Rolls-Royce and Bentley : Sixty Years at Crewe

For over sixty years, the Pym’s Lane factory in Crewe produced the benchmark of British motoring elegance in its Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. It was the home of the company’s car production from World War II until 2002, when its takeover by the Volkswagen Group meant an end to Rolls-Royce production and an expansion of Bentley. In this updated edition of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, motoring expert Malcolm Bobbitt focuses on the evolution of the characteristic models – the Bentley Mk VI and the R-Types, and the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, Silver Dawn, Silver Cloud, Silver Shadow and Silver Spirit, together with the Silver Seraph and Bentley Arnage – while remembering the notable figures who played a vital role in the creation of these famous vehicles. Bobbitt illustrates the aftermath of the war on the company’s car production and its move from Derby to Crewe, recounting its success in the 1950s and 1960s, the near bankruptcy of the company in the 1970s, its subsequent recovery and final takeover that removed Rolls-Royce from its production line. Within these pages, Bobbitt has cultivated a varied collection of photographs to create a visual account of the history of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars and to appreciate the company’s organisation and its meticulous methods of design, testing and construction that led it to produce these legendary vehicles.