To understand the new 2012 Bentley Continental GTC first you must make a trip to the Body Assembly Hall at Crewe, England, the factory where these magnificent automobiles are handcrafted. Bentley Motor Cars, in operation since 1919, started off with the 1920 2 Litre, a vehicle which went on to win the Le Mans in 1924. “Bentley’s have been making beautiful history ever since,” explained our guide, Slim, who has been employed with Bentley for 40 years.

True to Bentley style, the facility, which has 4226 employees that help produce around 150 cars a week, maintains the standards that have been the company’s benchmark. “We still do clay modeling and we still use the human ear to detect engine sounds,” Slim explained.

“Last year we had 8,000 visitors to this site. And most people say that Bentleys are not expensive enough after seeing this process,” he quipped. Truth is, sales are up. In 2010, sales were up 11%, to 5,117, over the previous year’s sales of 4,616. In 2011, global year-to-date sales are up 33% to 5,379 from 4,056.