Bentley Bentayga EWB Azure Riviera Collection turns heads at the Brussels Motor Show
A unique blend of craftsmanship, designed with bespoke exterior and interior elements inspired by the world of yachting
Alongside the new Continental GTC, powered by the ultra performance hybrid powertrain
[source: Bentley]
Brussels, Belgium – Bentley Motors proudly presents two exceptional models at the Brussels Motor Show, marking a new pinnacle of luxury and performance. The Bentayga EWB Azure Riviera Collection, with its captivating Aegean Blue exterior inspired by the depths of the sea, takes centre stage alongside the debut of the new Continental GTC in a dazzling Bronze finish at the heart of Belgium’s capital.
Designed to set a new standard for passenger comfort, the model features the innovative Airline Seat Specification, incorporating a postural adjustment system. This groundbreaking technology, developed in collaboration with chiropractors, uses algorithms to make 177 micro adjustments across six independent pressure zones over a three-hour period, ensuring optimal comfort and minimizing fatigue during long journeys. Reflecting the serenity and refinement of the yachting lifestyle, the Bentayga EWB Azure Riviera Collection is a testament to Bentley’s commitment to artistry and innovation.
The Bentayga EWB Azure Riviera Collection offers a unique bespoke environment with an interior that includes Linen as main hide and Brunel as secondary hide with Autumn accents. A special Riviera Collection ‘knot’ embroidery on the headrest and “Azure” embroidery on the seat backs in Autumn accents underpin the collection’s attention to detail and exclusivity.
Accompanying this extraordinary model is the new Continental GTC, finished in a stunning Bronze exterior complemented by granite-coloured brightware and striking 22” ten-spoke wheels in a grey-painted and bright-machined finish. With an interior in Cumbrian Green leather, Camel accents and detailed with contrast stitching. Redefining the ultimate blend of supercar performance, handcrafted luxury and everyday usability. The performance of the powertrain is matched by a new chassis system, with new two-chamber air springs paired with new dual-valve dampers, along with Bentley Dynamic Ride (48V active anti-roll control), eLSD and torque vectoring. The new Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain delivers a revolutionary blend of extreme performance and effortless electric luxury, delivering an unforgettable driving experience.
The performance of the Continental GTC Speed is breath-taking for an open-air Grand Tourer. With 782 PS and 1000 Nm it takes 3.4 seconds from 0-100 km/h while delivering emissions of 29 g/km of CO2 and an electric range of 81 km on the WLTP drive cycle. The Convertible features Bentley’s seven-bow fabric roof system available in a range of seven exterior colours (including tweed) and deployable in 19 seconds at speeds up to 48 km/h.
The Bentley brand is represented by D’Ieteren Automotive in Belgium with three dedicated showrooms: Bentley Antwerp, Bentley Brussels and Bentley Knokke.
Rolls-Royce has announced an investment exceeding £300m to extend its manufacturing facility at Goodwood. This is the next step in the company’s commitment to creating value for clients by handcrafting the most complex, personal, and valuable luxury goods while providing an unparalleled client experience. The marque’s 2024 performance (a record year for Bespoke and the third-best sales result in the company’s history) confirms the success of this approach.
More than £300 million investment committed to Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood
Site extension to expand Bespoke and Coachbuild capabilities
10% increase in Bespoke content value per motor car year-on-year; a record result
Invite-only Private Office network expands to five with addition of two new locations
5,712 motor cars delivered in 2024: Third-highest annual sales figure on record
Global sales present a balanced picture, led by North America and Europe
Introduction of a record four new models in 2024: Cullinan Series II and Ghost Series II, together with the respective Black Badge models.
“In 2024, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars reaffirmed its position as an authentic luxury house by crafting the most complex, personal, and valuable motor cars in its history. This momentum means it is necessary for us to invest more than £300 million in extending the Home of Rolls-Royce. This represents our most substantial financial commitment to Goodwood since its opening in 2003 and a significant vote of confidence in the Rolls-Royce marque, securing our future here in the UK. 2024’s record Bespoke results demonstrate our clients are increasingly drawn to the marque to create ever more ambitious and valuable motor cars, thereby enjoying the exceptional and highly personalised experience that Rolls-Royce ownership unlocks. This underscores our commitment to creating value for our clients and those with a stake in our business.” Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced an investment exceeding £300 million to extend its manufacturing facility at Goodwood. This is the next step in the company’s commitment to creating value for clients by handcrafting the most complex, personal, and valuable luxury goods while providing an unparalleled client experience. The marque’s 2024 performance – a record year for Bespoke and the third-best sales result in the company’s history – confirms the success of this approach.
The extension will create additional space for the increasingly complex and high-value Bespoke and Coachbuild projects sought by clients who define luxury as something deeply personal to them. It will also ready the manufacturing facility for the marque’s transition to an all-battery electric vehicle (BEV) future.
This £300+ million investment is the single largest injection of capital since the plant opened on 1 January 2003. Then, it employed around 300 people and produced just one motor car a day. Although the Goodwood manufacturing plant has undergone significant internal changes over the past 20 years, the building itself has remained largely unchanged, while staff numbers have since increased more than eightfold, and the marque now produces up to 28 motor cars a day.
More than 2,500 individuals are now employed at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood – including many highly skilled manufacturing and craft specialists – as well as around 7,500 people in the company’s wider UK supply chain. In 2023, an independent study by the London School of Economics (LSE) demonstrated that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars contributes around half a billion pounds to the UK economy every year, as a leading representative of ‘UK PLC’.
Planning permission to extend the Home of Rolls-Royce was granted in 2024. Fittingly, this milestone was achieved during the year in which Rolls-Royce celebrated the 120th anniversary of the first meeting between its co-founders, The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry (later Sir Henry) Royce, on 4 May 1904. Site preparation and landscaping work is now underway.
During 2024, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective of specialist designers, engineers, and craftspeople undertook some of their most creatively daring and technically challenging commissions to date. These projects incorporated innovative materials, features, and craft techniques never seen before on a Rolls-Royce motor car, resulting in unique, emotionally resonant masterpieces which truly reflect each commissioning client’s interests and personality.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Bespoke offering reached record levels in 2024. Bespoke content value increased 10% on average per motor car year-on-year, reaching the highest level in the company’s history.
This record achievement is a testament to Rolls-Royce’s long-term strategic focus on Bespoke, centred on creating value for clients through highly individualised products and experiences, and providing opportunities for meaningful personal expression. These commissions drew inspiration from diverse themes, ranging from spectacular natural phenomena and the marque’s heritage to cherished personal milestones and classic films. Artisans crafted exquisite details including solid 18-carat gold sculptures, intricate embroideries comprising more than 869,500 stitches, delicate marquetry composed of more than 500 individually shaped pieces of wood, captivating mother-of-pearl artworks, and holographic paint finishes, among other notable expressions of contemporary craft.
Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended received the most comprehensive Bespoke commissions throughout the year, as clients explored this generous and detailed canvas for personal expression. In its first full year of deliveries, clients immediately saw the Bespoke potential of Spectre, with this model containing the second highest level of Bespoke content per motor car in the marque’s 2024 portfolio.
The Middle East was the largest Bespoke region by average value per motor car, closely followed by North America and Europe.
Rolls-Royce Coachbuild, the pinnacle of Bespoke expression, unveiled Arcadia Droptail in 2024. It is one of four coachbuilt Droptail masterpieces, which followed the marque’s previous Coachbuild commissions ‘Sweptail’ and Boat Tail.
The marque’s commitment to Bespoke is reflected in its Private Offices, which take the highly personalised experience of commissioning a Rolls-Royce at Goodwood directly to clients around the world. In 2024, this global network of VIP spaces was expanded to New York and Seoul, which joined their counterparts in Dubai and Shanghai. Inspired by the original Private Office in Goodwood, these creative hubs are available by invitation, each designed to inspire creativity and close collaboration between clients and a dedicated designer and client experience manager based in the region. This unique experience is highly appreciated by clients, with Private Office commissions typically being 25% higher in value due to the opportunity to explore the full extent of Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke capabilities.
Rolls-Royce’s dealer partners around the world also continued to invest in the marque’s updated visual identity and showroom concept, which provides a social, creatively engaging environment in which clients can relax and find inspiration for their Bespoke commission.
The Rolls-Royce invitation-only members’ app, Whispers, continued to grow in 2024, with a 55% uplift in membership. In this exclusive digital members’ club, clients can network with each other and gain access to exclusive Rolls-Royce insights about the marque and the wider luxury world. Whispers also enables direct client contact with senior Rolls-Royce Motor Cars executives and those who own a Goodwood-era Rolls-Royce, fostering a particularly close bond between the marque and its clients.
GLOBALLY BALANCED SALES PICTURE
Rolls-Royce introduced a record four new models in 2024: Cullinan Series II and Ghost Series II, together with the respective Black Badge models. These highly successful launches, together with sustained demand for all Rolls-Royce products, contributed to global sales of 5,712 in 2024 – the third-highest annual total ever achieved and in line with the marque’s forecasts and expectations, given the changeover to the new models.
2024 was also the first full year of sales for Rolls-Royce Spectre, which proved even more popular than expected. Spectre was the most requested Rolls-Royce model in Europe last year and the second most demanded globally, with clients around the world confirming it amplifies the attributes for which the marque is most renowned: silence, ‘waftability’ and the unique ‘magic-carpet ride’ experience.
Taking all regions into consideration, the most requested Rolls-Royce models in 2024 were Cullinan, Spectre, then Ghost. Phantom, the marque’s flagship, retained its status as the ultimate and rarest Rolls-Royce. Phantom will celebrate its centenary in 2025.
In 2024, North America was Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ largest sales region, measured by the number of motor cars handed over to clients. Several regions, including the Middle East & Africa, Europe, and Asia Pacific, achieved record sales. In China, the marque responded to sustained demand for Bespoke from its dealer partners, reflecting a continuous increase in younger clientele engaging with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and its unique and highly personalised experience. This is most clearly evidenced at the Private Office in Shanghai, which opened in 2023, demonstrating the marque’s ongoing commitment to the region.
In 2024, Rolls-Royce also benefited from smaller but fast-growing markets, including Malaysia, Thailand, and the Netherlands. The UAE, Germany and Japan, all large and well-established markets for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, were among a number of countries which achieved record sales in 2024. They also experienced a significant uplift in demand for Bespoke features, with some of the most ambitious Bespoke commissions originating from these markets.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars looks forward with confidence to 2025, when the marque will be unveiling its next electric motor car.
Rolls-Royce recently dropped basic color and specification from the Cullinan Series II and Black Badge Cullinan Series II global media drive held in Ibiza back in June. Alas, we weren’t on that drive, but we are able to share the basic color information in order to help inspire those ordering Rolls-Royces of their own, or considering Rolls-Royce hues in build specifications from other manufacturers.
We’ve been adding each car in our Color Check over the last few weeks. Next up is this Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II christened ‘Luxurian’. It’s finished in Olivin (olivin; metallic uni; R9E; Rolls-Royce).
Rolls-Royce PR has describes Olivin as “bespoke”, “opulent” and that it “scintillates under the light” when it shared this deep dark green in the detailing of the Phantom Extended.
No doubt this deep, dark green is inspired by olives, with Rolls-Royce’s own take on a dark green on the gold side of the green spectrum and something we see from a lot of other manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.
Rolls-Royce didn’t detail the rest of the spec on ‘Luxurian’, but did provide a substantial amount of photography from which to assess the specification.
Given we recently highlighted the transformation of the Audi RS2’s iconic RS Blue(rsblau; pearl effect UNI; M8; Audi) to Nogaro Blue(nogaroblau; pearl effect UNI; Z5M; Audi) as Audi moved on from Porsche production of the RS2, we remembered a certain layout of the Audi stand at the Geneve Motor Show and wanted to revisit the visual comparison.
Back in 2014, new car motor shows were in their heyday, and Geneva may very well have been queen of them all. Sure, the Frankfurt IAA with its many show halls may have been bigger, but Geneva was where car manufacturers, carrozzeria and even the aftermarket focused on design and performance for the super rich. Audi Sport (then quattro GmbH) always brought their latest sporting models and often built in Audi exclusive one-off specification. For 2014, timed with the launch of the RS 4 Nogaro selection edition, the brand from Ingolstadt brought several blue examples including a vintage Audi RS2 on loan from Audi Tradition.
As we now know, that vintage RS2 Avant was painted RS Blue, while the Audi exclusive RS 4 Avant and RS 5 Coupe seen in these photos is painted Nogaro Blue. Since Audi didn’t reformulate the colors, they are visually identical. That’s not the easiest to see under the super intense show lights of the Geneva Motor Show and while parked on polished white floors of the Audi stand, but it’s still the case.
Interestingly, though the RS 4 Nogaro selection edition press release dropped at Geneva, the car on the stand doesn’t match the specification of the limited series production car. Though that car long predates this site, we’ve gone ahead and retro published the original press release on the Nogaro selection edition along with detailed official shots found in Audi France’s archives. Those period PR photos clearly show the special edition had two-tone black and blue Alcantara seats, plus details like nomenclature on the shift knob and badging at the rear. They also had silver optic wheels, while the car on the Audi stand that year has gloss black and machined finish on the same wheel design.
So what was this RS 4 at Geneva? As mentioned, Audi regularly built tailored Audi exclusive specifications for its booth show cars in those years. Especially on press days when these photos were shot, star cars and RS models frequently had specifications not from the standard order book. The RS 4 Avant shown here was likely an effective one-off by Audi exclusive, but not an actual Nogaro selection edition. The matching Nogaro Blue RS 5 Coupé is more obviously a single Audi exclusive build, with tan seats and grey stitching.
Neither Audi of America nor Audi Canada never sold the RS 4 in North America, much less the RS 4 Nogaro selection edition. However, Audi of America product managers did dip into some of the components (namely the blue Alcantara seats) to create a special Nogaro edition S4 that is highly prized by owners who still have them.
While most cars today are produced in monotone paint, there’s no denying that duo-tone bodywork has enjoyed heydays over the years, with more frequent heydays in the super luxury space where brands like Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Bugatti operate. Cars like the new Flying Spur Speed are a perfect platform for just such a duo-tone livery. And in the case of this particular Flying Spur Speed that turned up on the brand’s Global Media Drive, Bentley’s Storm Grey (stormgrey; metallic UNI; 6704; Bentley) over Kingfisher (kingfisher; metallic UNI; 6549 / 9560205; Bentley) looks the business.
Bentley has released photos of each car on location for the drive. This includes full build specifications. Going forward, we’re going to be color checking all of them, and next up is this particular specification.
Inside, the cabin is Brunel and Kingfisher leather detailed with contrast stitching and High Gloss Carbon Fiber fascias.
Worth noting, the car also has several options that we’ll list here along with U.S. pricing. These include Mulliner Personal Commission Duo Tone Paintwork ($33,325), ‘Naim for Bentley Premium Audio System ($9,615), Touring Specification ($7,890), Bentley Rotating Display ($6,955), Full Length Center Console with 4-Seat Configuration ($5,135), Illuminated Flying ‘B’ in Polished Stainless Steel ($4,895), Wellness Seating ($4,670), 22″ Ten Swept Spoke Wheels – Bright Machined ($4,400), and High Gloss Carbon Fiber Fascia ($4,330).
Touring Specification includes Lane Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Night Vision and Head-up Display.
Wellness Seating includes Postural and Lumbar Adjustments, Cooled and Heated Seating and Massage Functions.
Rolls-Royce recently dropped basic color and specification from the Cullinan Series II and Black Badge Cullinan Series II global media drive held in Ibiza back in June. Alas, we weren’t on that drive, but we are able to share the basic color information in order to help inspire those ordering Rolls-Royces of their own, or considering Rolls-Royce hues in build specifications from other manufacturers.
We’ve been adding each car in our Color Check over the last few weeks. Next up is this Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II christened ‘Disruptor’. It’s finished in Chartreuse (chartreusemetallic; metallic uni; R9G; Rolls-Royce).
The French herbal liquor made by Carthusian monks since 1737 for which Chartreuse is likely named comes in green and yellow that vary in flavor and alcohol content. The drink is distilled and aged with a recipe of 130 herbs, plants and flowers. The name for the liquor itself came from the Grand Chartreuse monastery located in the Chartreuse Mountains near Grenoble.
In the case of Rolls-Royce’s Chartreuse Metallic, it’s a an equally complex metallic gold with hints of green. The net hue is striking and unique, drawing attention in ways that make it highly distinctive.
Rolls-Royce recently dropped basic color and specification from the Cullinan Series II and Black Badge Cullinan Series II global media drive held in Ibiza back in June. Alas, we weren’t on that drive, but we are able to share the basic color information in order to help inspire those ordering Rolls-Royces of their own, or considering Rolls-Royce hues in build specifications from other manufacturers.
We’ve been adding each car in our Color Check over the last few weeks. Next up is this Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan Series II christened ‘Captain’. It’s finished in Gunmetal (gunmetal; metallic uni; 7G0N / FW47 / FW47-7G0N / W24 / WW24; Rolls-Royce).
Given the long and non-specific history of gunmetal grey paint on cars and Rolls-Royce’s own long history, we haven’t yet identified the origins of Gunmetal at Rolls-Royce, but the company’s own diverse nature over the years gives us a clue. Rather than simply a catchy name for a grey paint imagined by a carmaker, Rolls-Royce actually has some provenance as a gun maker as well. This includes its 40 mm cannon as well as experimental heavy machine gun.
Rolls-Royce didn’t detail the rest of the spec on ‘Captain’, but its distinctive green interior is also worth noting.
What: 2024 Bentley Continental GTC Mulliner W12 Color:Pink Frost(pinkfrost; unknown; unknown; Bentley Mulliner) VIN: SCBDT4ZG3RC017079 Mileage: 33 Price at Time of this Writing: $459,260 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: O’Gara Coach, Beverly Hills, CA Dealer listing:Link
Why we love mention it:
There’s no doubt the Bentley Continental GTC you see here is polarizing. When the Bentley dealership in Beverly Hills commissions a special order car from Mulliner to celebrate the final W12 twin turbo delivery to the store, maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising that they’d go with something as bold as pink over pink.
Not much is known about Pink Frost at this time, though it’s an incredibly light and almost white pastel pink, light pastel in the vein of Porsche Chalk or Audi Cumulus Blue… but pink.
We also don’t know much about the interior specification. The car’s listing states it as “Beluga”, though it’s definitely got Bentley’s Mulliner – Bespoke Interior Color Split on the build list and we’re guessing that may have been to mirror the Pink Frost exterior color.
Whatever, the car is a one of one build by Mulliner for Bentley Beverly Hills, with other options including Mulliner – Personal Paint – Solid & Metallic, Mulliner – Bespoke Interior Colour Split, Bang & Olufsen for Bentley, Mulliner PCG – Pinstripe Fascia/Door WR, Mood Lighting with Personalised TP, Mulliner PCG – Bespoke Treadplate Plaques, Mulliner PCG – Mulliner Overmats (Front) and Mulliner – Quilted Tonneau Cover.
There’s no doubt this is a fascinating build, and a significant one named explicitly on the sill plate. For the right buyer seeking this sort of car, it is spectacular. For many others, it will no doubt cause discussion.
Our focus is typically factory specification, though we deviate from that in certain cases such as firms creating remasters of iconic cars. So, should we cover a fabric manufacturer that remasters iconic color combinations of racing liveries and remixes them as a tartan? That seems noteworthy, particularly when we’re checking out these first-look photos of Spirit of Le Mans’ next Rothman’s inspired pattern dubbed SOLM Rally.
Okay, the “rally” name may be a bit broad as we can think of any number of iconic rally liveries – Alitalia, HB Audi Sport, Subaru 555. Even still, Rothman’s is no lesser player in this space so we’ll give them a pass yet keep hoping they branch out into the aforementioned others. SOLM already does a take on Martini, so we’re liking this trend even if the Porsche association is quite obvious.
Why Porsche? Most reading this site probably don’t need to ask, but we’ll tell you anyway. Porsche owners love to retrofit tartans. Add in seats with modular center cushions like the current Porsche shell seats and you get companies who make whole businesses on assembling swappable seat centers for an extra bit of retro flare that doesn’t require a Sonderwunsch build allotment. We’re not so sure Gulf fabric inside a Gulf livery build isn’t just a bit too much Gulf, but if that’s what an owner wants then Spirit of Le Mans seems ready to provide it.
For instance, there are a lot of Porsche 911 Dakars out there wearing Porsche’s “Rough Roads” livery. Why Rough Roads? Well, while they mirrored the period Rothman’s colors of the Paris Dakar 959s (and many other Porsche race cars), they probably didn’t want to pay licensing or deal with the negative P.R. of putting a cigarette manufacturer’s name on the side of their new Safari-from-the-factory Carrera 4s. Even still, we’re guessing that Spirit of Le Mans is guessing lots of owners may want some tartan to match their cars.
SOLM Rally is just one of many incredible looking fabric patterns Spirt of Le Mans offers. They’ve even got a Gulf Racing houndstooth should that be your speed. Check them out at SOLM.co.uk.
Rolls-Royce recently dropped basic color and specification from the Cullinan Series II and Black Badge Cullinan Series II global media drive held in Ibiza back in June. Alas, we weren’t on that drive, but we are able to share the basic color information in order to help inspire those ordering Rolls-Royces of their own, or considering Rolls-Royce hues in build specifications from other manufacturers.
We’ve been adding each car in our Color Check over the last few weeks. Next up is this Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan Series II christened ‘Pioneer’. It’s finished in Salamanca Blue (salamancablue; pearl metallic uni; R84; Rolls-Royce). According to the Audrain Auto Museum, Salamanca Blue is named after the 1913 winner of the Spanish Grand Prix, Marques Don Carlos de Salamanca. Don Carlos Salamanca was a friend of Sir Henry Royce and the importer of Rolls-Royce into Spain at that time.
Rolls-Royce didn’t detail the rest of the spec on ‘Pioneer’, but its distinctive black and white interior is definitely worth noting.
