Bentley Crewe
Encyclopedia
Bentley Crewe serves as the headquarters, design and manufacturing centre of Bentley Motors Limited, located on the outskirts of Crewe
, Cheshire
, England
.
runs starting in mainland Europe and having extensive local un-developed farming lands, quickly appeared a logical choice. Construction started on the potato
fields of Merrill's Farm in July 1938, with the first Rolls Royce Merlin produced five months later. At its peak in 1943 during World War II
, 10,000 people were employed at the factory.
s was concentrated at Derby
. This meant a need to find a new facility to produce motor cars, which it was decided to move to Crewe.
In 1946, the plant produced its first motor car, the Bentley Mark VI
/Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
. Based on the short lived Mk V
, it was designed by Ivan Evernden as the first ever "standard" body car, using a pressed-steel body. The most successful Bentley ever manufactured, Crewe produced more than 5,000 Mk6's, almost as many Bentleys as were made in the entire 20-year pre-war period.
Producing the Derby designed Bentley R Type
until 1955, it was replaced by the Bentley S1
/Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud
, the first car wholly designed, developed and built at Crewe. It was also the last Bentley fitted with a six-cylinder engine, as its successor, the S2
used the Crewe designed and developed all-aluminium Rolls Royce 6.25-litre V8, which has remained in production in various forms ever since.
While the R-Type and S-Type had a series of differences between the Bentley and Rolls Royce versions, the 1965 Bentley T-series
/Rolls Royce Silver Shadow was simple badge engineering to create two different branded vehicles. The only parts difference was the radiator grill, with the Bentley version using a Rolls-Royce badged engine, meaning that it sold fewer vehicles which today are hence generally worth more. The first Bentley/Rolls Royce to use a monocoque
, it was also the first Bentley/Rolls Royce car to use four-wheel disc brakes.
1980's badged engineered Bentley Mulsanne/Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit
was the last Bentley to under-sell its Rolls-Royce sister, as in the same year Rolls-Royce Motor Cars division was sold to Vickers plc
. A business strategy was developed which focused on building up the Bentley brand, resulting in 1982's 140 miles per hour (62.6 m/s) Bentley Mulsanne Turbo, nicknamed the "Crewe missile" which accelerated quicker than some Ferrari
's. After this point, while the sister brands may have looked similar outside, under the bonnet the Bentley's were engineered and powered for the new and emerging class of self-made business people, while the Rolls-Royce was kept squarely in the traditional realms of the gentrified land owner. The result was a surge in Bentley sales, which by 1985 had over taken Rolls Royce sales for the first time since car production moved to Crewe.
1998 saw the launch of the all-new Bentley Arnage
/Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph
, the last dual-brand model, powered by a BMW
4.5litre twin-turbo powered V8. In the same year, Vickers announced its decision to sell its car making division, which included both the Bentley brand, the Crewe factory, and the licensed rights to produce cars under the Rolls-Royce brand. BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen Group
expressed interested in the sale, with Volkswagen eventually outbidding BMW, while Mercedes decided to revive the Maybach
-brand. However, BMW had been negotiating directly with Rolls-Royce plc
, who held a clause in their licensing contract with Vickers to both retain ownership of the brand, and take the brand rights back should Vickers decide to sell the car production company. BMW hence bought the brand licensing rights directly from Rolls-Royce plc, and agreed a handover plan with Volkswagen Group until the end of 2001. In 2000, BMW's new Rolls Royce Motor Cars division announced the building a new manufacturing plant
on the historic Goodwood Estate
in West Sussex
.
into the Green-label (powered by the BMW V8), and the Red-label (powered by the redeveloped RR V8). Very quickly the Red-label out sold the Green-label, and resulted in Volkswagen further developing the engine. Today's version shares no components with the original version used in the S1, but shares its lineage and is according to director of engineering Dr Ulrich Eichhorn:
With the end of production of Rolls-Royce badged cars in 2002, the factory was re-developed to allow an expansion of the Bentley brand through a series of new models. 2003's introduction of the Bentley Continental GT
was to nominally replace the previous Rolls-Royce-based Continental R and T
, but was the first Bentley-only developed vehicle since the merging of the brands in 1931. Equipped with a 5998 cc (6.0 litre) twin-turbo
charged W12 engine
, which produces a DIN
-rated motive
power
output of 560 PS at 6,100 rpm
, and torque
of 650 newton metres (479 ft·lbf) at 1,600-6,100 rpm. Torsen
-based permanent four-wheel drive
is standard, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62.1 ) in 4.8 seconds, and go on to reach a top speed of 318 kilometres per hour (197.6 mph). 2005 saw the introduction of the 4door derived version, the Continental Flying Spur
. Due to a lack of capacity at the Crewe upon the car's introduction, some Flying Spurs destined for markets other than the USA
and UK
were built at Volkswagen
's Transparent Factory
in Dresden
, Germany
. This arrangement ended in 2006, when all assembly work reverted to Crewe.
Unveiled at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
, the Bentley Mulsanne
is notable as the first flagship car to be independently designed by Bentley Motors in nearly 80 years; the last being W.O. Bentley's iconic 8 litre model in 1930. Replacing the Arnage, and using a modified V8 to meet Euro V emissions regulations, the car went on sale during 2010.
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
In preparation for what seemed an inevitable world war, Rolls Royce and the British Government looked to build a shadow factory to ensure production of aircraft engines. Crewe with its excellent transport links through both road and rail, as well as being located in the northwest away from ariel bombingAirstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
runs starting in mainland Europe and having extensive local un-developed farming lands, quickly appeared a logical choice. Construction started on the potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
fields of Merrill's Farm in July 1938, with the first Rolls Royce Merlin produced five months later. At its peak in 1943 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 10,000 people were employed at the factory.
Car production
With the war in Europe over, production of the new jet engineJet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
s was concentrated at Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
. This meant a need to find a new facility to produce motor cars, which it was decided to move to Crewe.
In 1946, the plant produced its first motor car, the Bentley Mark VI
Bentley Mark VI
The Bentley Mark VI was the first post-war luxury car from Bentley.Announced in May 1946 and produced from 1946 to 1952 it was also both the first car from Rolls-Royce with all-steel coachwork and the first complete car assembled and finished at their factory...
/Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
For information on the Silver Wraith II, see Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.The Silver Wraith was the first post-war Rolls-Royce model and was made at the Crewe factory from 1946 to 1959....
. Based on the short lived Mk V
Bentley Mark V
The Bentley Mark V was Rolls-Royce's second Bentley model. Released in 1939, it had little in common to any other model. Incorporating a new-generation straight-6 engine...
, it was designed by Ivan Evernden as the first ever "standard" body car, using a pressed-steel body. The most successful Bentley ever manufactured, Crewe produced more than 5,000 Mk6's, almost as many Bentleys as were made in the entire 20-year pre-war period.
Producing the Derby designed Bentley R Type
Bentley R Type
The R Type is the second series of post-war Bentley automobiles, replacing the Mark VI. Essentially a larger-boot version of the Mk VI, the R type is regarded by some as a stop-gap before the introduction of the S series cars in 1955. As with its predecessor, a standard body was available as well...
until 1955, it was replaced by the Bentley S1
Bentley S1
The Bentley S was a luxury car produced by Bentley Motors Limited from 1955 until 1959.Bentley 's first true complete redesign of their standard production car after World War II and their last standard production car with an independent chassis.These cars were given a new V8 engine in late 1959,...
/Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud
Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud
The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was the core model of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars range from April 1955 until March 1966. It replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, replaced by the Silver Shadow.The J. P...
, the first car wholly designed, developed and built at Crewe. It was also the last Bentley fitted with a six-cylinder engine, as its successor, the S2
Bentley S2
The Bentley S2 was a luxury car produced by Bentley from 1959 until 1962. The changed designation S2 was to mark the new V8 engine and the improved air conditioning which could now be run from it...
used the Crewe designed and developed all-aluminium Rolls Royce 6.25-litre V8, which has remained in production in various forms ever since.
While the R-Type and S-Type had a series of differences between the Bentley and Rolls Royce versions, the 1965 Bentley T-series
Bentley T-series
The Bentley T-Series is an automobile which was produced by Bentley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom from 1965 to 1980. It was announced and displayed for the first time at the Paris Motor Show on 5 October 1965 as a Bentley-badged version of the totally-redesigned chassis-less Rolls-Royce...
/Rolls Royce Silver Shadow was simple badge engineering to create two different branded vehicles. The only parts difference was the radiator grill, with the Bentley version using a Rolls-Royce badged engine, meaning that it sold fewer vehicles which today are hence generally worth more. The first Bentley/Rolls Royce to use a monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
, it was also the first Bentley/Rolls Royce car to use four-wheel disc brakes.
1980's badged engineered Bentley Mulsanne/Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit
Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit
For the cruise ship see MS Silver SpiritThe Silver Spirit is a British saloon automobile made by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, in England. It was launched in 1980.The Silver Spur was a long-wheelbase version of the Silver Spirit, produced at the same time....
was the last Bentley to under-sell its Rolls-Royce sister, as in the same year Rolls-Royce Motor Cars division was sold to Vickers plc
Vickers plc
Vickers plc was the remainder of Vickers-Armstrongs after the nationalisation of three of its four operating groups: aviation , shipbuilding and steel...
. A business strategy was developed which focused on building up the Bentley brand, resulting in 1982's 140 miles per hour (62.6 m/s) Bentley Mulsanne Turbo, nicknamed the "Crewe missile" which accelerated quicker than some Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
's. After this point, while the sister brands may have looked similar outside, under the bonnet the Bentley's were engineered and powered for the new and emerging class of self-made business people, while the Rolls-Royce was kept squarely in the traditional realms of the gentrified land owner. The result was a surge in Bentley sales, which by 1985 had over taken Rolls Royce sales for the first time since car production moved to Crewe.
1998 saw the launch of the all-new Bentley Arnage
Bentley Arnage
The Bentley Arnage is a large luxury car produced by Bentley Motors in Crewe, England from 1998 to 2009. The Arnage, and its Rolls-Royce-branded sibling, the Silver Seraph, were introduced in the Spring of 1998, and were the first entirely new designs for the two marques since 1980.Another break...
/Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph
Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph
The Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, produced from 1998 to 2002, was first unveiled on March 3, 1998 at the Geneva Motor Show. The Silver Seraph replaced the Silver Spur, which ended production in 1997....
, the last dual-brand model, powered by a BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
4.5litre twin-turbo powered V8. In the same year, Vickers announced its decision to sell its car making division, which included both the Bentley brand, the Crewe factory, and the licensed rights to produce cars under the Rolls-Royce brand. BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
expressed interested in the sale, with Volkswagen eventually outbidding BMW, while Mercedes decided to revive the Maybach
Maybach
Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by...
-brand. However, BMW had been negotiating directly with Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
, who held a clause in their licensing contract with Vickers to both retain ownership of the brand, and take the brand rights back should Vickers decide to sell the car production company. BMW hence bought the brand licensing rights directly from Rolls-Royce plc, and agreed a handover plan with Volkswagen Group until the end of 2001. In 2000, BMW's new Rolls Royce Motor Cars division announced the building a new manufacturing plant
Goodwood Plant
The Goodwood plant serves as the headquarters, design, manufacturing and assembly centre for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.Officially opened for business on 1 January 2003, the plant has been expanded twice since, and now covers . It presently employs 800 workers, half of whom are employed in the wood and...
on the historic Goodwood Estate
Goodwood House
Goodwood House is a country house in West Sussex in southern England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Richmond. Several architects have contributed to the design of the house, including James Wyatt. It was the intention to build the house to a unique octagonal layout, but only three of the eight...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
.
Present
Having been heavily under-invested for some time, Volkswagen Group invested £500M in the two years after its takeover of the Crewe plant. It also revived development on the Rolls-Royce V8 which it owned the rights to, resulting in the sub-division of the Bentley ArnageBentley Arnage
The Bentley Arnage is a large luxury car produced by Bentley Motors in Crewe, England from 1998 to 2009. The Arnage, and its Rolls-Royce-branded sibling, the Silver Seraph, were introduced in the Spring of 1998, and were the first entirely new designs for the two marques since 1980.Another break...
into the Green-label (powered by the BMW V8), and the Red-label (powered by the redeveloped RR V8). Very quickly the Red-label out sold the Green-label, and resulted in Volkswagen further developing the engine. Today's version shares no components with the original version used in the S1, but shares its lineage and is according to director of engineering Dr Ulrich Eichhorn:
With the end of production of Rolls-Royce badged cars in 2002, the factory was re-developed to allow an expansion of the Bentley brand through a series of new models. 2003's introduction of the Bentley Continental GT
Bentley Continental GT
-Flying Spur:The four door Continental Flying Spur saloon was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. The Flying Spur utilizes most of the technical underpinnings of the Bentley Continental GT, and was introduced to European and North American markets in the summer of 2005...
was to nominally replace the previous Rolls-Royce-based Continental R and T
Bentley Continental R
The Bentley Continental R is a large, expensive, luxury coupé made by Bentley from 1991 to 2002. It was the first Bentley to feature a body not shared with a Rolls-Royce model since the S3 of 1965, the first to use the GM 4L80-E transmission, and the quickest, most expensive, and most powerful...
, but was the first Bentley-only developed vehicle since the merging of the brands in 1931. Equipped with a 5998 cc (6.0 litre) twin-turbo
Twin-turbo
Twin-turbo refers to a turbocharged engine, in which two turbochargers compress the intake charge. There are two commonly used twin turbo configurations: parallel twin-turbo and sequential twin-turbo...
charged W12 engine
W12 engine
A W12 engine is a twelve cylinder piston internal combustion engine in a W configuration. W12 engines are manufactured in two distinct configurations. One configuration uses four rows of three cylinders merged into two 'cylinder banks' , coupled to a common crankshaft - as in Volkswagen Group W12...
, which produces a DIN
Deutsches Institut für Normung
is the German national organization for standardization and is that country's ISO member body. DIN is a Registered German Association headquartered in Berlin...
-rated motive
Motive power
In thermodynamics, motive power is an agency, as water or steam, used to impart motion. Generally, motive power is defined as a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover. The term may also define something, as a locomotive or a...
power
Power (physics)
In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit...
output of 560 PS at 6,100 rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
, and torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
of 650 newton metres (479 ft·lbf) at 1,600-6,100 rpm. Torsen
Torsen
Torsen is a type of differential used in automobiles. It was invented by American Vernon Gleasman and manufactured by the Gleason Corporation. Torsen is a contraction of Torque-Sensing...
-based permanent four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
is standard, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62.1 ) in 4.8 seconds, and go on to reach a top speed of 318 kilometres per hour (197.6 mph). 2005 saw the introduction of the 4door derived version, the Continental Flying Spur
Bentley Continental Flying Spur (2005)
The Bentley Continental Flying Spur is a four-door variant of the Bentley Continental GT coupé. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur was introduced in 2005....
. Due to a lack of capacity at the Crewe upon the car's introduction, some Flying Spurs destined for markets other than the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
were built at Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
's Transparent Factory
Transparent Factory
Transparent Factory is the English name of an automobile production plant owned by German carmaker Volkswagen, designed by architect Gunter Henn, and opened in 2002. The original German name is Gläserne Manufaktur...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. This arrangement ended in 2006, when all assembly work reverted to Crewe.
Unveiled at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an automotive charitable event held each year on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, considered the most prestigious event of its kind. It is the finale of a week long festival of classic cars events in the Monterey area every year...
, the Bentley Mulsanne
Bentley Mulsanne (2010)
The new Bentley Mulsanne is a high-end luxury car produced by Bentley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom. The name is derived from Bentley's historical racing pedigree, which included five victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans — the Mulsanne Straight being the stretch of the Le Mans racing...
is notable as the first flagship car to be independently designed by Bentley Motors in nearly 80 years; the last being W.O. Bentley's iconic 8 litre model in 1930. Replacing the Arnage, and using a modified V8 to meet Euro V emissions regulations, the car went on sale during 2010.