{"id":146845,"date":"2024-08-31T08:01:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T07:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autocar.co.uk\/car-news\/features\/what-do-car-designers-drive-work"},"modified":"2024-08-31T08:01:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T07:01:03","slug":"what-do-car-designers-drive-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/31\/what-do-car-designers-drive-to-work\/","title":{"rendered":"What do car designers drive to work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bentley<\/a><\/p>\n

Bentley\u2019s designers have eclectic taste, as we found out when we paid a visit to its top-secret studio viewing area<\/p>\n

\n

Assume, if you can, the mindset of somebody who spends their days creating new Bentleys.<\/p>\n

Your mission is to satisfy people who think it\u2019s normal to pay \u00a3200,000 plus for a set of wheels but who, rather than merely requiring luxury<\/a>, want cars that are more durable, more day-to -day practical and more dynamically capable than similarly priced rivals.<\/p>\n

Though these are tough targets, the general road test feeling is that current Bentleys<\/a> achieve them. But how do you keep it going in future? Those of us who will never design a Bentley imagine that the creatives must need \u2013 at least part of the time \u2013 to live parallel lives to their customers in order to fully understand them: turning left when boarding a Boeing, buying suits in Savile Row and sporting Rolexes and titanium-handled toothbrushes. But is it true?<\/p>\n

Above all, what are their cars like? No single possession better illustrates the likes and leanings of a car- conscious person than the make and model they choose for themselves.<\/p>\n

To find some answers, we recently jumped at the chance to meet 30 or so members of Bentley \u2019s design staff at an event they called \u2018Design and Drives\u2019. It took place behind the tall and forbidding iron gates of the super-secret design studio viewing compound, which is usually used for assessing prototypes and radical paint jobs in daylight but out of the public eye.<\/p>\n

This compound is at the unimproved eastern end of Pyms Lane, the piece of former public road on the outskirts of Crewe colonised a few years ago by Bent ley when it started erecting engineering buildings on the other side of the road. Now it\u2019s the urn of the original HQ building to get the treatment: it is being extensively renovated to house<\/a>, among other things, a bigger and better design studio, complete with a \u2018design garden\u2019 on the roof.<\/p>\n

It \u2019s an indicator of the heavy workload of design departments nowadays that a tightish two-hour slot was allocated for Design and Drives: participants parked their cars in the compound on arrival, then reappeared around midday for a slightly extended lunchtime.<\/p>\n

I was ushered through the gates to meet organiser Steve Crowe, the studio engineering design manager who put the event together and had brought his own clean but well-used Porsche 911<\/a> (996) to take part.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Crowe seems a natural-born organiser, having founded a body called PLMC (Pyms Lane Motor Club) back in 2013. Today, 450 Bentley people \u2013 10% of the company\u2019s workforce \u2013 belong. They hold shows, tours, driving days and weekend social events throughout the year to feed members\u2019 love of cars.<\/p>\n

What was I expecting? Plenty of Porsches<\/a>, I suppose. They embody quality, prestige and practicality just as Bentley does. But the field \u2013 both people and cars \u2013 turned out to be fascinating and far more desperate than I expected, until I remembered that one unifying characteristic of great car creators is that they draw influence from surprising and disparate sources. Here\u2019s a flavour of the attendees\u2026<\/p>\n

Jaguar E-Type\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Robin Page\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Design director Page\u2019s beautiful red 1967 Series 1 1\/2 roadster<\/a>, which he has owned for about 13 years, is the opposite of a garage queen. He bought it during his first stint at Bentley, then took it to Gothenburg on the ferry when he was hired as Volvo\u2019s design boss. Page drove it back again when he took up his current post nine months ago, reporting a high level of interest from Swedish car lovers because of its rarity. Over there, they\u2019re more used to \u201cbig Yanks\u201d as classics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was this car\u2019s form language that made me want to be a car designer,\u201d says Page. \u201cI love everything about it \u2013 the haunch, the long bonnet, the short boot. I was born in Coventry a couple of miles from Browns Lane, where this car was built, and its aura affected everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volkswagen Up GTI\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jack Allenet<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Allenet acquired his baby GTI three months ago to replace an MGB GT<\/a> that was failing as a daily driver. A digital surfacing manager, he admires the Golf GTI<\/a> family and especially likes the Up<\/a> for its honesty and timelessness. And, of course, it drives brilliantly. He reckons it\u2019s the recent VW<\/a> model that stays closest to the values of the original Golf GTI in size, simplicity and edgy looks. He loves the tartan seats (a GTI tradition) but regrets the absence of a golf ball gearknob.<\/p>\n

Northern Light e-trike\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Graham Browne\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Browne not only designed and built this novel e-trike but he also owns the company that can make one for you. His Northern Light Motors \u201cticks away in the background\u201d while he does his day job. Formerly TVR\u2019<\/a>s chief designer, Browne has been building electrified single-seat trikes for the past few years, showing them at places like Bicester Heritage<\/a>. The one he brought to Crewe was a slightly modified version of the \u00a36500 630 model (named after the wavelength of the colour red). He also makes a 428 (blue) and a 557 (green).<\/p>\n

The original idea of providing radically designed zero-emissions transport has been achieved: Browne now says he is following up a customer request for a version with roughly 600bhp per tonne on tap, plus a 120-mile range. He says it will be beefier in design and \u201cquite a bit more expensive\u201d.<\/p>\n

Aston Martin V8 Vantage\/Jaguar F-Type<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Adrian Charnell\/Alex Charnell\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

t\u2019s not often you run into a father and son working in the same design studio, let alone one with a Jaguar F-Type<\/a> and the other an Aston V8<\/a>. Alex, the son, is a design validation engineer who always wanted an F-Type V6 and reckons his 20-plate late Series 1 P340 is the ideal, offering both a better shape and exhaust pops on the overrun unavailable on the later Series 2. The deep blue paint and black pack (\u201cchrome dates F-Types\u201d) are the icing on Alex\u2019s cake.<\/p>\n

Adrian, Alex\u2019s dad, is also a studio engineer. He pushes back at a cack-handed comment I make about engineers and designers having different objectives. \u201cOur job is to help designers achieve their objectives,\u201d he says firmly, and when you see how well design meets engineering in the average Bentley, you get that. Adrian bought his 10-plate Aston after several Porsche Boxsters<\/a> because, now semi-retired, he likes GT-style touring in Europe. So far, Adrian has done a trip to Tuscany and found the car \u201camazing\u201d, though he also notes that it \u201cfeels raw\u201d alongside Alex\u2019s newer F-Type.<\/p>\n

110cc homebuilt trike\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tom Warwick\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This tiny contraption looks perfect for pulling high-speed circuits of the design compound, in and out of the other cars, but that would be a bit antisocial, says its owner. A studio engineer, Warwick started the project by buying a Lifan 110cc single-cylinder motor in the pub, and the project grew in two years of spare moments. It\u2019s loud and a bit wild, especially since it wears special rear PVC \u201coverboots\u201d that make it oversteer everywhere.<\/p>\n

Caterham Seven\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chris Whitlow\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

There have been three Sevens in Whitlow\u2019s motoring life; this latest has been in his garage for three years. It started life as a 1.6-litre 310R<\/a> but has since been modified to produce 190bhp instead of the standard 150bhp, and though it is still a capable road car, it is also used for motorsport.<\/p>\n

A digital modeller at Bentley, Whitlow uses the car a lot and recently took it on a 2500-mile trip to the Alps \u201cwithout a grumble\u201d. He has had Elans<\/a>, 911s and a Porsche 928<\/a> but for sporting driving sees the Caterham<\/a> as the cream of the crop.<\/p>\n

Reliant Robin<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Andy Plumb\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well known in the design world for his varied career, Plumb was the last designer at now-defunct Reliant. He did the final styling refresh on the Robin, joined Morgan<\/a> while the Super 3<\/a> was being created, and then joined Bentley. He is also famous for writing the latest Reliant three-wheeler book, entitled ironically Tipping Point.<\/p>\n

Despite a keen knowledge of the Robin\u2019s faults, Plumb uses one as a daily driver, having bought it on eBay in 2014 with 92,000 miles on the clock. He did a \u201cnut and bolt\u201d rebuild during lockdown and the car is now perfect. His other car is an Audi A2<\/a> and he has recently been eyeing up Citro\u00ebn 2CVs.<\/p>\n

Austin Allegro\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fred Dams<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This fine Allegro 1.1-litre has many special features: it is an early model with the legendary Quartic steering wheel, it is a rare three-door, it has been sympathetically restored \u2013 and it was owner Dams\u2019s wedding car. An 18-year Bentley man who cites his first big achievement as designing the exterior changes for the Mk2 Continental GT, Dams says the car was actually bought by his wife in 2005, five years before he met her. It is used for occasional drives to work, cruising at a stately 45mph.<\/p>\n

Dams is keen to point out that its clean, simple, 1970s lines are pretty and surprisingly modern; it was the car\u2019s poor quality that built its bad reputation. \u201cThe Allegro is a very important member of our family,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ll never sell it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Porsche 944\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Darren Day<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bentley\u2019s head of interior design is celebrating 30 years at Pyms Lane \u2013 and he has been regularly driving his 1991 Porsche 944 S2 to work there since he bought it in 2007. It\u2019s a well used car, with one engine refresh in its 200,000 miles, but resplendent in Panthero Black it looks perfect.<\/p>\n

Day loves the 944 for its rearward cab, interior design, driving position, unique plan view, wheel arches and ability to carry two kids and racing bike. In fact, he loves the car so much that when he decided during lockdown to get a local specialist to \u201cgive it some paint\u201d, he extended the job to correcting some subtleties of its body shape. He taped it up like a studio model and had his panel man make small corrections to some lines and surfaces. The result is a beautiful, timeless car.<\/p>\n

And finally\u2026\u00a0<\/h2>\n

My Bentley day ended far too soon. I\u2019d like to have spent more time talking, among others, to Ben Gladas about his superb red Alfa Romeo<\/a> Brera (an early import that once took me up the hill at Goodwood) and to Dave Gibson about his 143,000-mile Volvo 245, one of many family Volvos.<\/a><\/p>\n

However, I did end my time behind Bentley\u2019s steel gates with a viewing of the latest star of the firm\u2019s 30-strong classic collection, an immaculate 1965 T1 sa loon brought along by Bentley \u2019s communications director and collection custodian, Wayne Bruce. Found in Florida a decade ago, the car recently returned from a three-year refurb at famous, Essex-based P&A Wood. It turns out that this machine, whose siblings shared their bodies with the Rolls-Royce<\/a> Silver Shadow from 1965, was the very first of either marque to roll off the Crewe production line. It was pure treasure \u2013 and a perfect way to end two hours of delight.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Bentley\u2019s designers have eclectic taste, as we found out when we paid a visit to its top-secret studio viewing area<\/p>\n

Assume, if you can, the mindset of somebody who spends their days creating new Bentleys.
\nYour mission is to satisfy people who think …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":380,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[6165],"tags":[61,122,127,129,124,128,125,132,131,133,126,130,123,66,94,88,97,56,64,65,60,112,40,75,95,104,33,120,105,101,98,115,30,29,41,86,70,69,68,72,71,26,118,108,87,46,55,48,52,54,51,50,83,62,58,57,109,35,59,63,85,79,82,96,80,27,81,114,44,42,43,45,38,39,110,117,100,111,116,73,89,90,92,91,93,84,78,37,102,34,36,77,67,74,99,113,119,28,121,32,47,49,53,103,31,76],"class_list":["post-146845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-airpods","tag-anime","tag-anime-characters","tag-anime-cosplay","tag-anime-edits","tag-anime-merchandise","tag-anime-movies","tag-anime-news","tag-anime-recommendations","tag-anime-reviews","tag-anime-series","tag-anime-streaming","tag-animes","tag-app-store","tag-app-store-samsung","tag-appgallery","tag-appgallery-oneplus","tag-apple","tag-apple-music","tag-apple-tv","tag-apple-watch","tag-bbc-sport","tag-best-mobile-games","tag-bixby","tag-bixby-xiaomi","tag-champions-league","tag-cyberpunk","tag-cyberpunk-2077","tag-fantasy-football","tag-fifa","tag-football","tag-formula-1","tag-fortnite","tag-free-fire","tag-free-mobile-games","tag-freebuds-pro","tag-galaxy-a52","tag-galaxy-note-20","tag-galaxy-s21","tag-galaxy-watch-4","tag-galaxy-z-fold-3","tag-game","tag-games","tag-golf","tag-harmonyos","tag-how-to-backup-iphone","tag-how-to-factory-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-restore-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-5","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-6","tag-huawei","tag-ios","tag-ipad","tag-iphone","tag-live-soccer","tag-lol","tag-macbook","tag-macos","tag-mate-40-pro","tag-mi-11-lite","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p-huawei","tag-mi-smart-band-6","tag-minecraft","tag-miui","tag-mlb-scores","tag-mobile-game-design","tag-mobile-game-development","tag-mobile-game-marketing","tag-mobile-game-monetization","tag-mobile-games","tag-mobile-gaming","tag-nba-scores","tag-nba-standings","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-scores","tag-nhl-scores","tag-one-ui","tag-oneplus","tag-oneplus-9-pro","tag-oneplus-buds-pro","tag-oneplus-nord-ce-5g","tag-oxygenos","tag-p40-pro-plus","tag-poco-x3-pro","tag-pokemon","tag-premier-league","tag-pubg","tag-pubg-mobile","tag-redmi-note-10-pro","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-pay","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-steam","tag-steeam","tag-top-10-anime","tag-valorant","tag-when-do-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-does-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-is-the-iphone-7-coming-out","tag-world-cup","tag-xbox-series-x","tag-xiaomi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/380"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146845\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}