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Bentley has announced the First Edition to their Continental GT lineup. The Continental GT, a big, swoopy thing of a car, is about as close as Bentley ever gets to a real sports car. They say the exclusive First Edition model is the “ultimate expression of the Grand Tourer,” offering you a bunch of icing on an already heavily decorated cake. I guess that is to make it more special. And that is precisely the problem.
One of a Kind
To my mind, Bentley and Rolls-Royce are examples of reserved British bespoke design. They are, in a certain way, like Savile Row suits or polo mallets. Something that is designed for you, and for you alone, sir or madam. If you were sickeningly rich, or a Raja, or a Sultan, or just made it into the House of Lords, you could make an appointment out at Crewe, and, in this case, Bentley would see to your personalized automotive needs. But some time ago that changed. And I’m not talking about the fact that Bentley is owned by Volkswagen (and Rolls-Royce is owned by BMW – ‘By the Bosch, my good man! The Bosch!!‘). No, what I’m talking about here is that although Bentley will still make you a car fully customized to your own tastes, by and large, most of their “personalized” offerings are just off the rack options to be ticked when ordering the car, like so much fine Salamanca vinyl you chose for your 1978 Cordoba. So when Bentley cranks up the p...