Is Bentley Diluting Its Values By Building Commissions Like This?

It’s not sufficient to personal an off-the-peg Bentley in 2025. Perhaps it was 25 years in the past when the corporate bought round 1,500 automobiles however immediately, when annual manufacturing is seven instances greater, there’s a a lot greater probability of bumping into one other virtually similar automotive. Which is without doubt one of the causes 70 p.c of latest Bentley orders comprise some sort particular contact from the automaker’s Mulliner division. These prospects don’t simply wish to purchase Crewe’s most interesting – they wish to create their personal distinct automotive.

This rising push for personalization – and it’s one all luxurious automakers are capitalizing on – is one thing of a double-edged sword, although. Whereas pandering to prospects’ each needs generates a ton of additional money, there’s going to come back some extent whenever you’re requested to do one thing you actually don’t wish to as a result of it’s not a superb match for the model. However when you flip the work down, you threat dropping contact with some rich prospects and pushing them into the open arms of the aftermarket business or, worse, rivals.

Associated: Bentley House owners Splurge $43,000 On Choices For Each {Car} Even Earlier than Mulliner Extras

The Bentayga you see in these photos is a working example. What might have been a reasonably elegant (or boring, relying in your place) EWB Azure in a delicate shade of metallic blue ended up the colour of a Barbie lunch field after a go to to the Mulliner workshop.

Its American proprietor requested for the SUV to be painted in Sweet Pink, which appears to be like marginally much less horrific than it might have due to the choice to additionally equip the Bentayga with the Blackline choice. This removes all traces of conventional chrome and provides black coloring to the door handles, exhaust tailpipes, lamp bezels, decrease grilles, roof rails and wing vents.

Pink and black characteristic once more inside, although maybe mercifully, it’s the black that takes the lead right here, pink being restricted to smaller sections of cherry blossom cover and numerous bits of sewing. Bentley says its prospects are “inspired to take part within the design of distinctive automobiles” as a part of a course of Mulliner phrases ‘Co-Creation,’ and also you surprise how a lot steering the designers needed to do to maintain the challenge trying even vaguely tasteful.

No matter you, or the Mulliner workforce, consider the the colour selection, you will be positive this Bentayga was constructed to the identical excessive requirements as every other fee. And I’ll admit it’s sort of enjoyable to see certainly one of Bentley’s stately SUVs in such an uncommon set of garments. The world can be a boring place with out folks like the woman who ordered this EWB and clearly is aware of her personal thoughts.

Do you assume automakers like Bentley ought to flip down customization requests like this, or are they proper to indulge their prospects’ wildest fantasies even when they’re don’t appear aligned with the model’s values? Depart a remark and tell us.

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