Bentley tailors special for Aus

BENTLEY has crafted a highly exclusive limited edition version of its Continental GT, dubbed the Black Speed, which is “possibly the most aggressive car” in nearly 100 years, and will only be offered for sale in Australia and New Zealand.

Based on the company's flagship Continental GT Speed, the unique variant shares the same equipment and performance, but adds a stealthy black and red colour theme that appeals to Australian's tastes, according to Bentley.

Priced from $525,000 before on-road costs, the Black Speed production run will be capped at just 10 vehicles and, while the allocation is not yet all spoken for, the British car-maker says interest is already strong.

Speaking at the Australian launch of the Bentayga – the company's first SUV – Bentley Asia-Pacific dealer sales manager David Simpson said the Black Speed evolved purely from feedback from local customers.

“We talked to some of our customers last year at the Grand Prix about doing something bespoke for Australia, something unique for this market,” he said.

“In the past we had the Concourse edition, where we blacked-out all the chrome and did a black finish for the first time on one of our cars... that was extremely popular in Australia. People want the aggressive version of the manufacturer car.

“I talked to the factory and said that I want to do something bespoke and something unique. I want to do a run of 10 cars just for our market. That's when we came to Black Speed.” Mr Simpson explained that the strictly limited version was meticulously developed using the equally exclusive Breitling Jet Series Continental as inspiration, to maintain a sense of style and not fashion.

“There is a big difference between fashionable and stylish,” he said. “Fashionable is bodykits, getting a spoiler put on your car aftermarket, fashionable is to say that it's a trend or a fad.

“Stylish is something that is unique and it lives within someone and style is timeless. It's probably the most aggressive car that we've made.” Customers quick enough to secure their Black Speed will take delivery of a Continental GT dressed in jet black paint with contrasting red front and rear diffusers, side skirts and grille surround, with a matching fine red pinstripe that is painted by hand.

Its 21-inch alloy wheels are the first all-gloss black rim to be offered by the company and are handed left and right to ensure the asymmetrical spoke design always rotates forward.

Along with Bentley's thousands of other customisation options, the Black Speed is also available with carbon-ceramic brakes which bumps the price to $600,000 driveaway when sold in Victoria.

Headlights and tail-lights have been tinted a darker “radiation” to blend in with the lowlight colour scheme.

On the inside, the Black Speed's dashboard is finished in engine-spun aluminium, which has been used by the company since the 1930s, but for the unique Australian car, the metal has been coated red.

The black and red signatures continue through the black leather steering wheel, which is stitched together with red thread and topped with a red 12 o'clock ring.

More red and black hide is used to upholster the interior with “cobra styled” sports seats by Bentley's bespoke branch Mulliner, which feature the Black Speed name embroidered into the headrests.

As a centrepiece, the GT Black Speed's interior is finished by a central Breitling clock, specially commissioned with matching red bezel and a black face.