Rarity and refinement define premium and luxury in the super-expensive segment. The same applies for the material used in Bentley’s cabin space – including the veneer. To the handpicked six wood finishes, after five years, the car from Crewe has added one more – Liquid Amber.
Sustainable, unique and exquisite, the new veneer is sourced from the American Red Gum Tree. Bentley goes to great lengths in order to source the finest materials – in this case, the American Sweet Gum tree that grows along the rich soils of the Mississippi wetlands in the south-eastern states of America. Liquid Amber is the name given to the tree’s resin due to its perfumed scent. Bentley sources only the highest quality trees, and harvests the veneer just twice a year due to restricted access across these wetlands.
The wood undergoes a natural smoking process, which takes several weeks, to give it a deep, rich brown lustre while maintaining the warm, red hue. The veneer then travels over 7000 km back to the Bentley woodshop in Crewe where it is further examined.
Bentley’s own veneer hunters have sourced veneers like eucalyptus and olive ash from countries as far apart as Canada and China. Excellence shouldn’t come as a surprise, for these veneers are sourced from the very best species and 30 – 70 percent of veneers are rejected – it could take a whole week to review 20,000 square metres of walnut material for the burr walnut veneer. All materials must have a high-burr density, minimal sapwood and feature no bark growth or structural defects.
Each raw veneer is cut to a precise 0.6 mm layer, and each bundle of raw veneers must pass rigorous Bentley tests for stability in UV light and consistency from tree to tree. It could be at least 18 months before the veneer finds a place in a car.
Stone veneer
A solid statement of individuality and luxury is Bentley’s innovative interior finish of a natural product formed over 200 million years. The slate and quartzite stone is sustainably sourced from hand-selected quarries in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, India – a nation with an ancient and rich culture of stone masonry. The sections of stone are split from larger pieces and cured using glass fibre and a bespoke resin. Finally, they are sculpted and polished by hand by the world-renowned Mulliner coachbuilding team at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England.
