Brawn with a silver spoon

To some at Crewe the idea of a hopped up Mulsanne went against all the firm stood for, but the Turbo R would save Bentley's bacon

- NATHAN CHADWICK

Some of the world's best ideas have been formed on boring, long commutes.

Few, however, have had the same impact as Mike Dunn's trudge across Essex one night in the early 1980s.

He was the chief development engineer for Bentley, a brand largely seen as an afterthought by its then owner, Vickers, which was doing a fine trade in Rolls-Royces. Look at Bentley today and the difference is marked: despite contributing towards less than 1% of parent company Audi's 1.2m car sales, it is responsible for more than 10% of the profits on a mere 7000 units. It's a remarkable turnaround story that can trace its beginnings right back to one night near Heathrow - and a humble Ford Escort.

Mike joined Bentley from Ford in 1983, a year after Crewe had fitted the Mulsanne with a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger, boosting power and torque by 50% to 300bhp and 450lb ft. The only problem with all this extra vim was that the suspension and tyres didn't have the matching vigour - other than the tyres' speed rating, nothing had been upgraded. Mike found he was simply unable to keep pace with a Ford Escort. Something drastic needed to be done, and Mike devoted a great deal of his time, effort and development budget sorting out the handling. The result was a handling kit that aimed to improve roadholding and reduce the lurching body roll that would otherwise have had a mix of Bollinger and beluga caviar sprayed over the Connolly hide in swift order. Bentley proposed 10% extra stiffness, but Mike went further: stiffer springs, uprated dampers and larger anti-roll bars raised roll stiffness by 30%.

The effect was seismic, and what Mike's bosses thought would be a niche option soon became the most-ticked box on the order form. For the first time in decades, Bentleys had both power and panache. But Mike wanted more - a 50% improvement in roll stiffness - and, seeing the potential, the board came up with a new model: the Bentley Turbo R was born.