Inside the Opus

One Hundred Years of Bentley Motors

The Bentley Centenary Opus celebrates one hundred years of Bentley Motors in a special and unprecedented way. Together with Bentley Motors we have created a limited edition book that will delight all lovers of the brand. The Opus tells special iconic stories in a dynamic way that include Bentley’s glorious 24 Hour of Le Mans victories, iconic cars of the past and the extraordinary people who created them. This emphatically is not just a record of the past century but also a celebration of the future of Bentley Motors.

List of Contributors

High definition photography on a giant scale used over the 780 pages, breathing new life into historic as well specially commissioned photographs. With over half the content never been seen before in this manner and weighing over 70lbs, the Bentley Centenary Opus has been lovingly designed, printed and bound by hand in England. Incredible contributors have joined to produce this compelling publication, names such as Ralph Lauren, Alice Temperley, Jean Todt and many more.

List of Chapters

Highlights

Bentley Watercolours

With over 40 years experience and a passion for painting cars, internationally acclaimed artist and member of the Royal Society of Artists and Designers, Phillip Dutton-White embraced the challenge to immortalise the cars. Over several months Phillip was in constant discussion with the award winning Bentley Motors Design Team in creating these wonderful watercolours.

Craftsmanship

This chapter looks at the dedication and attention that goes into building the magnificent Bentley Mulsanne; bodywork, leather, wood and final assembly. Opus photographers were given unprecedented access to create a photo essay that covers each step of the process and shows the passion of the members of Bentley Motors at Crewe. The chapter explains why Bentley is the pinnacle of luxury mobility.

Race Day

Enjoy an all access pass to the world of Bentley Team M-Sport. The dedication and exhaustion that goes into racing at the top level – from 6 hour to 24 hour races. The culmination of all the work from M-Sport to Bentley Motorsport can be seen in this chapter.

Winning Edge

The success stories of Bentley Motors from Le Mans through to modern day record breaking endeavours such as Pike’s Peak and the Ice Speed Record are covered in this chapter. Also included is a specially commissioned photo-shoot of the original Blue Train. The Bentley Centenary Opus also takes you behind the scenes of a GT3 race series with unrivalled access. Opus were invited to go behind the scenes of not only race day but into the M-Sport division to discover the meticulous attention to detail that goes into creating the Bentley Team M-Sport GT3 Continental racing cars.

Unbroken Line

This chapter was created in co-operation with the Bentley Design Team. Starting with an in-depth 3 way interview with Head Designers and moving onto the creation of the Continental GT and Continental GT Convertible – from pencil line to production line.

Enduring Spirit

The chapter tells the birth of Bentley and Bentley Motors to the present day, incorporating the specially commissioned Polaroid portrait photo-shoot featuring ten landmark cars. The Bentley Boys and Girls that created the aura behind Bentley are celebrated showcasing old and rare archive photographs that have been expertly restored for the Opus. The chapter includes artefacts from private collections including those that belonged to W.O. Bentley himself.

The Icons Polaroids

The Official Bentley Centenary Opus contains an exclusive gallery section of ten stunning car portraits taken on the rare Polaroid 20 x 24 Studio camera.

Gatefolds

Two epic gatefolds

The Bentley Centenary Opus contains two giant fold-out gatefolds, each measuring 2 meters in width, including 56 exclusive Bentley watercolours, celebrating 100 years of grand touring and a comparison of old and new.