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Any car maker claiming to be following 'millennia of tradition' might be accused of taking things a bit far - after all, the car as a thing has only been around for 140 or so years. Bentley, though, says it genuinely is taking inspiration from thousands of years of tradition for its new Bentayga special edition. Not from car making, but from pearl diving.
The Bentayga Mulliner Pearl of the Gulf edition of Bentley's big off-roader has been inspired by the rich (in all senses of the word) heritage of diving for precious pearls in the warm waters of the Gulf. An original Pearl edition was commissioned by, surprise, surprise, a wealthy Middle-Eastern client, and now Bentley is going to build just five very limited edition Bentaygas based on that original.
The most obvious part of this oyster-based tribute to tradition is the marquetry found in the Bentayga's cabin. Based on 'Dark Fiddleback' eucalyptus wood, the scene of a dhow sailing boat is picked out on the Bentayga's fascia and highlighted with - of course - mother of pearl. The Breitling dashboard clock has also been burnished with mother of pearl.
As for the rest of the cabin, there's a mixture of Linen, Brunel and Camel leather, and there's even some gold thread for a little added flash. There are also thick lambswool rugs on the floor, and illuminated tread plates on the door sills.
And for the busy Bentayga owner, who's coming home from a day's pearl diving, there's also a special safe built into the car for storing those precious little pearls. Made from high-pressure die-cast aluminium, it includes biometric fingerprint security, and Bentley says that it's "the ideal place to stow valuables while at the beach or utilising valet parking services."
All of which, based on 7,000 years of Arabian tradition, is almost enough to overshadow the Bentayga's massive 600hp 6.0-litre W12 turbo engine, it's special off-road settings, its active computer-controlled anti-roll and ride comfort systems and its Drive Dynamic Mode. Almost, but not quite.
Oh, and Mulliner? A name that's intertwined with Bentley history. Mulliner was an independent coach-builder, which showed off its first special Bentley in 1923, just four years after Bentley itself started making cars. Since then, it's a name which has become synonymous with bespoke luxury and style, and which was behind the original - and hopelessly gorgeous - 1953 R-Type Continental. Mulliner became part of Bentley back in 1959.