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Bentley’s Director of Design, Stefan Sielaff, introduces the
Continental GT’s journey through a rich landscape of style inspiration
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Styling cues include aeronautical forms, cut crystal glass and precise
geometry
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Bentley’s Director of
Design, Stefan Sielaff, explains the traceable bloodline that has influenced
the new Continental GT as he sketches in the Bentley Design studio. Sielaff
then introduces the journey that he and his award-winning design team in Crewe,
England, have taken to create Bentley’s latest model.
The Spartan Executive
aircraft has a truly timeless design, using flowing curvature framed by sharp,
powerful lines.
Bentley employed the same
philosophy in the all-new Continental GT, using Superforming technology – a
precision technique working with aluminium heated to 500°C – which allows
designers to invoke more complex, sharply defined body lines and a deeper,
sculpted haunch muscle. The Continental GT is the first production car ever to
have an entire body side made from the Superforming process.
This sculptured approach
ensures a style that is taught and athletic, yet still graceful.
When a perfectly cut crystal
glass is held up to the light, each facet is illuminated, highlighting a
three-dimensional depth.
Bentley’s designers state this
attention to detail inspired the design of the headlamps for the new
Continental GT, which catch the light like diamonds. The lighting uses the
latest LED matrix technology, but it is the design they state that truly sets
them apart.
The result is similar to
that of an illuminated gemstone – an effect which is magnified when the
optional welcome sequence gradually illuminates the headlights as you approach
the car. The taillights also feature the cut-crystal effect, highlighting the
three-dimensional quality of the optics.
Bentley stated that the Côtes de Genève finish found on
mechanical timepieces inspired the creation of a new interior finish for the
Continental GT. This surface – a first in the automotive world – is machined
onto 0.6 mm-thick aluminium and is created by machining from side to side to
create a linear pattern. Each row is 5 mm wide and machined at a slight angle
to give a three-dimensional finish, with each pass of the machine making a
minute step of 0.5 mm the designers stated.
From the iconic matrix
radiator grille to the signature knurling pattern, geometry delivers tactile
refinement throughout the exterior and interior.
All modern Bentleys get the
seamless integration of technology with the finest, authentic materials.
Driven by innovation and the
desire to offer the latest technology within a beautiful, high quality interior
environment, Bentley states in their press release that they have created a
revolutionary, three-sided rotating display. At first glance there appears to
be no screen in the centre of the dashboard of the new Continental GT. Instead,
the veneer flows uninterrupted across the dashboard, while a thin chrome bezel
behind the steering wheel surrounds a digital instrument display.
When the engine start button
is pressed, the veneer in the middle of the dashboard glides silently forward
and rotates to reveal Bentley’s largest-ever touchscreen, a 12.3”
retina-quality digital MMI display. The third side on the Bentley Rotating
Display reveals three elegant analogue dials displaying outside temperature, a
compass and chronometer.
Bentley states that this
perfect piece of theater seamlessly enhances the customer experience within the
cabin.
The authenticity of
materials within the cabin of the new Continental GT creates an aesthetic and
tactile experience.
Bentley has pushed the
boundaries of what is possible with leather and wood – employing the renowned
skills of the craftspeople at the headquarters in Crewe, England.
For example, a new ‘diamond
in diamond’ quilt has been created. The effect is of a floating quilted surface
in a sea of leather, which is extraordinarily soft to touch. The new interior
pattern features both stitching and embroidery. Eighteen months were spent
developing the embroidery, individually optimizing and programming the exact
alignment of each one of the 712 stitches that make up each diamond shape – an
unrivalled attention to detail.
Almost 1,000 Bentley
craftspeople will take around 100 hours to complete each and every Continental
GT.
The DNA that underpins the
new Continental GT can be traced back through the past six decades, to where
the name began – the R-Type Continental of 1952.
The spirit of the R-Type
Continental was revived in 2003 when Bentley launched the first Continental GT.
This was a car that defined a new segment – the luxury Grand Tourer. The three
lines that expressed the R-Type – the power line, haunch and swooping roofline
– also defined the Continental GT, creating a thoroughly modern shape that also
references the past.
EDITED FROM BENTLEY’S PRESS RELEASES
BRUCE
HUBBARD
BONNIE
LYNCH
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