Bentley Buyers Can Now Spec Cars With New Naturally Textured Walnut Veneer

Bentley is known for using some of the finest wood veneers in the world. However, if you’re looking for something extra special, there’s now a new option on the table.

Mulliner, the personal commissioning division of Bentley, is introducing new wood veneer options for the Flying Spur, Bentayga and Mulsanne models, the open-pore walnut.

The new wood veneer option was created to celebrate the “natural, authentic beauty of walnut”, sourced from a special tree type that combines European Walnut and American Walnut.

The wood comes from specially grown trees that are mainly planted in California. Bentley’s wood experts select only the finest quality walnut veneer, which is then carefully cut from the textured section of the tree burl, between the outer layer of sap and the inner core.

The open-pore walnut veneer is then painted with just three ultra-thin layers of lacquer, that together total just 0.1mm in thickness, giving it a wax-like finish that allows customers to actually feel the texture of the wood. By comparison, Bentley’s high-gloss lacquer coating is 0.5mm thick and offers a glossy, smooth finish.

Each layer is applied by hand and sanded between applications to ensure that the lacquer sticks to the natural grooves of the wood. The end result is a truly unique Bentley interior, as each veneer is slightly different from the other due to variation in color and grain of the different cuts.

Of course, if hand-crafted wood veneer isn’t luxurious enough for your taste, you can always have Mulliner make you some stone inserts instead and call it a day.