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Bentley producing Grand Convertible in grandiose exclusivity

The Googology wiki that celebrates numbers has entries for 42, 151, SpongeBob's Number, and Three Hundred Billion Gazillion. The wiki has no entry for the number 19, which means it doesn't commemorate Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen," Paul Hardcastle's song "19," or the official production run of the Bentley Grand Convertible. That's right, the abundant and abundantly luxurious Mulsanne-based Grand Convertible will arrive on public roads in 2019. However, Bentley plans just 19 examples of the droptops, and none of them will come to America; only Europe, the Middle East, and Russia have deemed the Grand Convertible roadworthy. Retail price for the Grand Convertible, as if you could buy one in the store, is said to start at $3.5 million - roughly ten times more than the recently-facelifted Mulsanne Speed donor vehicle. ( YouTube gearhead Shmee150 captured the new production look in video taken this month at the Bentley showroom in Dubai.) Actual prices will surely run much higher since Bentley's Mulliner division will oversee the builds. That means custom two-tone colors, shape-shifting diamond quilting inside, Beluga leather, color-matched contrast stitching, and a Burr Walnut tonneau that's the largest veneer ever used on a Bentley. All of that comes before appending every fanciful option an owner consents to fund. Why the wee production run, when Bentley could certainly sell more than 19 specimens? Walter Owen Bentley founded his car company in August, 1919. Even though Walter's first Bentley 3-Litre didn't arrive until 1921, the 19 Grand Convertibles honor the centenary of the company's official founding. Bentley foreshadowed the minuscule production last year, though in a different guise: in March 2016, when Bentley CEO Wolfgang Duerheimer suggested the return of the Azure convertible, the boss said a potential Azure "would be built in [a batch of] 20 units and sold to absolute connoisseurs at a very high price." Give or take a digit, sounds like promises kept. Related Video:

Meet the all-new, third-generation Bentley Flying Spur

The all-new, third-generation Bentley Flying Spur rolls into our lives behind a retracting, illuminated Flying B hood ornament. The grand tourer sedan sibling to the Continental GT also brings a new platform with a longer wheelbase, a new design, more technology, and fluted leather and wood finery. About the only thing that doesn't change is horsepower, with the 6.0-liter W12 putting out the same 626 horsepower as the top-level Flying Spur W 12 S trim of the second-generation sedan. Torque, however, makes a substantial jump from 605 to 664 pound-feet. The same MSB architecture that serves the Continental GT and the Porsche Panamera has been called up for duty. A wheelbase stretched by 5.1 inches over the previous Flying Spur delivers handling benefits and attends especially to the comfort of rear-seat passengers. Superformed aluminum panels create sharper, smoother lines everywhere, starting with the sedan's face. A much wider grille re-establishes proportions up front, as well as a corporate look that goes its own way from the Continental. Vertical vanes in the grille channel the 1957 Bentley S1 Continental Flying Spur, and sit just ahead of a gloss black matrix mesh. The lower grille comes in gloss black matrix as well, but can be specced in bright chrome. The LED matrix headlamps have been fitted with chrome sleeves in order to glimmer even when the lights are off. A prominent crease emphasizes the shoulders and haunches. Beneath that, the front fender vents adopt a larger and more obvious "B" shape, the lower doors accented by a chrome strip running between the wheel arches. Those arches will be filled with either the standard 21-inch wheels, or two new 22-inch wheels on sedans optioned with Mulliner Specification. In back, wrap-around taillights take on the illuminated "B" graphic, and the license plate holder moves to the lower bumper, leaving only the Bentley wings and the word "Bentley" to adorn the decklid. The interior overhaul befits Bentley's move into its second century. A high-definition digital instrument binnacle sits behind the new steering wheel. A 12.3-inch screen on the instrument panel handles infotainment needs and performs several tricks, one of which is a proximity sensor that primes the system for commands as a hand draws near. Another trick is that the screen is set into a three-sided, rotating shape. A press of a button flips the screen to reveal a panel with three analogue gauges - temperature, compass and chronometer.

The 2020 Bentley Flying Spur has 3-D wood now, and it looks spectacular

This is the coolest wood you’re going to see today. We promise. Bentley is now manufacturing something it calls “Three-Dimensional Wood.” And yes, all wood we come into contact with is 3-D, but this stuff pops out at you like people and items do in a 3-D movie. YouÂ’ll find it in the rear door inserts of the Bentley Flying Spur, assuming the owner checked the box. One look at the photos will have you going, “how the Â… ?” Yes, itÂ’s pretty wild to see, and we can imagine the effect it has in person is even stronger. Bentley did explain how it made wood look like the diamond-quilted leather it uses in its seats, though. As one would expect from Bentley, itÂ’s a hell of a process.  Each rear door and quarter panel is crafted out of a single block of wood. Bentley uses either American Walnut or American Cherry timber. They start by machining the back of the log to match a die-cast aluminum door panel template. ItÂ’s bonded to the template, and then the difficult work begins. Skilled craftspeople carve the wood to its three-dimensional surface with a multi-axis routing machine to a tolerance of 0.1 mm. They then hand finish the cuts to achieve perfect results. Finally, a lacquer is applied to attain the color and texture that Bentley desires. Left: EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept; Right: Production Flying Spur pattern This design of wood was first seen in a Bentley concept from 2015. It was called the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 (shown above, left). After the positive reaction to that design, Bentley says it felt a production adaptation was in order.  “Three-Dimensional Wood is the next interior design element weÂ’ve taken from concept car idea to production reality,” Brett Boydell, Head of Interior Design for the Flying Spur said. “It works in perfect harmony with the three-dimensional leather quilting across the cabin of the Flying Spur and creates an even more special environment for those being driven.” If you were to count the number of carved diamonds in the wood, youÂ’d come to a total of 150 in the Flying Spur. As of now, the big sedan is the only Bentley this option is available in. We wouldnÂ’t be surprised if it expanded to others in the future. In addition to that, this is a design that could be translated into lesser luxury cars using cheaper processes and 3-D printing. Bring on the 3-D wood. Related Video: