We had the Bentley Boys. But we also had the Bentley Girls. You may not know much about them, but the British marque just created three very special Bentaygas that celebrate each woman's individual legacy. Here's what you need to know. And there are three very interesting and inspiring stories to quickly discover below!
Two women designers envisioned and ordered three very special Bentley Bentayga SUVs. Emma Carruthers and Georgia Gough went for an S, Azure, and an Extended Wheelbase (EWB) version. Those are the three variants currently available to prospective Bentley customers from around the world.
These one-offs are supposed to remind everyone of Mary Petre Bruce, Dorothy Paget, and Diana Barnato Walker. These three powerful women helped Bentley accomplish some of its goals and held important roles at the carmaker during its 105-year history. Besides that, they outshone their peers during their prime.
Bentley Board Member Karen Lange said that the three Bentaygas are an homage "to the lives of the Bentley Girls" and underlined that the exclusive rides should remind everyone of incredible contributions.
A Bentley Bentayga S for "Bentley's Flying Lady"
Diana Barnato drove a Dove Grey Bentley 4.25-liter Park Ward and was the daughter of Le Mans winner Woolf Barnato. It feels unfair to introduce in such a way a woman who started flying after a six-hour crash course. Especially since that same woman began off-radar deliveries of aircraft deep within enemy territory to soldiers fighting in World War II!
Barnato delivered 260 V12-powered Spitfires (and other aircraft). It's unclear how exactly she impacted Bentley's journey (apart from driving one for a brief period). That's because Rolls-Royce supplied the Merlin aero engines. However, she surely helped with the war effort and executed dangerous missions.
Flying with little to no ground support can go wrong pretty quickly. Fortunately, she was savvy enough to make a difference when it mattered most.
Photo: Bentley
"Her" Bentley SUV is a Bentayga S that puts out 542 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque. To make it even more special and transform it into a one-of-a-kind gem, the brand's craftspeople equipped it with a Smoke Green exterior and the interior hide split of green and saddle (rusty brown), referencing the Spitfire Mk9's cockpit.
The vehicle also has a special D-pillar badge that shows the Spitfire logo alongside yellow accents that remind us of the plane's iconic wing edge. That's Diana Barnato's V8-powered 2024 Bentley Bentayga.
The fighter plane is often credited with helping the UK defeat the Axis. But it's worth pointing out that the Hurricane aircraft also helped. It was not as sleek as the Spitfire, but it was better for low-altitude fights, it cost less to manufacture, and it was easier and cheaper to maintain. Many people still think the Hurricane did more than the Spitfire, but we're not here to argue.
A Bentley Bentayga EWB for the woman who believed in Sir Tim Birkin
Men may have shown more interest in pushing the limits of certain industry sectors, such as automotive, but women were the ones who often made unexpected moves that advanced the vision of a company and forced their partners or spouses to go beyond the finish line. Remember Bertha Benz?
Bentley Boy Sir Tim Birkin became obsessed with the 4.5-liter engine and wanted to put a supercharger on it. W.O. Bentley (the man himself) disagreed. Fortunately, Dorothy Paget wanted to see her racing driving instructor and mentor show the world what he thought of performance-wise. She decided to sponsor the ambitious guy.
Photo: Bentley
Birkin was able to create a fleet of four supercharged Blowers. He raced at Le Mans and Brooklands alongside Bentley. He didn't win. But the Blower Bentley became incredibly famous. Today, it's the most valuable Bentley in the world, which only proves that Paget knew what she was doing.
"Her" Bentayga EWB Mulliner is extra special. Finished in Blower Green paint and with an interior that reminds us of the Blower Team Car No. 2, the one-off luxury SUV also features nickel-painted self-leveling wheel accent bezels and painted nickel veneer carriers to the cabin. Dorothy Paget helped create the original ones.
Inside, this Bentayga also has engine spin aluminum fascias. They are an extra nod to the special ride that had a 4.5-liter engine and an Amherst Villiers supercharger.
A Bentley Bentayga Azure for the woman who was the embodiment of courage
The Interbellum period was a time when companies, governments, and people dealt with a new reality: unseen before prosperity. In many parts of the world (but especially in the northern hemisphere), many lived a fulfilling life and almost forgot about the atrocities of the First World War. Optimism ruled over many lands.
Mary Petre Bruce discovered that she was fond of going fast. She wanted to do something with that talent. So, in 1929, she went to France, got behind the steering wheel of a 4.5-liter Bentley, and drove non-stop for 24 hours. It was a world record. The woman traveled in the cold and through fog at an average speed of 89 mph (143 kph). She covered 2,164 miles (3,483 kilometers) in a day.
The highway speed limit in France today is 81 mph (130 kph). You can imagine how it felt to go faster than the current speed limit in a car that had none of the modern safety and comfort perks.
Besides all that, she had never driven a Bentley before meeting with her trustworthy partner in the Hexagon. It was a series of firsts, and Bruce dealt with them impeccably and bravely.
The woman also learned to fly in just six weeks, bought herself a plane, and broke the record for the fastest double-crossing of the English Channel. Oh, and she also became the first woman to circumnavigate the world completely alone.
Photo: Bentley
"Her" Bentayga Azure is finished in Parson Green pearlescent paint and has a heritage interior upholstery that reminds us of the 4.5-liter she drove in 1929 without worrying about getting to know the car beforehand.
Mary Petre Bruce loved to experience the finer things life had to offer, so Bentley decided to finish the A/C switches in 24-karat gold. The SUV also has vertical fluted quilting seat uppers and door cards. The marque noted her fondness for pearls, which led to the pearl crossbanded veneer and marquetry.
The Bentayga Azure can be easily distinguished out in the wild thanks to a checkered flag found on the D-pillar and the Blackline Specification (blacked-out exterior trim).
That's the trio of one-offs Bentley created. They didn't have to be SUVs, but who would complain about owning a very special Bentayga, right?
Don't forget that it's March 8, which means we celebrate International Women's Day. Some countries even say that March is Women's History Month. Send someone your good wishes, and don't forget about the special women in your life, no matter who you or they are.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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