Bentley expands Crewe HQ with new Engineering Technical Centre

Bentley has opened a new Engineering Technical Centre at its Crewe headquarters which will play a ‘vital’ role in the creation of its future models.

Opened by Bentley chairman and CEO Frank-Steffan Walliser, the new centre aims to ‘bring together virtual and physical properties’ with the 13,000sqm facility including a prototype workshop for ‘models of the future’.

Located across two floors, the facility is now home to many departments which have been moved from one of Bentley’s oldest buildings, which is currently transforming an electric vehicle production site in time for the start of car building in 2027. The new model is expected to be Bentley’s first full production electric vehicle.

Matthias Rabe, Bentley’s Member of the Board for R&D, said: “Our Beyond100+ strategy maps out a fundamental programme of change, using what is known now and adapting that vision as we adopt yet-to-be discovered technologies in the future. We are working on the next generation of electrified driving, digitally connected cars, with driving autonomy that will achieve the highest levels of luxury mobility.

“This new Engineering Technical Centre is a key building block for the successful delivery of this strategy and helps enable engineering concepts to become reality at the heart of development and integration, as we look to continue to create the most luxurious and performance-oriented vehicles on the market.”

Bentley’s Beyond100+ strategy aims to ‘reinvent’ the brand’s ‘entire product range’ to tie in with a more electrified presence in the future. The opening of the Engineering Technical Centre follows on from the creation of a new design studio and the ongoing build of a new paint show and integrated logistics centre.