Bentley’s design team is offering a rare opportunity to take a glimpse inside the usually secret and closed world of their studios and follow the development of a Bentley vehicle from the first sketch right through to the moment it sweeps through the factory gates.

‘An Unbroken Line’ is a new exhibition that’s been unveiled at Bentley’s Crewe headquarters in the UK. It follows the story of creativity and technical precision behind the creation of the latest Bentleys including the Continental GT and Mulsanne.

Many of the very first drawings for the new Continental GT, including concepts consigned to the studio archives, are being shown publicly for the first time. The designers offer a step-by-step guide as to how the interior and exterior styles take shape both through computer virtualization and sophisticated full-scale clay models.

The exhibition also provides an insight into how designers employ state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques such as aluminum superforming, adapted from the aerospace industry, to shape the metal into the complex but clean lines that define the new Continental GT, for example.

‘An Unbroken Line’ will be based at Bentley’s Headquarters in Crewe throughout 2011. The video below provides a preview of what to expect.