Bentley announces engineering build

Bentley Motors has started work on a state-of-the-art engineering test facility at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England. The new centre is the latest phase in on-going development at the Pyms Lane site where all Bentley cars are hand-built.

With completion due next autumn, the new building will cover more than 4,600 sqm over two storeys. Included in this figure will be 773 square metres of office space and 1550 square metres designed for the installation of a single climate-controlled chassis dynamometer, operating across a range of temperatures from -10°C to +40°C.

There will also be a dedicated laboratory to run Real Driving Emissions (RDE) using the latest state of the art portable emissions measurement systems. Bentley’s Technical Conformity department will be based in the test centre, with over 100 people working in the building.

The centre will allow Bentley to meet increased consumer demand for its current range of ultra-luxury vehicles, including the all-new, performance-orientated Flying Spur, the Continental GT and the new Bentayga Hybrid SUV, which marks Bentley’s first step towards electrification.

It will also play a key role in Bentley’s journey to become the world’s most sustainable luxury automotive manufacturer, giving the business capacity to grow as it diversifies into hybrid and electric models. The British marque has already confirmed that it will offer hybrid or electric variants of all of its models by 2023.

Dr Werner Tietz, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Engineering, said: “Our new engineering test facility will further enhance Bentley’s industry-leading, modern, efficient manufacturing plant and allow us to grow as we diversify into hybrid and pure electric cars. It follows continued expansion and reinforces our commitment to build the finest, handcrafted motor cars in the world.”