apprenticeship,

ambitious engineer w.O.
Bentley is finding success

customizing high-end cars
for french manufacturer dfp.

- What can I say; I'm impressed.

Every quarter, you and your
brother outsell the last.

- Well, you've got
an excellent product.

And when my brother
customizes them,

they practically
sell themselves.

(laughing)

- [narrator] at this
seemingly inconsequential

business meeting,
bentley encounters

an aluminum piston paperweight

that could change the
course of car-making.

- It's so light!

- It's aluminum,
but it's not real.

Obviously, it would melt

if you actually put
it in an engine.

- [narrator] the
aluminum paperweight

gives bentley an idea.

- That was a light
bulb moment for him.

He suddenly thought, "if I could
use a real aluminum piston,

"it would be an
awful lot lighter."

- [narrator] pistons
capture the energy

of internal combustion,

moving it through the
crankshaft to the wheels.

In 1913, most pistons
were made of steel,

but a lighter version

could drastically improve
engine performance

by using less energy
to turn engine parts,

getting more power on the road.

But if bentley's
revolutionary idea

is going to change the industry,

he'll have to make
an aluminum piston

strong enough to withstand the
heat of internal combustion.

(pensive electronic music)

meanwhile, in germany,

paul daimler is also
looking for ways

to increase a car's power.

- Daimler built its
reputation on horsepower.

And when paul daimler took over,

he was searching for a way

to get to the next level
of power and performance.

- He needed to have another
magic bullet, really,

to bring them back
into the race.

(bellows wooshing)

- [narrator] benz
discovered the fuel.

Maybach improved its delivery.

Now, daimler targets what
that fuel reacts with: Air.

Connecting a compressor to the
engine's combustion chamber

acts like a bellows to a
fire, supercharging it.

More air reaches the reaction,

providing additional
oxygen to burn,

resulting in a
dramatic power increase

over a standard engine.

That's, of course, something
which sounds very attractive

to every car engineer.

- [narrator] it's an
idea that's been used

in factory engines,
but never in cars.

And it could be a game-changer.

As daimler works
on a supercharger,

w.O. Bentley seeks
his own breakthrough:

The aluminum piston.

- With an aluminum piston,
you're creating a lighter part,

which helps the
engine rev more freely

and you're making more power.

The challenge with
an aluminum piston

is you have to manage heat.

If it melts, you don't have
much of an engine anymore.

- [narrator] bentley
experiments for months,

adding copper to aluminum,

trying to find a mixture
that's as light as possible,

but doesn't melt.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- what w.O. Bentley sees
in this aluminum piston

is his passport into
the inner circle,

something that will set him
off on a path to success.

- Lotsa people said, "you'll
never be able to do it,"

but he came up with an
aluminum and copper alloy,

which did work, and it
worked very, very well.

- [narrator] but just as bentley
makes what he hopes will be

a world-changing
breakthrough, war breaks out,

(explosion booming)

threatening everything
he's worked for.

(explosion)

in 1914, world war
I sweeps the globe,

redefining military combat.

Thanks to advances made during
the industrial revolution

and the invention of the
internal combustion engine,

warfare is now mechanized.

- World war I was
the first major war

in which the internal combustion
engine had been available,

and it could be applied to
all sorts of different things.

- [narrator] car-makers are
key to mobilizing armies.

And for the first time,

they bring their
skills to aircraft.

(guns firing)

- it's a really
natural transition

that those who
had worked so hard

in advanced the
automobile engine

would now look at
the airplane and say,

"okay, what if we put one
of these in one of those?"

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [narrator] at
first, it's a war

german manufacturers
are winning,

as their planes out-power and
out-run the allied air force.

Keeping that advantage is
up to one of the country's

leading engine-makers,
paul daimler,

who's under pressure to
adapt the supercharger

for use in aircraft.

- [paul] ernst.

What are you doing here?

- The problem with aircraft
engines is the higher you fly,

the less power you make
because air is less dense,

so you need some sorta device
to compensate for that,

and that was a supercharger.

- [narrator] but the
technology isn't ready.

- Time is ticking.

You made promises.

The board needs a breakthrough

before it's too late.

- And I will get it there.

- [narrator] and daimler
knows figuring it out

could be the difference
between victory and defeat.

Meanwhile, across the channel,

daimler's rival, rolls-royce,

leads aircraft
engine production.

But military commanders believe
bentley's aluminum piston

may give them an
advantage in the sky.

Hopeful its use will
help defeat the germans,

they appoint him captain
and send him to rolls-royce.

- Gentlemen, the german aircraft
engine can fly at top speed

for a full minute longer
than any of our planes.

This aluminum piston,

it'll save the lives of
thousands of our boys.

Do we not owe them that?

Start it up.

- [narrator] bentley's piston
is submitted to a stress test.

The question: Can it run at
maximum power for two minutes,

giving british planes
that critical extra minute

at full speed?

(engine chugging)

- it'll never hold. (chuckling)

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(clock ticking)

- one minute!

- That's enough.
- No!

Let's see how far
we can take it.

1:20.

1:30.

1:35.
- It's enough.

- [w.O.] 1:40.

C'mon.

1:45.

- It's too much, it
can't handle the rpms!

- 1:50, here we go.
- I said that's enough.

- Two minutes!

Now you can turn it off!

Gentlemen, our boys
just outran the germans.

- That was very
impressive, mr. Bentley.

- [narrator] in
1915, rolls-royce

and nearly every british
plane manufacturer

adopts bentley's aluminum piston

and bentley is commissioned
to design engines of his own.

- So, in this first
industrialized, mechanized war,

the companies,
producing these weapons

get connected with patriotism.

They are the ones that
are producing the things

that are gonna save their sons

and they're gonna put an end
to this war once and for all.

- [narrator] some
4,000 bentley engines

keep allied pilots alive

and eventually help win the war.

In 1918, after four years and
almost 40 million casualties,

world war I finally ends.

Bentley is now a national hero,

and he uses that status

to start the car company
he's always dreamed of.

- He wanted to combine

engineering excellence
with speed

to create what he
thought would be

the best car that was
available for the money,

and that was very
much his vision.

- [narrator] in 1919,
bentley makes his first car,

the 3-litre.

Measuring over 14 feet
and weighing two tons,

it's jokingly nicknamed "the
fastest truck in the world."

while others might beat
the 3-litre's top speed

of 80 miles per hour,
it's so tough and reliable

bentley offers an unprecedented
five-year guarantee.

- The bentley 3-litre was
an absolute monster of a car

packed with some fantastic
engineering details.

There's lots of use of aluminum.

There's also the first car

to feature two spark
plugs per cylinder.

What it means is you get
much better combustion,

much better
efficiency, more power;

ultimately, makes it go faster.

- [narrator] it sells for
just over £1,100 pounds,

or $72,000 today.

And like it's
rival, the mercedes,

it's designed to draw
attention on the racetrack.

(engines roaring)

- back in the days where cars
weren't broadly written about,

you had to go and
make headlines,

and racing was seen
as the way to do that.

The old adage is, "win on
Sunday, sell on Monday."

- [narrator] but to challenge
mercedes on the track

and rolls-royce off it,

bentley needs a driver who
will capture headlines.

(engine roaring)

- damn!

He's the guy that
we've been looking for.

- [narrator] few drivers
are as well known

as british billionaire
woolf barnato.

- Woo! (laughing)

- woolf barnato is one
of the great characters.

His father had made a fortune

in the south african
diamond mines

and then died in
mysterious circumstances.

So, here's this archetypal rich
kid who gets into motorsport

and proves to be
really, really good.

- Oh, she's a beauty.

I almost didn't bring her back.

What you've made here
is revolutionary.

- [narrator] barnato doesn't
just want in on the car,

he wants in on the company.

- What do you say?

Your cars, my drivers?

It's gonna be something special.

- Yeah?

- Deal.

- Gentlemen, pleasure

ars
after winning world war I,

the allies are enjoying
booming economies

and skyrocketing car sales,

nowhere more than in
the united states,

where the auto
industry is gobbling up

80% of the country's rubber,

and over half its leather.

By 1922, american
automakers have put

more than 12 million
cars on the road,

over half of them model ts.

But in germany,
massive postwar debts

and costly reparations
have crippled the economy,

where there are just
80,000 cars total.

- In the 1920s, there
were more cars in kansas

than in all of germany.

Mass inflation made it
hard for any company,

especially a car
company, to survive.

- [narrator]
inflation is so high

it costs over 1
million deutsche marks

just to mail a letter.

At daimler,

the company makes bicycles

and typewriters just to survive.

And while paul daimler
successfully takes

superchargers from
planes to cars,

he never lives up
to the reputations

of his father, or
wilhelm maybach.

In 1922, after 15 years
as technical director,

he resigns.

(banging)

- he was one of the people who

led the way for
this new technology,

but at the end of the day,

today, only very few people know

the name paula daimler.

- [narrator] with the
company now rudderless,

the board hires an
ambitious race car designer

to save it from
its postwar slump.

His name, ferdinand porsche.

- Well, we are glad to see you.

- Thank you.

- This company is in need
of some real changes.

- Now, change is
easy, mr. Bowditch.

(finger flicks)

improvement, now,
that's a lot harder.

While I have you here,
I have some big ideas

I'd like to start
implementing right away.

- Ferdinand porsche
was no easy character.

He was hot-tempered.

He had very clear ideas,

but he had some great talents,

and one talent was that
he was a technical genius.

- [narrator] porsche's mission,

create a car that puts daimler

back in contention
with the british,

who are thriving,

(upbeat party music)

especially w.O. Bentley,

whose fast car soon sees
him enjoying the fast life.

- W.O., all of this

is the stuff born
of people's dreams.

And you've made it our reality.

- [narrator] after
a bentley 3 litre

wins at le mans in 1924,

billionaire driver woolf
barnato buys in to the company,

and w.O. Quickly gives him
full financial control.

- Barnato, he took
over the company

and w.O. Bentley was left
to what he was good at,

which was engineering more
adventurous technologies,

like four valves per cylinder,
twin spark ignition.

(engines roaring)

- [narrator] over
the next five years,

barnato builds a team of
famous and wealthy drivers

known as the bentley
boys, who go on to take

four back-to-back wins at
le mans, making bentley

one of the industry's
most prestigious brands.

- Bentley was
certainly out there

with rolls-royce and
mercedes as the greatest

of the super high luxury
quality car brands of the 1920s.

- [narrator] but glamorous
wins on the racetrack

hide a stark financial picture.

(women laughing)

- walter, a word.

Alone?

Cheers.

- What's the matter?

- I've been over the books.

I'm worried.

- We've been winning!

- Yes, but we
haven't been selling.

Each car you sell barely
pays for the next one.

- The problem for
bentley is that

motor racing always has been

and still is
incredibly expensive,

and they just weren't
selling enough cars

on a Monday to justify
winning on a Sunday.

- We'll raise more money.

- You're running out of time.

(soft, mellow music)

- [narrator] as
bentley's fame grows,

henry royce feels the
pressure to respond.

Working from home like a hermit,

royce obsesses over a car

to succeed his
iconic silver ghost.

- Henry royce was somebody
who was almost perpetually ill

because he just couldn't
look after himself.

He wasn't sleeping properly.

He wasn't eating properly,
'cause he was so driven

by this passion to create
these incredible cars.

- [narrator]
rolls-royce has released

only one new vehicle
in over a decade,

to the frustrations of
its managing director.

- Henry, we need to
release a new model now.

Otherwise, perfection
won't matter.

Bentley and his boys are
dominating the headlines.

- I just need a few more tweaks.

(sighing)

- will you at least agree
to a new name?

- Charles always was
ahead of his time.

And it's only
fitting we get a name

that lives up to
the silver ghost.

What do you think
about the new phantom?

(upbeat music)

- the great thing
about the new phantom

was that it perpetuated
the legacy of the ghost.

It was even quieter,
even smoother.

It was just better in every way.

- How about just phantom?

- Now who's the perfectionist.

(chuckling)

(mellow music)

- [narrator] in 1925, 14
years after the silver ghost

stuns the world, bentley's
arch rival, rolls-royce,

finally introduces a
new car, the phantom.

- The phantom had a new engine,

with a much more
efficient cylinder head.

Had overhead valves
rather the side valves.

So it was a step forward.

(upbeat music)

- what are you doing?

- Hold on.

(engine roaring)

damn!

- [narrator] with
a 7.7 liter engine,

versus the bentley's three,

the phantom makes
25 more horsepower

and hits 90 miles per hour,

while the bentley
tops out at only 80.

- What's significant
about the phantom

is not only its
luxury and refinement,

but also its speed.

Bentley was supposed to
be building racing cars,

but here's a rolls-royce that
goes 10 miles an hour faster.

If you were in the very posh,

very expensive club of that era,

that's a big trump
card in rolls' favor.

- [narrator] as royce triumphs,

in germany, postwar turmoil

has crushed the car industry.

With its two leading companies

facing spiraling costs
and plummeting sales,

the banks step in
and force a merger

that will forever
shape the industry.

- For almost 40 years,

daimler and benz were
archrival companies.

It was only really after the
horrors of the first world war

that they had to really
think the unthinkable.

- [narrator] the merger
creates one of the most

prolific car-making
entities in history,

a company that will
go on to bring in

over $100 billion a
year, mercedes-benz.

- The merger of daimler and benz

really gave both
companies a legitimacy

and a springboard to show
they could compete again

against the british companies
like rolls-royce and bentley.

- [narrator] retired, but with
a lifetime seat on the board,

the man who started
it all, karl benz.

(clapping)

- karl benz paved the way for
an entire global industry.

That's a huge
accomplishment for a guy

who started out just
tinkering in his garage.

(upbeat music)

- [narrator] now, newly
merged mercedes-benz

needs a signature car to compete

with the likes of
rolls-royce's phantom.

And it's up to technical
director ferdinand porsche

to perfect paul
daimler's supercharged,

but hard to drive cars.

- The first mercedes sports
cars were enormous beasts.

They had a big supercharger in
front of an enormous engine,

and whilst they were incredible
in the straight line,

they weren't very
good around corners.

(engine roaring)

(crashing)

- if you stick a big
supercharger at the front,

you're going to put
a lot more weight

on the front tires
than the rear.

It's a bad combination.

(rattling)

- hold up, stop, stop, stop.

(tense music)

- [narrator] porsche sees a
simple but impactful solution.

Move the engine further
back in the car.

- Okay, take that.

In front of the
threshold, let's go.

- That helped create a more
even distribution of weight

between the front and
the rear of the car.

And it made it
handle a lot better,

so, suddenly you had a car
that was very powerful,

that actually went around
corners very well, too.

(upbeat music)

- [narrator] the
changes make the car

both shorter and lighter.

(upbeat music)

the result, the mercedes ssk.

Porsche creates a
road-going race car

that hits 120 miles per hour.

For the second time
in its history,

mercedes has the fastest
car in the world.

- They combined everything
which was possible in the 1920s.

It was high technology
at most power.

Everything came together.

- [narrator] but just as germany

and its car makers get
back on their feet,

economic disaster
brings the car market

and the world to
a screeching halt

on black Friday, 1929.

(crowd clamoring)

- the good times in the
1920s only lasted so long

and they resulted
in the epic collapse

of the stock market in 1929,

kicking off the
great depression.

(tense music)

- [narrator] in
the united states,

a quarter of the workforce
lose their jobs overnight,

with car production falling
80% in the next three months.

In England, bentley
sales plummet,

and woolf barnato, the
company's main investor,

loses millions.

- W.O. Works as good
as it's ever been,

but people aren't buying
cars, not like they used to.

- It was a pretty
calamitous time.

Buying cars like bentleys

was just no longer
socially acceptable,

even for people who
could afford them,

and there were very,
very few of them.

- Leave the money to me.

You just get back to work

and keep doing what you do best.

Trust me.

(mellow music)

- [narrator] but
barnato has had enough,

and initiates a plan

to force bentley
into bankruptcy,

and off his books.

(tense music)

- he felt that
he'd already poured

more than enough of his
fortune into bentley.

I think he just felt, "well,"

you know, "I did my best."

- I want you to
stop all payments

on behalf of bentley motors.

It's time to get this
done off our books.

(upbeat music)

- [narrator] six years
after joining mercedes-benz,

ferdinand porsche's ssk reigns

as the fastest car in the world.

Once again, a mercedes
is a must-have car.

- These supercharged cars
made mercedes famous.

Every racing driver wanted
to have such an s type.

Many celebrities, movies stars,

it was a car you had to
have in the late '20s.

- Ferdinand porsche really
comes to be recognized

as probably the foremost german
engineer of his generation.

- [narrator] but a widening
depression reduces demand.

Production is cut
to just 31 ssks,

and porsche's mind turns to
a new, more timely challenge.

- Forget race cars.

Forget cars for the rich,

and start being
driven by the people.

Build a car that
the average family

in germany can afford,

like henry ford
with his model t.

- Many companies and engineers

were thinking about
a people's car,

a car for the mass motorization,

and europe, especially germany,

was very far away from this idea

because costs were extremely
costly in these days.

- You know, if you
can't see that,

I have no business here.

- [narrator] porsche
quits mercedes-benz,

selling his life insurance

to fund his own
people's car project.

But running your own car
company is a dangerous game.

(energetic music)

- I don't like this, walter.

- How do you think I feel?

- [narrator] despite
their brilliance,

by 1931, the bentley
brothers are broke.

- Bentley found itself
absolutely on the brink.

- [narrator] by withholding
payments owed by bentley motors,

barnato forces the
company into receivership.

- Woolf barnato has this image

of this playboy racing driver,

but he's also a super
shrewd businessman

and pretty ruthless, too,

and he ultimately loses
patience with bentley

and orchestrates its downfall.

- [narrator] setting up a sale

to a secret buyer.

(suspenseful music)

- boys, I got good news.

Everything's going to
work out just fine.

- Gentlemen, let
me introduce you

to your new employer,
mr. Henry royce.

- Mr. Bentley.

Mr. Bentley.

(tense music)

it's a pleasure to
finally meet you.

(tense music)

- I have heard it
said that woolf man

(mumbles) threw w.O.
Bentley under a bus,

but I think that w.O.
Was already lying down

in front of the bus
when it came along.

- [narrator] the
buyout forces w.O.

To work for his
rival, henry royce,

test driving rolls-royces,

barring him from
designing the cars

that bear his own name.

- If you're w.O. Bentley,
you must have felt

like you're on top of the world.

Your cars are winning le mans,

you'd being feted as
this great engineer.

And ultimately, it all
comes tumbling down.

So, it must have
been mortifying.

- That's that.

(mellow music)

(planes roaring)

- [narrator] next time,

on the cars that built the
world,

as fascism rises...

- I know you want
to fill the streets

of germany with cars.

- [narrator] porsche's
quest for a people's car

leads to a deal with the devil.

- Let me design them for you.

- Adolf hitler
announces to the world

that germany is going to
revolutionize the auto industry.

He's calling it the people's
car, the volkswagen.

- [narrator] with car makers
looking to motorize the masses,

the japanese see opportunity,

but not before another world war

turns the industry on its head.

- We have to go.

- [narrator] from the
ruins of conflict.

- It's hard to be patient

when my employees are starving.

- [narrator] a new
generation emerges.

(upbeat music)

- he expects perfection.

- Get the team together.

We're going to
launch in america.