There are half a dozen Bentleys parked in a row and I’m endeavouring to choose which one to drive.
Not surprising really as I always struggle with choice, as anyone sharing a restaurant table would testify.
So when I sit down with the luxury marque’s two freelance Bentley Mulliner bespoke design consultants, Georgia Gough and Adam Burnicle, only to be told there are more than 46 billion configurations, I could weep.
“Well what do you like?” asks Georgia, of Great Ayton, as she produces an armful of swatches and clicks on her laptop. “No idea,” I reply. “But the green of the new Continental GT is nice.”
“Well, I start by looking at customers’ tastes, such as their clothes,” says Georgia, who attended Stokesley School and trained at the same college (now known as the Northern School of Art) as legendary movie director Ridley Scott.
Oh no, now I am in trouble. While the London influencers on the same event are swathed in designer garb, not a hair out of place and with beautifully applied make-up, I’m covered in Berghaus’ finest Gortex and padded jacket looking like a fair impression of a Yorkshire fell in the winter.
“Well that’s no good,” I tell Georgia. “I’m not what you would call trendy.” But she patiently scans me from head to toe and informs me that outdoor activity ware is actually on-trend, which gives me an idea.
Let’s configure the Bentley to fit in with its surroundings. “My job is to do this in a manageable way, working from the outside in, as there is so much customers can do,” says Georgia.
Adam, of Middlesbrough, adds: “We can match any background so, for instance, inside we could have stone veneers as well as wood to go down the natural route.”
It’s a good start that the exterior is already in moss green, Tourmaline to be precise, and resplendent the new-look GT appears. To give it more texture and make it even more ‘moss growing on a slate or granite drystone wall’, I opt for matte, or should I say satin.
“The silhouette of the GT is perfect as it looks like terrain,” adds Georgia, who admits she has the best job in the world.
She then gives the exterior trim, called the ‘brightware’ a dark tint to reflect the shadow cast by Pennine mountains and the huge alloy wheels are given the same treatment. Green accents on the spokes would be too bling I fear so we stick to one colour, though the brake callipers do become green.
In my view, for taste’s sake, less is more, so that’s the exterior done and I’m shocked how easy the process is. I now have a veritable Yorkshire Dales on four wheels and I’m a happy man.
Now for the interior, which is already so well equipped and so utterly plush it’s hard to see how it could be improved, its retro, clock-based fascia the perfect antidote to the current digital, virtual obsession of most modern day vehicles.
Taking on the Pennine theme the hide becomes a mix of anthracite and Cumbrian Green and is splendid for it. Even the contrasting stitching on the leather looks like the footpath markings on an Ordnance Survey map.
I’d also like the outline of Pen-y-Ghent embroidered on the headrests. By chance the green also ties in wonderfully with Bentley’s racing heritage. The Galaxy Stone hard trim on the fascia and central console offers an open pore finish and conjures images of Pennines topography and architecture.
With thoughts straying across the border into Cumbria it’s time to throw in some Gondola Green trim, Cumbrian Green door pockets and Moss Green on the steering wheel suede accent panels, with Cumbrian Green Satin Naim speaker grilles and bezels for good measure, and the scene is set, the car is definitely Northern and a snip for an additional £75,025.
Bentley’s product communications manager Jon Smedley certainly approves – he’s originally from Seascale.
“You never know who you will be working with anywhere in the world and the cars become one of ones,” says Georgia.
It’s a bespoke service that sees the designers working with clients online or in person anywhere around the globe. It has certainly caught the eye of luxury hotel group Peninsular which has just replaced its time-old tradition of using Rolls-Royce chauffeur driven limousines with Bentleys.
Bentley is working hard to impress at the moment and with a Beyond 100+ (years) strategy well under way is investing heavily – £3bn – in its Crewe plant, a former Spitfire fighter engine factory, developing internal combustion engines, hybrids and full electrics to the nth degree. A new paint shop starts operating at
the end of the year and there’s a new centre of Excellence for Quality and design studio so expect prototypes aplenty.
Fourth generation Continental GT is 70 per cent new under the skin. Gone is the old W12 motor, instead replaced by a glorious 4.0 litre V8 turbo hybrid that offers just as much power, 600PS, a sprint time of 3.1 seconds to 60mph and a 208mph top speed.
But thanks to the hybrid set-up it will go 50 miles on electric, boasts much lower CO2 emissions and therefore has better company car tax benefits. The incredible thing is that I spy 31 miles per gallon on the trip computer.
On the current pothole strewn roads, the air suspension reigns supreme dampening the spine-shattering effects of the worse craters. It’s an utterly magnificent blend of limo-like ride with true sports car dynamics, including scalpel-sharp helm responses and perfect body control.
Many prestige marques claim the ‘exclusive’ label in their drive to attract affluent customers but few deliver the sheer choice of Bentley’s configuration set-up which is truly off the scale thanks to the guiding hands of two North East designers.
Factfile
| Engine: 4.0 litre V8 Hybrid |
| Power: 600PS |
| 0-60mph: 3.1 secs |
| Top speed: 208mph |
| Combined MPG: 31 |
| Transmission: 8-speed automatic |
| CO2 g/km: 29 |
| Price: from £236,600 (extras £75,025) |
