[1] In preparation for World War II, Rolls-Royce and the British government searched for a location for a shadow factory to ensure production of aero-engines.

[3] Crewe, with its excellent road and rail links, as well as being located in the northwest away from the aerial bombing starting in mainland Europe, was a logical choice.

Construction of the factory started on a 60-acre area on the potato fields of Merrill's Farm in July 1938, with the first Rolls-Royce Merlin aero-engine rolling off the production line five months later.

Its successor, the Bentley S2, used the Crewe designed and developed 6.25-litre, all-aluminium, Rolls-Royce V8 engine, which has remained in production in various forms ever since.

1998 brought the launch of the all-new Bentley Arnage/Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, the last dual-brand model, powered by a BMW 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8 engine.

In 2000, BMW's new Rolls-Royce Motor Cars division announced that they would build a new manufacturing plant at the historic Goodwood Estate in West Sussex.

Having been heavily underinvested for some time, Volkswagen Group invested £500M in the two years after its takeover of the Crewe plant.

Due to a lack of capacity at the Crewe upon the car's introduction, some Flying Spurs destined for markets other than the USA and UK were built at Volkswagen's Transparent Factory in Dresden, Germany.