Head to Head

摘要

Since its takeover by Volkswagen in July 1998, Bentley Motors has undergone a complete transformation. One only has to walk around the plant in Crewe in northwest England to see the levels of investment that have been made. While the handcrafted skills are still very much in evidence - as seen by the hand-sewn steering wheels that take anything between four and 11 hours to stitch - an element of 21st manufacturing techniques has crept in with a few more robots dotted around the place. There is also a new laser cutting machine that cut shapes into the veneers that were hitherto impossible to make, while a new Gerber cutter has improved the amount of time spent in selecting the optimum position of where to cut the hides - 15-20 for the Arnage and 10 for the Continental GT. It is a very different world to the one that Dr Ulrich Eichorn comes from, so what inspired him to come here?