At Geneva: Bentley Diamond Series
Although the Bentley name is nearly a century old, 2006 marks the 60th anniversary of Bentley’s main Crewe factory; the brand’s main assembly location for the majority of its cars. These include the stately Arnage sedan, new Azure convertible and stunning Continental GT (at least until some of its production gets transferred to VW’s ‘Glass Factory’ in Dresden, Germany to quench high demand). To commemorate this occasion, Bentley will release two special edition Diamond Series vehicles at the Geneva Show.
The Diamond Series Continental GT is a dressed up version of the Mulliner Driving Specification package for standard Continental coupes. Here, the car gets three new bespoke paint colours, solid aluminum and piano key lacquer interior trim, mesh grille, diamond-quilted leather upholstery and beautiful 14-spoke, 20-inch wheels. And just why does the Continental need such big wheels? The Diamond Series features the world’s largest brakes to be fitted on a production car: 420 mm (16-inch) diameter carbon ceramic disc brakes, which literally fill up the entire wheel. Anything less than 20 inches wouldn’t clear.
The second vehicle in the Diamond Series is a special edition Arnage, which wears a similar visual treatment as the Continental. Available in 400- and 450-horsepower versions of its 6.75-litre turbocharged V8, this Arnage features unique 19-inch alloy wheels, a mesh grille and a unique ‘winged-B’ hood ornament, but doesn’t get the Continental’ GTs ceramic discs. Inside, one can find the same diamond-pattern leather (be it regular leather, ostrich leather or whatever other hide you wish), however, the main trim theme is diamond-patterned wood, as opposed to aluminum alloy or lacquer.
Both the Continental GT and Arnage Diamond Series vehicles will be produced in limited numbers; Bentley plans to make 400 Continentals but only 40 Arnages. While we weren’t able to bring you any good news about the Exige or the MC Victory, out of the 60 Arnages made, half of the production run will be sent to North America. Pricing for these special models will be announced closer to their date, but quite frankly, if you had to ask, they’re not for you.