Bentley is very keen to follow the example set by Lamborghini and Ferrari and to start offering limited-edition and even one-off models aimed at ultra-rich collectors.
Kevin Rose, Bentley’s sales and marketing director, told us at the recent Continental GT Speed launch—first drive here, folks!—that the company is very keen to play on its heritage of producing coachbuilt specials around common mechanical components. This will, of course, entail changes beyond those that its existing bespoke commissioning department is able to make. (That department’s name—Mulliner—comes from a former coachbuilder absorbed by Bentley, H.J. Mulliner & Co.)
Rose said that Bentley has noted the premiums that both Ferrari and Lamborghini have been able to charge for unique commissions like the Ferrari F12 TRS and limited editions such as the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, and he thinks the company could find a similarly profitable niche.
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Beyond the arrival of Bentley’s new SUV, we’re told that the brand is also actively considering a fourth model line, most likely to be a smaller coupe beneath the Continental and powered exclusively with V-8 engines. Such a car would be capable of going head-to-head with higher-spec versions of the Porsche 911 as well as the Aston Martin Vantage and the forthcoming McLaren P13. It sounds like a good idea to us.
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