- Bentley shut down its Crewe factory to film Supersports: Full Send at speeds up to 193km/h.
- A modified Supersports featured disabled safety systems and a hydraulic handbrake for stunt driving.
- Over 100 crew and a fully controlled setup enabled high-risk filming with minimal damage.
Bentley has revealed how it pulled off one of its most unusual projects yet, turning its own Crewe factory into a full-blown stunt arena for the Supersports: Full Send film, starring rally ace Travis Pastrana.
For three days, the entire site was shut down, something Bentley says had never been done before, to allow filming at speeds of up to 120mph (around 193km/h). It’s a striking shift for a brand better known for polished grand tourers than tyre smoke and sideways antics.
Supersports, but with the gloves off
The car at the centre of it all wasn’t standard. Engineers effectively turned a Supersports into a no-rules machine, stripping out electronic safety systems and reworking key components for maximum theatrics.
The electronic limited-slip differential was tuned for aggressive locking, stability control was disabled, and bespoke software enabled both static and rolling burnouts.
The real trick, though, was a custom hydraulic handbrake integrated with the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, allowing the car to rotate sharply into tight factory corners rather than relying purely on power.
As Bentley engineering manager Alistair Corner put it: “The mission for our ‘Pymkhana’ car was to turn the already-capable Supersports up to 11 – to remove all the safety features that the production version must include, and to add functionality to allow the car to dance around the narrow roads of our factory.”
Controlled chaos behind the scenes
Pulling it off required serious planning. Every scene was choreographed in detail, with risks carefully managed across a working industrial site. Think gas lines, fibre optics and power infrastructure just metres from high-speed slides.
More than 100 people were involved, from camera crews and drone operators to medics, fire teams and vehicle specialists. Even a modified Bentayga was used as a camera car, fitted with a crane rig for tracking shots.
Despite the scale (and the driving) things stayed largely intact. “The filming days were incredibly intense but ultimately the most fun we’ve ever had at the campus,” said Mike Sayer, Bentley’s Head of Product Communications. “Despite the beyond-the-limit driving involved… the only damage sustained… was one smashed wing mirror!”
The finished film, released earlier this year, also hides 12 “easter eggs”, from historic race cars to subtle nods to Bentley’s heritage, for viewers to spot.
It’s a bold bit of storytelling for the British marque. Whether you see it as brand stretch or clever reinvention, one thing’s clear: Bentley is keen to show it can still get a little sideways when it wants to.
