Bentley has unveiled two specially commissioned Remembrance cars for 2026, pairing a Bentayga Extended Wheelbase Artenara Edition with a Bentley Supersports. Created by Bentley Design in collaboration with the company’s colleague-led BeReady network, the pair use bespoke exterior artwork to honour the Armed Forces community and those who lost their lives in wartime.
Known within Bentley as the “Poppy Cars,” the vehicles form part of the company’s annual commemorative activities. This year’s designs draw inspiration from John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields, translating its themes of sacrifice, remembrance and responsibility into artwork across two very different Bentley models.
POPPIES, LARKS AND A SHARED MESSAGE
The exterior designs follow a narrative that moves from life enduring amid destruction to the responsibility of future generations. Poppies blooming across a battlefield and larks flying overhead represent resilience and hope, while other elements remember the fallen as individuals with families, relationships and lives beyond their service.
For Bentley, the project gives bespoke design a commemorative purpose. Rather than detailing a new palette of customer paint and trim options, the company’s announcement centres on the meaning of the artwork and the collaboration behind it. Bentley has not announced customer availability for either Remembrance car.
“Design is often judged by what it looks like, but its greatest value lies in how it makes us feel,” said Robin Page, Bentley’s Director of Design. “These cars were created to inspire reflection, serving as a visible reminder that remembrance is not confined to a single day, but is a legacy that must be carried forward and shared by each generation.”
A CONNECTION TO CREWE
The cars’ commemorative programme included Bentley’s onsite Remembrance service in Crewe and participation in Mission Motorsport’s Race of Remembrance at Anglesey Circuit. Representatives from the Ministry of Defence, the local Royal British Legion and Crewe Town Council joined Bentley’s tribute.
The occasion also remembered 17 Bentley colleagues killed when a bomb struck Crewe 86 years ago, while the factory was producing Merlin aero engines. That connection gives the annual project a particular significance for the workforce, linking the wider act of remembrance to the company’s own history.
BeReady, one of Bentley’s five Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging networks, supports veterans, serving reservists and their families. The unveiling follows Bentley’s receipt of Gold status in the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme earlier in 2026. Colleagues from the manufacturing team also contributed their own tribute, crocheting handmade poppies to raise funds for the Royal British Legion.
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