Like the lords of yore, who had serfs and artisans build their castles, paint their portraits, and do their bidding, today’s wealth is expressed through material goods, too. For instance, this Candy Pink Bentayga EWB Azure. Love it or loathe it, this car’s cabin, especially, showcases a tremendous amount of craft. Still, remember the old saying that money does not buy taste. Exhibit A, anyone?
There are several other maxims to mention. One of which is that the customer is always right. Bentley, in taking this—naturally, American—customer’s money, isn’t “wrong.” I would argue that far more folks than this single Bentley purchaser have shown, say, “questionable” aesthetic decisions in not just purchasing Cybertrucks, but then wrapping them in outfits that make them even more visually absurd.
The difference now is that, well beyond the public square where you might rip around in your hand-built Bugatti, your pink Bentley can be shared as widely as Kylie Jenner’s augmented bust. You might not like it, or you might love it. Either way, it’s not about being quiet. It’s about flaunting it, and a “Let-them-eat-cake!” attitude.
Okay, but what does it all mean for fans of car customization? Here are just a few thoughts.
It Ain’t New
Let’s go back to the origins of the automobile. “Coach-building” as a term comes from horse-drawn carriages. Who could afford these? Well, not the plebes. Like coaches, cars were the playthings of the rich, and that’s not just for labels such as Daimler, Bentley, or Bugatti. Prior to Ford, just about every carmaker was coach-building for wealthy clientele.
And coach-building has meant bending to the whims of your customers. If you think this Pepto-pink Bentley is a bit much, how about trying on a few of these Lamborghinis instead?
I’ve done factory tours at Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini, and both manufacturers explained, separately, that their job isn’t to tell the customer, “no.” It’s to do their very best to meet their desires.
The Level Of Craft Is Legit
I could definitely live without the color of the trim here. But Bentley underlines that their Mulliner customization program heavily sweated the details on this car. Just a “normal” Bentayga EWB Azure requires about three weeks of labor.
Maybe this sounds silly, but budgets are actually pretty tight at ultra-luxury brands. They have to hand-hold hard for every sale, because this is a buyer that doesn’t need another car. They’re not replacing their sad old Accord. They’re expressing their material success.
But for a Mulliner, a small squadron of materials experts in wood, metal, leather, paint hue and upholstery are called upon to help bring a customer’s vision to life. Again, taste aside, this customer’s desire to have custom-embroidered Bentley logos (in pink) on the seats, and a 750ml bottle chiller for the second row, all feels baller enough. The door card embroidery, too, is impressive. If I’d had a say, I’d have advised halting there and going with some sort of obsidian wood marquetry, say? But then, I probably wouldn’t be writing this story.
Unfortunately, what’s not shown are Bentley’s deep-pile wool floor mats, the better for being limo’d—I would hope—while barefoot. I mean, why not! Your feet wouldn’t necessarily touch that carpeting, however, because this car gets a 22-way adjustable second-row airline seat. Would you ever exit your Bentayga? Probably. When the paparazzi arrived. TikTok is an impatient machine, after all.
Luxury Carmakers Have Always Struggled
Maybe this sounds silly, but budgets are actually pretty tight at ultra-luxury brands. They have to hand-hold hard for every sale, because this is a buyer that doesn’t need another car. They’re not replacing their sad old Accord. They’re expressing their material success.
Looked at another way, the fortunes of Tesla haven’t just been upset by Musk’s temperament. The reach for the Cybertruck felt like a grab toward the flavor-of-the-moment success he had when Silicon Valley Ferrari owners were trading prancing horses for Model S’s. But that’s so yesterday.
You can see this story writ-small with other EV-luxe startups, too. Fisker? Bolinger? I mean, crypto is more reliable.
Put another way, the Bentley buyer, however outlandish this one-off Bentayga might seem, is actually being quite conservative. They’re going with an ancient brand and trusting them to execute in a way that Bentley has done for over a century. That’s very wise.
TopSpeed’s Take
You know the dude with the massive light bar eyebrowing his… Jetta? What about his bro-in-arms with the dual diesel pipes jutting from the bed of his Ram, completed, predictably, by a pair of faux testicles hanging from the hitch receiver? Yes, these are real-world examples from my ‘hood. I’ve been tailed by Mister Light Bar and I’ve tailed Mister Rollin’ Coal.
I’m not offended by their life choices, but the guy down the street meticulously restoring an E39 M5 is more my cup of testosterone.
And while I’m not praising the candy-pink Bentley—nor do I think the home where this will be parked will have a humble two-car garage as pictured in the above image—I get the instinct.
Making a car your own, whether humbly with fuzzy dice and a big exhaust, or with the help of a crew from Bentley, in a town called, fittingly, Crewe, is just part of the same spectrum.
And, fortunately, cars are no longer a thing only for the extremely wealthy. Nor, as we’ve learned during this exercise, is taste. Car culture is universal, as is the desire to customize. You’re free to be “wrong” in someone else’s eyes, too. Let us all eat cake!
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