Buying a Bentley in the 1920s and 30s was a very different affair to what goes on today. Yes, you still ordered your car from them, and it came with all the mechanical bits fitted to it, but it lacked a body – it had to be ordered separately from a coachbuilder.
Now, Bentley builds you the entire car, but it is pondering opening an in-house coachbuilding service, to cater to its most demanding customers’ needs and allow itself to create more unique cars.
The service would obviously be the reserve of the ridiculously rich, people at an even higher level of wealth than… usual Bentley buyers; these are the folks who wouldn’t flinch at the sight of a €7 million price tag.
It seems it’s definitely more than a mere rumor, as AutoExpress quotes Kevin Rose, a member of the company’s board of sales and marketing, who said “I love that idea, it’s like Haute Couture for a car, I think that’s fascinating to take things a step further and make a car specifically for you. Go back to the beginnings of our company, we built the chassis and customers put their body of choice on top. At one point there were 50 coachbuilders in London alone.”
Will this definitely grow into a fully fledged division within Bentley? We don’t know, but we wouldn’t mind seeing it happen, as it would mean more one of a kind cars would be created for our viewing pleasure and owners’ enjoyment.
By Andrei Nedelea
Note: Carozzeria Touring Superleggera’s Bentley Flying Star pictured
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