The Heritage Garage, A New Home For Bentley’s Iconic Examples

A new home for some of its most iconic examples from the last 103 years of company history, the new Bentley Heritage Garage.

Remodelled from part of the Crewe factory, it complements the existing Bentley Lineage display in CW1 House, providing a showcase for the 42-car-strong Bentley Heritage Collection. 

Specifically, it will house 22 cars from the Collection, currently spread from 1919 onwards but eventually focusing on those members of the fleet built in Crewe.

By next summer, the Collection will be split across three different areas. As said, the Heritage Garage will house the Crewe-built models, everything from 1946 onwards.

Then, in a redeveloped display in CW1 House will be the Cricklewood models ranging from 1919 to 1931 and Derby-era Bentleys ranging from 1931 to 1939.

Whereas, eight motorsport cars in the Collection, including Speed 8s from Le Mans, Ice Speed Record and Pikes Peak cars and GT3 racers, will form a separate display.

Outstandingly, with the new garage, now every member of Bentley’s Heritage Collection is kept on the Bentley campus, for the first time ever.

Speaking of which, every one of the 42 cars in the Collection has some special significance in Bentley’s history.

For instance, the Cricklewood section of the Heritage Collection contains some of the most iconic pre-war Bentleys on the planet. 

The starting point is the legendary EXP2, the second car built by W.O. Bentley and the oldest Bentley in the world.

Next, two Blowers, one of them Team Car #2, the most valuable Bentley in existence, along with a 1929 Speed Six, and the 1930 8-litre that was W.O.’s personal car for two years.

Flanking them is Bentley’s Mark VI, which was both the first car to emerge from the Crewe factory and an instant sales success. 

In the Collection, the AGO 2 is finished in two-tone green over black and provides a vital link between the 4 ¼-litre Embiricos of 1938 and the iconic Type R Continental of 1952.

On top of that, the Jack Phillips designed aluminium alloy V8 engine, which made its debut in 1959, provides another important narrative link. 

Naturally-aspirated, it powered the Collection’s 1963 S3 Bentley Standard Saloon (176 FGH) and the 1984 Bentley Continental Convertible (A455 YGJ), the Chairman’s own company car.

That’s not all, Bentley’s sales and global fame also saw a dramatic improvement when the 6.75-litre V8 was turbocharged. 

Examples of this powertrain in the Collection include the 1991 Turbo R and the 2001 Arnage Red Label finished in Fireglow Red, the first model made under Volkswagen Group ownership. 

Plus, the 6.75-litre Jack Phillips V8 continued the Bentley tradition of effortless torque all the way through to 2020. 

Serving in its final iteration for the Mulsanne’s powertrain, it developed 505 Hp and 1,020 Nm of torque, a top speed of 296 Km/h and a 0 to 100 Km/h time of 5.1 seconds. 

Beautifully, the Collection’s Mulsanne was the second ever model off the production line, chassis 000002, finished in Imperial Blue with an interior trimmed in Shortbread.

Adding to that, the 2003 Continental GT sparked a revolution for Bentley, propelling the company from a maker of less than 1,000 highly coachbuilt cars a year to more than ten times that figure. 

Chassis VIN 20001, the Collection’s right-hand drive model in Cypress Green, was the very first Continental GT off the Crewe production lines.

Subsequently, Bentley soon became as noted for the compact and immensely powerful 6.0-litre W12 engine as it had been for the 6.75-litre V8. 

Heritage Collection models powered by the W12 include three generations of Flying Spur and both generations of the high-performance Continental Supersports coupe. 

Also powered by the versatile W12 is the 2016 ‘first of line’ Bentayga, chassis 00001, one of the most significant models launched in Bentley’s 103-year history.

Meanwhile, the advanced Bentley 4.0-litre V8 is represented in the Collection by the Continental GT V8S, launched in 2014. 

As the first all-new Bentley V8 since the mid-1950s, a newer version of the 4.0-litre V8 today is offered across every Bentley model line.

Bentley’s head of Heritage Collection, Mike Sayer, concluded, “Having now rebuilt the Collection to fully chart our history, we have an ongoing commitment to add to it with each significant new model we launch. For example, the Collection now includes the 2019 Bentayga Hybrid, which was both the first-ever plug-in hybrid Bentley and an important step in our ‘Beyond100’ strategy towards electrification. As we continue to evolve, we want our guests and colleagues from all areas of the company to be able to share the rich history of Bentley Motors. The Heritage Garage brings that history to vivid life, and means we can actively reference our past while setting the course for our future.”

All in all, the Bentley Heritage Garage in the original 1930s brick-built factory was previously the ‘project forum’, where models such as the 2003 Continental GT were planned and developed. 

Surrounded by the beautiful line-up of vintage Bentleys, its light and airy setting is at heart of the factory and is visible for everyone to admire as they walk by.