Is there a more upmarket material than tweed? Silk, perhaps? Lace, maybe? Hmm. Well, both are impractical and, for us, it's tweed which takes top billing. And it would appear Bentley is on the same hymn sheet, because now it has announced four tweed options will be available for customers to specify when ordering their Flying Spur.
Four tweeds to go at
There are four tweed options to go at and they all make their debut in the Bentley Mulliner Personal Commissioning Guide, which features more than 70 bespoke options of all types of things. For the tweeds, choose from Cheltenham (the colours of countryside greens and said to be more 'traditional'), Glen Plaid-Tolsta Beach is a bolder check pattern that is named after the shores of an Outer Hebridean island. Finally, both the Charcoal and the Sand Herringbone tweeds are said to be more contemporary choices that better complement darker and lighter interiors respectively.
Tweed hasn't just been chosen for its quality, but also its green status. As a type of wool, it is a sustainable material and part of Bentley's drive towards using more of these sorts of ecologically sound finishes in its vehicles, as part of its wider Beyond100 strategy. This was best showcased in 2019 by the EXP 100 all-electric concept car Stunning Bentley EXP 100 GT concept - which used 5,000-year-old copper-infused Riverwood, woollen carpets in the floor wells and a leather-like upholstery made from a by-product of the wine-making industry. Bentley says it will only use sustainably sourced materials through its current- and next-generation cars.
All the tweed being used by Bentley in its range of grand tourers is sourced from Lovat Mill, which is located in the Scottish Borders town of Hawick. Lovat ensures its tweeds are produced in the most ethical and environmentally friendly ways, such as no hazardous chemicals (like AZO dye) being used on site. The mill also minimises its carbon footprint as 90 per cent of the electricity generated for use there comes from renewable sources, its 'dry' production facility has negligible emissions and the workforce mainly all live locally, allowing them to walk to work.