Bentley Unveils New 'Winged B' Logo, To Showcase Concept Car On July 8

British legacy automaker, Bentley recently unveiled a new ‘Bentley Wings’ emblem. The new ‘Winged B’ is the fifth iteration in Bentley’s 106-year history and will be previewed with the reveal of a future vision concept car on July 8.

When W.O. Bentley founded his car company, he sought an emblem to symbolise his commitment to performance. He commissioned his friend, F. Gordon Crosby, a renowned motoring artist, to design it. Crosby's original creation featured a prominent 'B' for Bentley encased within a pair of wings which he ingeniously designed each wing with a different number of feathers. These wings were chosen to represent the exhilaration of motion, referencing W.O. Bentley's background as an aircraft engine designer during World War I.

Upon Bentley's acquisition by Rolls-Royce in 1931, a symmetrical emblem was introduced. The iteration featured a simplified 'B' within a black oval, flanked by ten straightened feathers on each side. The symmetrical design proved to be the longest-standing version of the emblem, remaining in use until approximately 1996. The 1996 revision saw a return to a more ornate design, with the central 'B' echoing Crosby's original, and the wings regaining more curvature.

Following the Volkswagen Group's purchase of Bentley in 1998, the emblem was redesigned in anticipation of the 2002 Continental GT launch. This design paid homage to the 1919 original by reverting to an asymmetrical layout, featuring ten feathers on the left wing and eleven on the right. This specific asymmetric Winged 'B' has served as Bentley's primary brand identity ever since.

The design of the new Winged B was led by Robin Page, supported by a small and dedicated internal team. Initially, a competition was run, allowing the entire design team to submit concepts and sketches. The final design chosen was proposed by Young Nam, a member of the Interior Design team, and that concept was then developed and detailed into the final version.

The shape of the new wings themselves are sharper than the outgoing version, reminiscent of the angled wings of a Peregrine Falcon. The lower feathers underneath the B have been removed entirely, for a visually cleaner shape. The centre of the wings retains the ‘B’ center jewel but redesigned so the device can stand alone and be used as a graphic without the wings. The jewel has been redesigned to capture the details seen in luxury watch design.

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“If a luxury brand is the product of the stories it has created, then its emblem is its signature. In more than a century of history, this is only the fourth evolution of Bentley’s iconic Winged B, and redesigning it was a formidable task for which we’ve taken great care. In an era of ever-increasing complexity and fidelity from digitalisation, an exercise of simplification and refinement is a modern necessity – and so the new emblem is cleaner, sharper and more impactful than its predecessor. The new Winged B – and the concept car that introduces it – both symbolise a powerful, exciting future for this company and its exceptional, handcrafted products,” Robin Page, Director-Design, Bentley, said.