I thought most of you guys wouldn't be able to get to the factory but as I was invited I'd walk you through. It is a staggering experience, as an automotive engineer I have seen plenty of car plants from all over the world but nothing like this.

The tour started off in the museum with a couple of old priceless blowers on display, the story of the brand from WO on and one of the original clay models of the new shape GT, the lineage of the brand is clear to see. In the corner of the room was a brand new top spec mulsanne which we were able to climb all over. That is simply on another level to the GT but in the next room was a new flying spur which we were again allowed all over and the leap from the old spur to the new one is giant and not that far behind the Mulsanne in my opinion.

Then on to the real treat, through the customer selection room which resembles an old study full of Bentley artefacts where customers can see all the various options in terms of leather and wood, you get a real sense of the brand DNA.

Across the road you enter in past a new Speed and a Merlin engine (Did you know they were built on the Crewe site?) and into the main build shop. There are 180 cars being built, mostly LHD with 55 completed every day.

You start at the end with the guys doing final inspection, auditing the auditors with 2 cars separated from production to be checked against a master, and the guys setting panel gaps etc. Everything is being checked and if it isn't good enough it is put right. There was a speed with the engine and transmission out but I got the feeling that nothing got through.

The shells come in painted, the doors, boot, and bonnet are removed and stored for later and the fit out starts. The line moves in 9 minute intervals and sub-assemblies are built up in sections, i.e. the engine, gearbox,prop, front subframe, suspension, brakes, rear subframe and exhaust goes in in one go in under 9 minutes as a subassembly built off line in 9 minutes. There are 37 bolts holding this lot together.

There is a small section stitching the steering wheels and it takes 4.5hrs to do one. The attention to detail is staggering, and with the contrasting stitching it is done by hand and each seat is stitched 5 times, I'd almost feel guilty ordering it to be honest with the amount of painstaking work that goes into it. Although the tour the guys on the shop floor were kind, considerate, very informative and highly enthusiastic.

We also say the dashboard subassemblies being built and the leather being applied by hand by a team of technicians before being tested and built into a car. The level of car and attention was evident in all parts of the build.

We walked down the line and at the bottom of the original build shop is the mulsanne production line which is a totally different beast and far more hand built at a lower speed than the main line for obvious reasons.

The next area was the wood shop and the level of investment in kit is highly evident. The veneers are cut from Spanish stock using several laser cutters with all the different options available to see. They are fitted to the substrates using a very clever process before being sprayed by robot using 5 coats of clear lacquer. The wood is then prepared by hand through multiple steps to get to the finish we see in the cars. I have never seen anything like this before. For those of you with Piano black it is actually walnut with a black lacquer.
There were a number of areas in which parts were returned due to the finish just wasn't good enough although tbh I couldn't see anything

Then onto the leather shop where the seats are built and the hide is cut. There are 9-10 hides in a GT and 20 in a Mulsanne, the leather is only sourced from northern italy from Bulls feeding at altitude as they don't suffer from marks on the skin, flies, wire etc. The hides are cut by computer on a motorised bed with high utilisation.

A quick walkthrough the logistics section back down the line and on to the reception where lunch was served and questions asked.

Overall fantastic, great to see how the cars are built and there is simply nothing like it.

I'll try to post some of the pictures of the museum, and the FS but no pictures allowed in the factory.

 

Thanks for sharing your factory tour! Agree that the attention to detail at Bentley is incredible.

 

Here are a few links of an assembly line walk through. Next best thing to being there...

 

Brilliant. Thanks for the video's.
I must go when I visit the relatives in Cheshire next year.

Les.

 

Very cool to see. Would be interested to talk to the people that work there. After all even though it's a Bentley it's still a repetitive assembly line job. Day in day out doing the same thing. I would last maybe two days. Once the novelty wore off it still assembly work. The worst part is none of those workers would ever be able to park one in there garage. But I do love watching the process. Great videos. Thanks.

 

I spoke at length to the guys on the shop floor, not an unhappy person to be seen in fact their enthusiasm was infectious. I spoke to the guys in trim and wood and they are more like craftsman than shopfloor robots I have seen in other places. The hand built element can't be underestimated, and I can't remember seeing a car that looked the same. Quite a few of the guys were rotated where boredom might be an issue, i.e. powertrain.

Quite a few of the cars were being driven around and I got a real sense of pride in a job well done. They are currently very excited to be building the new SUV and they are working on the Beyond program which they are really proud of.

 

Excellent videos, gives a real sense of the complexity of these motors. Your visit must have been a real eye-opener for you.

When I did a test drive of the V8 a short while back, the sales manager who accompanied me had visited the factory. When I mentioned that my wood was piano black he said the factory guys told him they got quite discouraged when all their exquisite wood was covered with coats of paint. I would too I guess.

 

my wife and i are taking the crewe tour in may.any suggestions? comments ?