Bentley: The British Grand Tourer Defining Luxury Motoring for a New Generation

In the hierarchy of luxury automobiles, Bentley occupies a position that is both historically significant and commercially robust. The Crewe-based manufacturer — founded in 1919 by W.O. Bentley and now part of the Volkswagen Group — produces vehicles that combine the highest levels of automotive craft with performance capabilities that would have been unimaginable to the engineers who built the original Bentley Boys racing cars at Le Mans in the 1920s.

In 2026, Bentley is producing the most technically accomplished and the most commercially successful cars in its 107-year history — and its transition toward electrification is being managed with the same commitment to quality and the same respect for the brand’s heritage that has always defined the company’s approach.

The Bentley Heritage

W.O. Bentley’s founding vision was for a car that was fast by reason of its excellence — not despite it. The original Bentley racing cars, which won Le Mans five times between 1924 and 1930, demonstrated that a car could be both exceptionally powerful and exceptionally refined — a combination that defined the Bentley character and that remains central to every vehicle the company produces today.

The Rolls-Royce acquisition of 1931, the Volkswagen Group acquisition of 1998 and the subsequent investment in new manufacturing technology, new model development and the Mulliner personalisation programme have each transformed Bentley’s commercial position without compromising the founding commitment to craft quality and dynamic performance.

The Bentayga

The Bentley Bentayga is the most commercially significant vehicle in the company’s modern history. Introduced in 2015 as Bentley’s first SUV, the Bentayga established the super-luxury SUV category that the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Lamborghini Urus subsequently joined, and has consistently been the brand’s best-selling model.

The Bentayga’s combination of extraordinary interior quality — hand-stitched leather, solid metal controls, wood veneers selected by hand from a dedicated woodshop — with genuine off-road capability and the dynamic performance of a sports car makes it the most versatile expression of Bentley’s philosophy. For the high-net-worth buyer who wants the Bentley experience in a format that accommodates four adults in genuine luxury across any terrain and any condition, the Bentayga is the definitive answer.

The Continental GT

The Bentley Continental GT is the company’s most celebrated and most collected model — a grand touring coupe of extraordinary refinement that has defined the luxury GT category since its introduction in 2003. The current third-generation model, powered by either the W12 or V8 engine, delivers a combination of performance and refinement that no competitor has successfully matched.

The Continental GT’s interior — which takes over 100 hours to complete by hand at the Crewe factory — is widely regarded as the finest of any production car. The precision of the veneer matching, the quality of the leather finishing and the operational precision of every control reflect a level of craft investment that places Bentley closer to the great luxury watchmakers than to the conventional automotive industry.

The Flying Spur

The Bentley Flying Spur — the four-door expression of the Continental GT’s philosophy — provides the rear-seat passenger experience that the grand tourer’s format cannot accommodate. The current Flying Spur, with its optional rear-seat entertainment and massage systems, its rotatable front centre console and its air suspension tuned for both comfort and dynamic capability, is arguably the finest rear-seat driven car in the world at its price point.

For the high-net-worth buyer who is driven rather than driving, the Flying Spur provides an experience that combines the refinement of the finest luxury hotels with the dynamic capability of a genuine performance car.

The Mulliner Programme

Bentley’s Mulliner personalisation programme — the oldest coachbuilder in the world, having worked with Bentley since the company’s founding — allows clients to specify their vehicle to a level of detail that transforms each car into a genuinely unique object. The Mulliner Bespoke programme, which offers virtually unlimited personalisation options, has produced some of the most extraordinary automotive objects in existence — cars whose interior specifications reference family crests, favourite artworks or personal memories in materials and craftsmanship of the highest possible standard.

For the serious Bentley collector, Mulliner Bespoke pieces command significant premiums on the secondary market — the combination of a desirable model and an exceptional personalisation represents the strongest investment proposition in the Bentley portfolio.

The Electrification Strategy

Bentley’s transition toward electrification — which will see the company’s first fully electric model arrive in the coming years — is being managed with careful attention to the brand’s heritage and its clients’ expectations. The commitment to maintaining the character, the refinement and the craft quality that define Bentley across the transition to electric powertrains reflects the company’s understanding that its clients are buying an experience, not a technology.

The Verdict

Bentley in 2026 is the automotive brand for the buyer who wants the finest expression of British luxury craftsmanship in a vehicle that performs as well as it is made. Its combination of the Bentayga’s practicality, the Continental GT’s grand touring excellence and the Flying Spur’s rear-seat luxury makes it the most complete luxury automotive proposition available — and the Mulliner programme ensures that every Bentley can be made as individual as its owner.

Explore Bentley’s current model range and discover British luxury motoring at its most accomplished and most beautifully crafted.