Bentley - the company
Bentley was founded in 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley, or "W.O." as he was known
W.O. Bentley's Mission statement is as true today as it was then "To build a fast car, a
good car, the best in its class"
The first Bentley car, EXP 1, was completed in London in 1919
Cricklewood was the first home of Bentley, producing cars until 1931
Rolls-Royce bought the company for £125,275 in 1931. From then on production
moved to Derby until 1940, where the famous Derby Bentleys were made
The Pyms lane factory was built in1938, originally to manufacture the Merlin engine -
26,065 engines were built between 1938 and 1946
Car production commenced at Crewe in 1946, the first Bentley to roll off the
production line was the Mark V1
In 1998 Bentley was acquired by VW, since then the site has seen £1billion of
investment
There are 4,000 Bentley employees worldwide - Bentley has been named as one of
Britains Top Employers for two years running
Bentley operates in 58 countries, with 193 sales sites
10,120 cars were delivered in 2013, a 19 per cent increase on 2012
The Americas is Bentley's largest market, with 3,140 cars delivered to customers in
2013. China follows a close second, with 2,191 cars delivered. The UK is third with
1,381 cars
Operating profit for 2012 was €100.5m
Exports accounted for 86 per cent of Bentley's total turnover in 2013.
According to latest figures, Bentley has a market share of 25 per cent, and is the
leading luxury car maker in the world. In other words: one in four cars sold above
€150,000 is a Bentley.
Bentley is the third largest automotive R&D investor in the UK, and in the top 20
overall
Over the past 10 years Bentley has donated £500,000 to local and national charities
Bentley works in partnership with various establishments across the world. Bentley
places include a dining room at Mosimanns in London, the Bentley Suite in St Regis
NY and Bentley commissioned barber chairs in Pankhurst London
Bentley - the factory
The Bentley Motors factory is a fully integrated site – all aspects of car production
from Design, Engineering, Manufacture, Quality, and Sales & Marketing take place in
Crewe
Bentley offers factory tours to both customers and members of the public, 5,221
people visited Bentley in 2012
The site covers an area of 434,891m
2
, with 151,522m
2
indoors
3,600 employees are based at the Pyms Lane site
Pyms Lane is also home to the largest Bentley Boutique, which sells over 130 items
from the Bentley Collection range. Popular items include a black and red leather
weekender bag, a Bentley pen and USB in the shape of Bentley key fob
The solar panel installation on the factory roof is the largest in the UK. 20,000 panels
totaling 5MW are situated over a 3.45 hectares of roof space, generating enough
energy to power to 1,200 houses over a year.
On average 25 Continental and four Mulsanne are built per day
It takes 104 hours to build a Continental GT, 130 hours to build a Flying Spur, and
399 hours to build a Mulsanne from start to finish
546 employees work on the Continental and Flying Spur production line
144 employees work on the Mulsanne production line
The factory is the largest producer of the W12 engine globally, 66,537 have been built
since the introduction of the Continental GT in 2003
Once a week an engine undergoes a full audit test – running the engine at speeds up to
6,000 revolutions per minute
Every car undergoes a 500-650 point checklist before final sign off, dependent on
options
20 cars per week undergo a full audit, which includes full function, road test (around
40 miles per test), and a full interior and exterior check
Every car is tested on a rolling road, which is equivalent to four miles
In 2012 Bentley test drivers racked up 14,000 miles driving cars before handing over
to the customer (not including audit miles and Quality Assurance Centre miles)
Bentley’s “Crewe Genuine Parts” facility at Orion Park in Crewe holds over 60,000
parts, providing support for all cars built from1955 to present day
Orion Park has facilities to cut a key without an original to copy, for Bentleys dating
to the early 1960s
More than 700 businesses supply 18,000 parts from 32 countries and six continents to
Crewe - 82 suppliers are located within a 50 mile radius of the factory
Bentley - the craftsmanship
The Bentley matrix grill originates from the golden era of Bentley racing in the 1920s,
when it was fitted as a protective mesh stone guard
The headlights of the Mulsanne bear a three spoke design, which echoes the “tripod”
reflector shield of a 1930s Bentley
Bentley’s winged B mascot was redesigned by Tim Potts in 2006, the original was
designed by Charles Sykes and first used on 6½ Litre Bentleys in the late 1920’s
Bentley has had a styling studio on site since 1951
Bentley leather is sourced from Northern European bulls, the more temperate climate
zones ensure there are fewer parasites and the leather is naturally blemish free
Offering 24 “standard” leather colours. customers may also select from a virtually
unlimited palette of leather hides,
Of the 399 hours it takes to build the flagship Mulsanne from start to finish, 200 of
these are dedicated to crafting the interior
The steering wheel of one Mulsanne takes one person 10 feet of thread, 5 hours and
620 stitches to complete
To contrast stitch the entire cabin of a Continental GT takes 25 hours
Each sheet of veneer is 0.6mm thick, and is stored in a humidor to ensure it remains
pliable
There are 16 veneer options available, including 14 types of wood
167 employees work in the Wood Shop, it takes four years to master every one of the
17 processes
There are 120 “standard” Bentley paint colours to choose from, however colour
matching means the actual palate is effectively limitless
More unusual customer requests have included matching upholstery to a customer’s
nail varnish, and matching paint to another’s food processor
The winged B radiator badge was designed by F. Gordon Crosby in 1920. The colour
of the winged B badge has appeared in a variety of colours over the years. All 3 Litres
up to No.355 had blue badges, then red appeared on Speed model 3 Litres, blue on
6½ Litres, green on Speed 6, and black on 4½ and 4¼ supercharged, then blue on 8
Litres and 4 Litres
Bentley – Records and awards
Though best known for 6 victories at Le Mans - Bentley's first racing victory was at
Brooklands in Surrey in 1921
Bentley first won at Le Mans in 1924, and from 1927 to 1930 they won each year
Bentley was the first non-French make to compete in the first Le Mans 24 hour race in
1923
Bentley boy Woolf Barnato remains the only driver to have won Le Mans every time
he entered, in 1928, 1929 and 1930
Bentley’s success at Le Mans in 2003 remains the most recent outright British win at
Le Mans. Completing 3,196 miles (5,146 km) over the course of the event, the two
cars recorded an average speed of 133 mph (214 km/h)
In 2011 rally champion Juha Kankkunen achieved a new ice speed record of 205.48
mph (330.695 km/h) in a Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible, latterly known
as the “Ice Speed Record” car
In 2003 the first generation Bentley Continental GT was named the most significant
production car design at the NAIAS eyes on design awards, since then the car has won
numerous awards including Grand Tourer of the Year award by Top Gear
magazine, and is twice winner of the ‘Classic Car of the Future’ award from Motor
Klassik magazine
The redesigned reception and entrance area at Bentley Motors’ headquarters in Crewe
was named “Overall Winner” at the 2012 Society of British Interior Design Awards,
as judged by a range of influential designers including Professor Jimmy Choo OBE
In 2012 the Bentley Continental GT Convertible received the prestigious Auto Trophy
award for “Imported Convertiblesover 30,000 euros" as voted for by readers of “Auto
Zeitung” magazine
W.O. Bentley’s own company car, a 1930 8 Litre, is still driven, in October 2012
it completed the seven-day long 2012 China Rally of International Classic Cars in
Shanghai
Tim Birkin’s 4 ½ Litre Supercharged ‘Blower’ Bentley single seater set a new world
best for a Bentley at Bonhams Goodwood auction, the legendary car set a £4.5 million
auction record
The Mulsanne has also been widely recognised, in 2011 it was named Luxury Car of
the Year by EVO Middle East, in addition to “Best of the Best” by Robb Report