A slate and quartzite stone that is sourced from quarries in India is to be used to create a 0.1mm thick stone veneer inside Bentley’s newest bespoke models of luxury Continentals. This exceptionally rare and treasured stone has a geological dating of 200 million years old, giving Bentley the definitive edge in its offerings of luxury veneers.
With the obvious concern of adding unnecessary weight to the already hefty 6,000-lbs Continental GT, Bentley AC has already addressed this by reassuring that the stone veneer will be super lightweight to the extent of being translucent. The stone surface of the veneer will be just 0.1 mm thick, ensuring that the stone will be “both extremely light and translucent, allowing the elegant grain and pattern in the stone to be visible to the interior occupants”.
In an extensive process Bentley announced that the stone will be sourced by splitting it from the larger pieces of rock and then curating it using glass fibre and a bespoke resin. Finally the stone will be shaped and given an artisan hand made finish by Bentley's own Mulliner coachbuilding team at the company's factory headquarters in Crewe, England.
The stone is expected to be an available choice of trim for the Continental and Flying Spur model ranges and available in four different colour tones of Galaxy, Autumn White, Terra Red and Copper. The Mulliner coachbuilding team will work individually with each of their customers to develop an interior in an aesthetic style that they find most pleasing.
