Bentley Opens $16.5 Million Engineering Test Center For In-House Fuel Economy Certification

Hailed as a major step towards its electrification plan, Bentley today announced that its new, state-of-the-art Engineering Test Centre has received final approval from Britain’s Vehicle Certification Agency.

Built in Crewe, at Bentley’s headquarters, the center can now begin operations, allowing the automaker to test fuel economy ratings and range testing in-house.

“Today’s announcement is another key landmark in Bentley’s ongoing modernization program,” said Dr. Matthias Rabe, head of engineering at Bentley. “It will give us the independence to test our own engines and further enhance our industry-leading manufacturing plant in Crewe, as we move towards offering electric or hybrid versions of all our models by 2024.”

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The two-story, 4,600-square-meter (49,514 sq. ft.) facility was completed on schedule, at a cost of £12.5 million ($16.5 million USD at current conversion rates). With the ability to test WLTP fuel consumption and efficiency tests in-house, Bentley says that it will make those procedures faster.

“The center will also allow Bentley to meet increased demand from customers for our luxury, hand-built vehicles, including the performance-orientated Flying Spur, the Continental GT, and new Bentayga,” said Rabe.

Inside, it features a chassis dyno that can simulate different driving conditions, including gradients of hill and temperature. The lab can go from -20C (-4F) to 50C (122F). All the while, it measures emissions from combustion engines and energy consumption from hybrid and (upcoming) electric vehicles.

The center will house Bentley’s Technical Conformity department, which is responsible for the compliance of all its products with regulations. A dedicated laboratory will run Real Driving Emissions tests using the latest emissions measurement systems. In all, Bentley expects the building to house more than 100 employees.