Dr. Frank-Steffen WalliserChairman & CEO

AI uses existing images of cars to generate something new, which lacks genuine creativity and brand heritage. A hand sketch captures the designer's raw imagination. Designers have a unique talent that cannot be replaced by machines, and AI sketches often contain errors that human designers must manually fix.

Clay models are quick to modify and allow us to evaluate surfaces in three dimensions under real sunlight. We cannot judge a vehicle's highlights and form language purely on a flat screen. Because releasing a design kickstarts two hundred million euros in tooling, we use clay to ensure visual perfection.

Aerodynamics define rolling resistance and wind drag. At high speeds, minor surface changes can disrupt airflow and create turbulence, which slows down the vehicle. We design body panels to reduce lift and ensure stability at speeds of three hundred kilometers per hour, aligning design requirements with aerodynamic targets.

Top speed depends on engine power, tire rolling resistance, tire pressure, and gearbox efficiency. Lap times, however, are far more complex. They are determined by weight distribution, center of gravity, grip levels, downforce, and how much confidence the vehicle's feedback gives the driver to push to the limit.

In 2013, no production car had completed a lap in under seven minutes. We developed hybrid technology that lowered the center of gravity and utilized four-wheel drive. By optimizing weight distribution, aerodynamics, and tire performance, our driver broke the record on a dry morning, proving that hybrids can be high-performance sports cars.

Before our project, hybrid cars were viewed as boring, reliable commuter vehicles designed strictly for fuel efficiency. We wanted to prove that hybrid technology could deliver intense emotions and raw speed. Reaching that goal required optimizing every mechanical parameter to create a seamless connection between driver and machine.

If a car is fast but difficult to drive, the driver will feel unsafe and refuse to push the vehicle to its absolute limit. A vehicle is only fast when it responds exactly to the driver's steering and braking inputs, giving them the confidence and sensory feedback to drive aggressively.

True perfection requires aligning the product, process, and people. If you arrive at a racetrack and immediately start changing parts, updating software, or tweaking setups, your preparation was poor. You should unpack the car, put it on wheels, and be ready to race immediately without secondary adjustments.

Modern software and calibration define a car's character far more than the underlying hardware. We make minor hardware adjustments to dampers and roll bars, but the primary distinction is driven by software. Everything on the vehicle's surface is customized to deliver a unique brand experience.

We believe a luxury product does not need more screen time. Our passengers already spend enough time looking at phones and tablets. We choose to install beautiful, natural wood veneer instead of passenger screens that would remain black and look unappealing when turned off.

In the past, the accelerator was a physical cable that opened a throttle to inject fuel. Today, the pedal is a digital sensor. When you press it, a computer interprets the input as a torque wish, calculating how much torque to distribute to the front, rear, left, and right wheels.

Human emotions are driven by all five senses, and hearing is directly wired to the brain as a primary warning system. A silent vehicle feels unnatural and lacks sensory feedback. We are developing a crafted sound profile created by an orchestra, rather than a computer-generated sound, to restore that emotional connection.

The cabin between the axles is the safest location in a car, protected by crumple zones at the front and rear. We place both the passengers and the fuel tank in this protected zone. This configuration ensures that the fuel is shielded from impact during collisions.

Robots cannot handle soft, flexible materials like leather, making hand-stitching necessary. Similarly, the final paint polishing requires highly skilled human hands to detect surface variations. Our customers value this craftsmanship because it gives their specific vehicle a personal, handcrafted connection that off-the-shelf products lack.

We must test every paint color for stone chips, climate exposure, cutting, and corrosion. Applying ombre paint requires spraying five to six different tones over a single body panel without any variation in thickness. This level of precision is pure art and demands decades of manual experience.

Closing a door is a customer's first physical interaction with a car. An expensive sound lacks secondary panel vibrations and registers at a deep frequency, indicating solidity. We use acoustic cameras to eliminate swinging panels and spend months engineering the door stiffness and seals to perfect that closing sound.

Natural materials like wood, leather, and wool calm us down by connecting us to nature. Sourcing wood, slicing it thin, and mirroring the grain patterns across the dashboard requires immense craftsmanship. Touching a natural wood surface provides a luxurious, tactile experience that machined plastic cannot replicate.

Staying true to our heritage is what preserves our value. We do not copy competitors or chase passing design trends. Bentley is unique because our brand can cover a highly luxurious sedan and an extreme sports car without diluting its identity. We maintain our characters by focusing entirely on the product.