At the beginning of 2023 Bentley Motors Limited imposed restrictions on their UK dealers from selling genuine products for the later (VAG produced) Bentley models to resellers and specialists such as Flying Spares. Whilst this has had a minor impact on the genuine products we can supply, it has further focused our efforts on developing the best replacement aftermarket and OEM program for post VAG Bentley models.

The Flying Spares team works tirelessly to source and or produce only the best replacement products that provide you with high quality parts and value for money.

Before a new part is made available under the Flying Spares brand it will have to pass through a series of quality control checks and stringent on car testing.  With an ever-increasing selection of aftermarket, OEM and reconditioned parts now becoming available, our development Bentley GT has been instrumental in determining what we pass and bring to market.

Supplied by Jack Barclay with a cypress green exterior and Saffron leather combination, this 2003 GT belies its 20-year age and after three years of testing new products for Flying Spares it’s almost a different car to the one that rolled off the production line.

 

Not everything that’s been fitted has passed and got the Flying Spares approval. We’ve dropped the engine more times than we can remember to fit and test products. A water-cooled alternator that we’ve been putting through its paces is a great example. It took three attempts before we rubber stamped it for sale. Upon inspection all 3 units matched the original for build quality and fitment. It was only when under real world conditions the issues started to appear.

 

First test unit fitted perfectly, and all seemed to be going well until a week into the road test we noticed a bearing noise had appeared when the unit was under load. Back to the drawing board. Second alternator was almost an immediate failure. With the alternator fitted, we started the car and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree with a series of warning lights. Modern cars are packed full of sensitive technology, and we discovered this test alternator was overloading the system.

 

So, we moved onto the third engine drop and the 3rd alternator to test. Everything fitted perfectly. The car fired up with no warning lights on the dashboard. Its was a good start and after thousands of miles of testing everything was working perfectly. No bearing noises under load, no warning lighrs and the battery was being charged. We finally passed the alternator for sale.

 

This is just one example of the products we have tested. The GT has recently passed ignition coils, suspension arms, service exchange turbo chargers, modified upgraded radiator, oxygen sensors, front and rear brake pads and discs and electric fan packs to name but a few of the products that we have developed.

We are confident in our approval process. So much so that we’ve underwritten the warranty period to 3 years on our aftermarket and OEM product ranges.