PH Blog: The real Bentley
Aristocrat's favourite or celeb bling plaything? Alex ponders the true meaning of Bentley
So a recent visit to the factory – more of which will be coming soon in a separate feature – left me thinking about what Bentley is today, and what that name actually means to car lovers like us.
It’s clear from talking to Bentley’s staff that the company still wants to be seen as traditional in its approach, preserving the values of high performance, opulence and attention-to-detail that made its name great. In fact, one gets the impression that Bentley has had its chintz palace reputation rather thrust upon it. And while nobody at Bentley would eschew any customer looking to buy one of their cars purely for that image, the company has been careful to maintain the old-school values and corporate image that have brought it its recent success.
You need look no further than the company’s heavy emphasis on personalisation to see this. Now, more than ever, Bentley is keen to demonstrate that its cars really can be painted, trimmed and detailed however their customers see fit. No commission is ever rejected, irrespective of how well it fits with the image the company would wish to convey. As a result, customers who might want to choose loud colours and cutting-edge interior finishes can have their way. The man from Bentley will simply say ‘Of course, sir’ and tick the relevant boxes on the order form.
But of course, that man from Bentley will still be dressed in the sharp, Savile Row suit, crisp white shirt and discreetly-monogrammed tie. And when you ask him about the brand as it stands today, he’ll use lots of words like ‘heritage’, ‘venerable’ and ‘Brooklands’. I reckon that’s a good thing. It would be easy, after all, for Bentley to try and re-invent itself to cater to the youth market that loves it so. But it’s resisted that temptation to tread down that path, and the result is easy to see. The new Mulsanne and GTC are both exceptionally attractive cars, referencing the company’s glorious past without feeling like pastiches. And crucially, apart from the de-rigeur LED lights, both still manage to avoid the trappings of glamour that they could so easily have taken on. To drive, both feel reassuringly, as solid, luxuriant and quietly powerful as you’d expect a Bentley to.
Yes, you can dress your Bentley up in bright yellow and fit chrome wheels the size of the moon should the urge take you. But you get the feeling that the Bentley salesman will still breathe a sigh of relief when you don’t. Irrespective of that, though, it’s good to know that beneath it all, it’ll still feel just as a Bentley should; just as every Bentley before ever has done. That’s a feat that can only be achieved when a company remembers to stay true to its core values. Good show, Bentley. Good show.
As for Bentley's "bling" image, well, celebrities have been buying and ruining both Bentleys and Rolls-Royces since the 1960's rock star days. The only difference is that there is now a much larger volume of such undeserving idiots because English footballers, hip-hop rappers, and nephews of oil sheiks et al have millions and millions to throw around that they never did twenty or thirty years ago. It's simply a result of stupid amounts of money finding its way into the hands of fools in quantities never seen before.
It has nothing to do with anything Bentley has been doing. Although wait a minute -- that may change with that horrible SUV nightmare they unveiled which seems to be suddenly catering to this human garbage with deep pockets. Maybe you might have to rethink this blog entry if you remember that one, huh?
I guess the OP's right. Bentley's bespoke approach means their image is heavily down to the whims of their customers.
Unfortunately the underpinnings don't seem bespoke enough to compensate for me any more. While I quite like the Continental GTV8, there's something very 'rebodied VW Phaeton' about most of the range these days, almost as though 'Bentley' is a kind of trim level applied by the VW Group empire.
70's 80's - owned by publicans who live in Essex
90's onwards - owned by Plutocrats, footballers. 'Siralun' Sugar
I'm on my second GT now and it is just the most relaxing car I have ever owned, offering a proper luxury experience when the usual suspects from Germany offer just about what they call "premium". The current 4.0 is a big step over the old W12 and I can only encourage all the sceptics to have a go in one.
The old, heavy metal approach was awesome. "We do things this way because we always have done"... very British. Not practical or good business sense, maybe, but a typical pig-headed, old-fashioned, British approach.
I still like the Arnage, too...
I have a friend who has a job that allows him to drive either a new rolls, audi a8, or the bentley continental flying spur - and he prefers the a8 out of all them!
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