Bentley’s Supersports: FULL SEND—Unleashing 120 MPH of Chaos on the Crewe Campus
Behind the Curtain: Building a High-Octane Spectacle with Travis Pastrana
Crewe, England – April 2, 2026 – The tire smoke has settled, the engine noise has faded, and the dust is finally clearing from Bentley’s most ambitious film project to date. Today, the legendary British manufacturer pulls back the curtain on Supersports: FULL SEND, the adrenaline-fueled spectacle featuring freestyle motocross icon Travis Pastrana. This groundbreaking short film, driven by a relentless pursuit of automotive artistry, represents a monumental shift in how Bentley communicates its engineering prowess and dynamic heritage to the world.
The project, affectionately nicknamed ‘Pymkhana’ after the address of Bentley’s headquarters, Pyms Lane, was conceived in April 2025. It was an ambitious concept born from a unique opportunity: a standard production Supersports, representing the pinnacle of Bentley’s luxury performance, needed a truly fitting send-off. The development of the car provided the perfect canvas to create a new type of film for the marque—one that would not only showcase the vehicle’s capabilities but also push the boundaries of what Bentley as a brand dares to do on screen.
What followed was a journey that transformed a working factory into a cinematic playground. The production involved more than 100 professionals, a dedicated engineering team, and a historic first: the complete closure of the Bentley campus to permit filming at speeds reaching up to 120 mph. The resulting film, a masterclass in controlled chaos, is now available for viewers to explore, offering a rare glimpse into the meticulous planning required to execute such a high-octane vision.
The Genesis of ‘Pymkhana’: A Concept Takes Shape
The seed for Supersports: FULL SEND was planted during a routine engineering discussion in early 2025. As the team explored the creative possibilities surrounding the new Supersports, the idea of an automotive gymkhana filmed on the actual factory roads began to emerge. Initially, the concept was met with a degree of skepticism. Bentley’s headquarters, a site of intricate infrastructure and delicate machinery, is a place where safety is paramount. High-speed driving, drifts, and burnouts are activities usually reserved for professional race tracks or closed circuits, not the historic campus that has manufactured some of the world’s finest automobiles for over a century.
However, as the engineers delved into the technical specifications of the new Supersports, they discovered that the car’s capabilities were far more advanced than the average driver might realize. The production vehicle is already a precision instrument, featuring a sophisticated electronic limited-slip differential, dynamic stability control, and a gearbox that allows for rapid shifts under load. What if, the engineers asked, we could remove some of the safety features that the production car must include and push the car to its absolute limit?
The concept was pitched to Bentley’s Board of Management, and to everyone’s surprise, it received a resounding green light. The board understood the vision: a film that would showcase the inherent capability of the Bentley engineering team and the performance of their flagship model. The project was officially christened ‘Pymkhana’, and development of the ‘Pymkhana’ car began in Bentley’s R&D department. The goal was simple yet audacious: transform the already potent Supersports into an extreme performance machine capable of executing balletic drifts, controlled slides, and tire-shredding burnouts on factory asphalt.
The Technical Transformation: From Production Car to Factory Monster
Preparing the Bentley Supersports for the extreme demands of Supersports: FULL SEND required more than just a cosmetic overhaul. Bentley’s engineering team, led by Alistair Corner, had to modify the vehicle’s chassis, powertrain, and software to allow it to perform maneuvers that would be strictly prohibited under normal driving conditions.
One of the key challenges was modifying the electronic stability control system. This system, essential for safety in a production vehicle, limits the driver’s ability to initiate slides. The Bentley engineers adjusted the electronic limited-slip differential to lock earlier and with more urgency, and they permanently disabled the stability control. To allow for both static and rolling burnouts, special software modifications were written to control the throttle inputs and gear changes.
The most significant engineering feat was the design and integration of a working hydraulic handbrake. Traditional handbrakes are not a standard feature on modern performance cars, and integrating one into a vehicle as sophisticated as the Supersports required a complex solution. The Bentley team designed a new hydraulic circuit and integrated it with the gearbox control system. This allowed the driver to initiate controlled slides through the tight corners of the factory road network without relying on excessive power oversteer.
Alistair Corner, the Bentley engineering manager who oversaw the project, reflects on the transformative process: “The mission for our ‘Pymkhana’ car was to turn the already-capable Supersports up to 11 – to remove all the safety features that the production version must include, and to add functionality to allow the car to dance around the narrow roads of our factory. The team of engineers that developed the car was outstanding, learning on-the-fly and coming up with creative solutions to turn the car into a monster. Crucially, what that special car can now do is an extension of the inherent ability within Supersports – the Pymkhana car is a Supersports without limits, that demonstrates what our chassis and powertrain can do when taken to the extreme.”
A Car Fit for a Legend: The Supporting Cast
As filming approached, the Bentley team realized that preparing a single vehicle for the extreme demands of the film was not enough. Damage was an inevitable possibility when driving at high speeds on factory roads. To ensure the project could proceed without interruption, a second, back-up car was also prepared.
Both vehicles were wrapped in a bespoke, gymkhana-inspired design by graphic artist Deathspray, and custom-painted 22-inch wheels were fitted to complement the aggressive styling. To create the shower of sparks seen near the climax of the film, a pair of titanium skid blocks were mounted beneath the star car. These blocks, when scraped against the asphalt, generated a spectacular visual effect, adding a dramatic flourish to the driving sequences.
The final choice of driver for the project was Travis Pastrana, a legend in the world of action sports. Pastrana, a freestyle motocross rider and rally driver known for his daring stunts and fearless approach, was the perfect fit for a film that demanded both precision and daring. Dates for filming were set for September 26-28, 2025.
Choreography of Chaos: A Factory Transformed
Planning the filming was a meticulous process. Before any driving could commence, each scene was planned and choreographed in detail to minimize risk to the car, the driver, and the factory. As a working manufacturing facility, the Bentley campus presents a myriad of potential hazards. The team had to take extra precautions to protect gas mains, fiber optic cables, water pipes, and even the main electrical supply to the entire factory—all of which were located inches away from some of the dynamic driving locations.
Scenes involving other vehicles, such as the car park chase with the Pikes Peak Bentleys and the Brooklands burnout sequence, required additional coordination. The team employed two precision drivers to work alongside Pastrana, ensuring that the car’s movements were synchronized and controlled.
The final plan involved filming at a variety of iconic locations within the Bentley campus, including the factory roads, the car park, the long straight, and the Brooklands area. The goal was to create a film that would showcase the Supersports’ capabilities in a variety of driving scenarios, from high-speed runs to controlled drifts and burnouts.
A Coordinated Effort: A Squad of Over 100
The filming itself was a massive undertaking, involving a squad of over 100 people. The team was split between the production crew, responsible for capturing the footage, and supporting teams from across Bentley, responsible for ensuring the safety and smooth operation of the event.
The main filming crew comprised around 25 people, including two main camera operators, two drone operators, two mini-cam technicians, and a three-person crew that operated a purpose-built tracking car built out of a first-generation Bentayga W12, complete with a U-Crane arm. The tracking car was essential for capturing the dynamic driving sequences from different angles and speeds.
Support teams included a 10-person set of location marshals who were responsible for guaranteeing that each location around the factory was completely closed-off for filming. Other support personnel included 25 vehicle specialists (in two teams), a factory support team, medics, a fire crew, car wranglers, heritage car drivers, and a health and safety unit. The coordination between these teams was essential to ensure the safety of the project and the smooth operation of the filming.
The Big Day: Filming at the Factory
Filming began on September 26, 2025, and despite the extreme conditions and the complex choreography, it went almost without a hitch. The production crew worked tirelessly to capture the dynamic driving sequences, while the supporting teams worked to ensure that the factory remained safe and operational throughout the filming.
The star car performed exceptionally well, executing controlled drifts, slides, and burnouts with precision and ease. The supporting vehicles also performed to an exceptional standard, adding to the drama and excitement of the film.
Bentley’s Head of Product Communications, and Executive Producer for the project, Mike Sayer, comments on the success of the filming: “The filming days were incredibly intense but ultimately the most fun we’ve ever had at the campus. We
