By Codelia Mantsebo

The ultra-luxury car brand now offers a natural stone facia option for the Continental coupe and Flying Spur saloon. This new innovative interior finish utilises state-of-the-art stone veneer technology to make a luxurious, contemporary feature using 200-million-year-old stone.

Bentley’s new luxury interior uses slate and quartzite stone imported from Rajasthan and Pradesh in India to create 0.1mm thick stone veneer in cars built by the brand’s in-house coachbuilding firm, Mulliner. The new interior will be an alternative to the more traditional wood and leather designs used in their car interiors.

The stone interiors will be offered in four different colours: Galaxy, Autumn White, Terra Red and Copper and are available as an option on two of its luxury cars; the Bentley Continental and Bentley Flying Spur. Popular with high-net-worth individuals, famous footballers and celebrities, the standard Bentley Continental coupe costs upwards of £125,000, and also offers bespoke options at different prices. The Flying Spur is a sophisticated luxury limo and costs upwards of £150,220. Buyers of the Mulliner-built Bentley Continental and Flying Spur models can now opt for luxurious dash veneers for their car’s interior. The Mulliner team will work with the buyer to individually build the interior with the new material.

Geoff Dowding, Director of Mulliner Operations, says: ‘Bentley is the established expert in the handcrafting of wood and leather, and now we are exploring new, fine and rare materials to offer even more custom tailoring and choice to our customers. Stone veneers are another first for Bentley – but only the beginning of what we plan to do with this luxurious and unique material.’

The 200-million-year old slate and quartzite stone is sustainably-sourced and its sections are split from larger pieces and cured with glass-fibre and a bespoke resin. They are then shaped and hand finished by the Mulliner coachbuilding team at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England. The stone surfaces of the veneers are very light and translucent, which means the elegant grain and pattern in the stone will be visible.

Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke coachbuilding division, gives their clientele the opportunity to order cars with unique specifications. They can opt to have their car’s entire dash fascia covered in stone, or smaller sections of interior trim can be made of the material and it is the first time Bentley has offered such a finish in its cars. The new stone veneers are available now on selected Bentley vehicles.

Image Credit: Bentley Motors Limited