It's always fascinating seeing highly skilled and specialised craftspeople working in modern production. This is why visiting Bentley's factory in Crewe is always an education.
A demonstration of how ancient techniques have not lost their place among ultra-modern technology in the production of some of the world's finest luxury cars.
This month the factory will begin production of the new Bentayga SUV. Bentley will be the first super-luxury automotive brand to launch a 4x4, and the model is expected to increase the company's sales worldwide by 50 per cent over the next few years.
A demonstration of how ancient techniques have not lost their place among ultra-modern technology in the production of some of the world's finest luxury cars.
This month the factory will begin production of the new Bentayga SUV. Bentley will be the first super-luxury automotive brand to launch a 4x4, and the model is expected to increase the company's sales worldwide by 50 per cent over the next few years.
With styling evolved a step from the EXP 9 concept of 2013, which was not universally welcomed, there are still dissenting voices about the design of the Bentayga.
For me, it certainly doesn't look as bad as some may suggest. This is the first super-luxury SUV. It must look like a current Bentley. There's no chance it should be confused with a Range Rover, or Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator. Softer lines or a more subtle treatment could result in a failure.
With the global boost in sales the Bentayga is expected to deliver, it will secure the future of this historic factory in the north west of England.
This little factory in Crewe built Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines mounted in Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft, as well as four abreast in the Avro Lancaster bomber that took part in the Dambuster raids, helping to curtail Germany's WW2 ambitions.
Some of the finest cars in the world were produced here over the decades since 1938, and still are.
For me, it certainly doesn't look as bad as some may suggest. This is the first super-luxury SUV. It must look like a current Bentley. There's no chance it should be confused with a Range Rover, or Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator. Softer lines or a more subtle treatment could result in a failure.
With the global boost in sales the Bentayga is expected to deliver, it will secure the future of this historic factory in the north west of England.
This little factory in Crewe built Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines mounted in Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft, as well as four abreast in the Avro Lancaster bomber that took part in the Dambuster raids, helping to curtail Germany's WW2 ambitions.
Some of the finest cars in the world were produced here over the decades since 1938, and still are.
The Bentayga's only confirmed specification details so far are with a new 608hp W12 TSI engine, which is more fuel efficient in this car than the 4.0-litre V8 in the Continental GT.
There will be a diesel late in 2016 — based on the 4.1-litre V8 currently offered in the Porsche Cayenne Diesel S — and in 2017 there will be a plug-in hybrid.
Panels for the Bentayga are made in Slovakia, and assembly takes place in Crewe. Likewise, Continental and Flying Spur panels are made in Germany before assembly in the UK. The Mulsanne is still built entirely at Crewe.
Every so often a Bentley engine will be selected at random and taken out of the pool of units available for build and run for eight hours at maximum revs to check reliability. That engine is then scrapped.
There is now a wider variety of wood trim available for Bentleys, although burr walnut is still the most popular. Wood veneers are selected with around a five-week lead time. 17 veneer pieces that are from the same piece of wood for perfect mirror matching on opposite sides of the car are allocated to a vehicle.
Bentley will allocate 10 of these to production and seven are kept back should any of the original 10 be damaged during build. It means damaged veneer can be replaced with an almost identical piece.
The veneers are humidified over a period to make them easier to work with and less likely to be damaged. You could argue that if a customer selects Vavona wood veneer from California redwoods, production on that part of the car began 1,000 years before the rest of it. Individual veneer pieces are now cut by laser.
There will be a diesel late in 2016 — based on the 4.1-litre V8 currently offered in the Porsche Cayenne Diesel S — and in 2017 there will be a plug-in hybrid.
Panels for the Bentayga are made in Slovakia, and assembly takes place in Crewe. Likewise, Continental and Flying Spur panels are made in Germany before assembly in the UK. The Mulsanne is still built entirely at Crewe.
Every so often a Bentley engine will be selected at random and taken out of the pool of units available for build and run for eight hours at maximum revs to check reliability. That engine is then scrapped.
There is now a wider variety of wood trim available for Bentleys, although burr walnut is still the most popular. Wood veneers are selected with around a five-week lead time. 17 veneer pieces that are from the same piece of wood for perfect mirror matching on opposite sides of the car are allocated to a vehicle.
Bentley will allocate 10 of these to production and seven are kept back should any of the original 10 be damaged during build. It means damaged veneer can be replaced with an almost identical piece.
The veneers are humidified over a period to make them easier to work with and less likely to be damaged. You could argue that if a customer selects Vavona wood veneer from California redwoods, production on that part of the car began 1,000 years before the rest of it. Individual veneer pieces are now cut by laser.
Each car, depending on model and specification could use between 11 and 18 hides for the upholstery, supplied by Schedoni, in Italy. German and Scandinavian bulls that are are grazed at high altitude where it's cooler and with reduced risk of insect bites, in fields that have no barbed wire fences.
Leather is still sometimes stitched by hand. One of the optional cross stitch patterns takes around eight hours per seat to finish. Someone stitching a steering wheel might be able to complete two in a day.
Highly skilled people — sometimes generations of craftspeople in the same families — have worked here since the 1930s.
The embroidered B logo in the seat headrest is one of the few stitched items done by machine. It contains 5,103 stitches and is completed in six minutes.
30 years ago, Bentley was barely visible under the shadow of Rolls-Royce. At the start of the Silver Spirit/Mulsanne era, 90 per cent of production at Crewe was Rolls-Royce. Thanks to cars like the Turbo R and Continental R during the 1980s and 1990s, Bentley managed to create its own identity which continued to gain strength. By the time of the Silver Seraph and Arnage, 90 per cent of Crewe's output was Bentley.
Leather is still sometimes stitched by hand. One of the optional cross stitch patterns takes around eight hours per seat to finish. Someone stitching a steering wheel might be able to complete two in a day.
Highly skilled people — sometimes generations of craftspeople in the same families — have worked here since the 1930s.
The embroidered B logo in the seat headrest is one of the few stitched items done by machine. It contains 5,103 stitches and is completed in six minutes.
30 years ago, Bentley was barely visible under the shadow of Rolls-Royce. At the start of the Silver Spirit/Mulsanne era, 90 per cent of production at Crewe was Rolls-Royce. Thanks to cars like the Turbo R and Continental R during the 1980s and 1990s, Bentley managed to create its own identity which continued to gain strength. By the time of the Silver Seraph and Arnage, 90 per cent of Crewe's output was Bentley.
The Le Mans win piggybacking Audi technology, and the current GT3 racer take Bentley back to its roots in the 1920s.
The Queen has two Bentley state limousines. These two disparate branches of the automobile tree — ultimate luxury and ultimate performance — are combined better here than anywhere else.
Talking to the executives here about the products, they said the Bentayga needed to be the 'Bentley of SUVs'. For 100 years we've had the best examples of any products in their fields described as 'the Rolls-Royce of . . .' whatever it might be.
The fact that the company can now claim to have 'the Bentley' of whatever segment they launch a car in, and we understand what they mean shows that it is getting something fundamentally right.
By Simon Harris
The Queen has two Bentley state limousines. These two disparate branches of the automobile tree — ultimate luxury and ultimate performance — are combined better here than anywhere else.
Talking to the executives here about the products, they said the Bentayga needed to be the 'Bentley of SUVs'. For 100 years we've had the best examples of any products in their fields described as 'the Rolls-Royce of . . .' whatever it might be.
The fact that the company can now claim to have 'the Bentley' of whatever segment they launch a car in, and we understand what they mean shows that it is getting something fundamentally right.
By Simon Harris
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