The Bentley brand is to luxury cars what Everest is to mountains. Those with wallets deep enough to meet the six-figure price tags of the company's vehicles are treated to towering levels of refinement and prestige. Bentley coupes and sedans are mostly hand-assembled in Great Britain at the manufacturer's state-of-the-art Crewe factory. This fusion of old-world craftsmanship with new-world technology is what the Bentley marque is all about.
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Bentley Continental Flying Spur
Bentley Continental GT
A Little History on Bentley
Bentley Motors was founded by W.O. Bentley in 1919 when the first Bentley engine burst into life at New Street Mews, London. From these modest beginnings, W.O’s company went from strength to strength through the 1920s, with an evolving series of acclaimed motor cars and a parade of racing triumphs to prove their outstanding performance. These laurels were capped with five outright victories at Le Mans between 1924 - 1930 and a sixth in 2003.
If we had mission statements in those days, it could not have been expressed more eloquently than in the words of W.O. himself, “To build a good car, a fast car, the best in class”.
These words are just as relevant today as they continue to inform our beliefs, actions and ambitions for the future. Located in Crewe, England since 1946 and owned since 1998 by Volkswagen AG, Bentley Motors is dedicated to making responsive and powerful Grand Tourers with the stamina to cross continents at pace, and drive in refined comfort and style.
PRESS RELEASE FROM BENTLEY
Crewe/Brussels, January 16, 2008 … Dirk van Braeckel, director of design at Bentley Motors, has been awarded the prestigious European Automotive Design Award by Designers (Europe), in partnership with FEBIAC, the Belgian automotive industry association. Previous winners of the award, which honours excellence and originality in automotive design, include Giorgietto Giugiaro in 2004 and Sergio Pininfarina in 2006.
Belgian-born Dirk van Braeckel, who cites cubist architecture, Gucci, Ralph Lauren and classic cars of the '60s and '70s among his inspirations, studied electrical engineering at technical school in his home town of Deinze. He started work as a trainee designer at the Cologne design studio of Ford, which sponsored him to study automotive design at London's Royal College of Art. After graduation he spent ten years with Audi’s exterior design team before moving to Skoda in 1993. His influence came at a pivotal time for the brand and under his direction the company produced several key models, including the Octavia and Fabia.
As the Design Director of Bentley, Dirk van Braeckel was responsible for the Bentley Continental GT, a sleek, 560PS 2+2 coupé that was launched in 2003 and swiftly re-established Bentley at the pinnacle of hand-crafted grand tourers. Subsequently Bentley’s design team developed the four-door Continental Flying Spur and the convertible Continental GTC, as well as the new Bentley Azure and Brooklands coupé. Under his direction the Bentley design team has developed a confident new design language for the 21st century that nonetheless honours the marque traditions.
Speaking of the European Automotive Design Award, Dirk says: “As a young designer I admired the work of Bertone, Gandini and Pininfarina, so it’s an honour to follow in such famous footsteps. My vision for Bentley was to create the ultimate in desirability - a classic of the future. This award is an endorsement of that vision.”
The awards ceremony will take place at the Brussels Exhibition Centre on January 16 2008, in the presence of Her Majesty Princess Astrid of Belgium
