What goes into building a Bentley?
With Frank Walliser · Hosted by Raj Shamani
Episode summary
Bentley CEO Frank Walliser joins Raj Shamani on Figuring Out for a deep dive into what actually goes into building one of the world's most iconic luxury cars. Walliser explains how Bentley balances heritage and innovation, why a single interior can take more than 100 hours of handcraft, and the engineering decisions behind hybrid powertrains, W12 engines, and bespoke customer commissions. The conversation also covers how Bentley competes in an era of electric disruption, what luxury really means when technology becomes commoditised, and why the future of ultra-premium cars is as much about experience as it is about horsepower.
Key takeaways
- 1.A Bentley is not assembled — it is commissioned; more than 80 percent of cars leave the factory with customer-specified personalisation.
- 2.Handcraft is not nostalgia at Bentley — it is a quality and durability decision that machines still cannot replicate at scale.
- 3.The transition to electric luxury is not about replacing the engine; it is about redefining what silence, torque, and cabin experience mean to a Bentley driver.
- 4.True luxury is time saved and emotion delivered, not just materials used — the cars that win will be the ones that remove friction from the owner's life.
- 5.Heritage is a constraint only if you treat it as a museum piece; Bentley treats 105 years of history as a filter for which innovations are worth pursuing.
Full transcript
Transcript edited lightly for readability. Timestamps refer to the YouTube video above.
Frank, welcome to Figuring Out. I want to start with the question every car lover asks — what actually makes a Bentley a Bentley?
It is the combination of engineering without compromise and craftsmanship without shortcut. We have the freedom to do things that mass manufacturers cannot — use materials that take longer to prepare, test components longer, and build a car around the customer rather than around a production target.
How much of the car is actually built by hand versus by machine?
The body and powertrain use the most advanced automation because precision there is non-negotiable. But the interior — the stitching, the wood, the leather — is still done by people who have trained for years. A steering wheel alone can take five hours to sew. That is not marketing; it is the only way to get the result.
Luxury is being redefined by technology. How does Bentley stay relevant when a Tesla can be faster and a Mercedes can be smarter?
Speed and screens are table stakes now. Luxury is moving from possession to experience — how the car makes you feel when you close the door, the smell of the leather, the absence of road noise, the way the seat fits. Technology should amplify that, not replace it. Our job is to make technology invisible.
What is the hardest part of leading a brand with 105 years of history?
Respecting the past without being imprisoned by it. Every decision we make is filtered through what the founders would have recognised as a Bentley — performance, craftsmanship, exclusivity. But those values must be expressed in new ways, whether that is a W12 today or an electric drivetrain tomorrow.
Final question — what should someone who will never own a Bentley learn from how you build cars?
That excellence is expensive because it is slow. In a world obsessed with speed, the people and companies that win are the ones willing to do the things that cannot be rushed. That applies to cars, careers, and almost anything worth building.