BENTLEY Motors has opened its state-of-the-art engineering test centre at its Pyms Lane site.

Operations have started at the luxury motor maker's HQ in Crewe after official approval from Britain's Vehicle Certification Agency. The firm's latest investment follows the recent recertification by the Carbon Trust marking three years as a carbon neutral site.

The facility will allow Bentley to carry out in-house emissions, fuel economy and electric range testing to the highest global standards, all from the test centre that has been christened, 33 Pyms Lane and will house 100 staff.

Bentley says the opening represents "another major step forward in the company's drive towards electrification, a key pillar in Bentley's Beyond100 strategy to become the world's most sustainable, luxury automotive manufacturer".

The £12.5 million centre will allow Bentley to carry out the latest fuel consumption and efficiency test procedures more swiftly in-house.

It is a two-storey, 4,600 square metres facility and includes 773 square metres of office space, as well as space for the installation of a climate-controlled chassis dynamometer, which allows engineers to simulate different gradients of hill, measuring exhaust emissions from combustion engine cars, or electrical energy consumption from hybrid and future electric models.

There will also be a dedicated laboratory to run Real Driving Emissions.

Dr. Matthias Rabe, Member of the Bentley Board for Engineering, said: "This is another key landmark in Bentley's ongoing modernisation programme.

"It will give us the independence to test our own engines and further enhance our industry-leading manufacturing plant in Crewe, as we move towards offering electric or hybrid versions of all our models by 2024."