Luxury still looks to chrome
The car in question is the Bentley Bentayga and if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a link to a great Autocar article with more detail and some great pictures. We have supplied parts and assemblies to some of the world’s leading marques and were admiring some of the pieces shown in these photos, when it dawned, just how many shots show chrome.
Now this Bentley is one of the finest they have ever produced and a break from tradition as the first SUV they have created. I doubt this is an off-roader expected to rough it through forests and fields, but will undoubtedly appear alongside rugby pitches, gymkhana paddocks and gastro pubs, the length and breadth of the UK.
This demonstrates that despite being specified to help save weight, chrome plated plastic is tough, durable and of high enough quality for even the most luxurious vehicles. The Bentley might weigh in at an eye-watering £160,200, but the entire first year’s production run of up to 4500 vehicles has been sold, which is great news for the UK automotive industry and the small part we play in adding the glamour.
The chrome embellishments, as we call them, accentuate the lines of the car and unless I’m mistaken, draw the eye to the rear lights, which reveal a subtle nod to the marque with a ‘B’ hidden in the lamp.
Surprisingly, the design has not been universally well received, but personally I think this is a welcome addition to the Bentley range and the large SUV market in particular.
The Bentayga will undoubtedly sell well to those for which it has been designed, where power, comfort and quality is more of a pull than looks at this end of the scale. Many of the customers will probably have a stable of cars, from fast and impractical to luxurious SUV’s like this one.
I’m not sure if we can run to one as a company car, but it would certainly make the commute into our Leigh-On-Sea facility a real pleasure.
