Bentley figured out how to fade paint sideways, and only 500 cars can have it
A paint job that changes depending on which side you walk around
Bentley has done fades before, but always front to back. This one runs across the car, a highlight colour on the driver's side blending into a darker tone by the time it reaches the passenger flank. It is a first for the brand, it is exclusive to the Supersports, and with only 500 of those being built it will stay genuinely rare.
What the theme does
Beyond the fade itself, there is an off-centre highlight stripe running front to rear, deliberately aligned with the passenger seat rather than the centreline. The front grille carries a number eight, and an accent pinstripe picks out the carbon diffusers, fender blades and sills. It is a coherent set of details rather than a single trick, and the asymmetry is the part that will divide opinion.
The three specifications
Dragon runs Dragon Red into Black Crystal, with a Hotspur and Beluga interior. Electric fades Electric Blue into Dark Sapphire, paired with a Klein blue and Imperial Blue cabin. Brodgar goes from Pale Brodgar into Brodgar, with Camel and Beluga inside. Each is a complete specification rather than a colour choice, which is how Mulliner tends to work.
Inside
The cabin is two seats only and finished in Full Leather Specification with a perforation pattern unique to the Supersports on the seats and doors. The two-tone idea carries over from the bodywork, with the brighter colour around the driver and the darker one on the passenger side, and the gear lever is trimmed to match the driver's seat. Contrast stitching runs across the dashboard and headrests, and the three-spoke hide-trimmed steering wheel is heated.
The car it goes on
The Supersports is the most focused Continental GT Bentley has built. Its twin-turbo V8 produces 657 hp and 800 Nm, driving the rear wheels only, which is a first for the model line. Kerb weight is around 1,995 kg, roughly 100 kg less than the outgoing GT Speed, and 0 to 100 km/h takes 3.7 seconds. Production is limited to 500 cars worldwide, from around 343,900 pounds.
Why it still matters
The theme was shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this month, but this is not a reveal that has already passed. Supersports order books opened in March and production is under way through the rest of this year, so the people buying the remaining cars are making exactly this decision now. Choose one of the three themes or specify your own, with 500 build slots in total.
AutoNext Take
Paint is the one area where the coachbuilding departments can still genuinely innovate, and a fade that runs across a car rather than along it is a harder problem than it sounds: every panel gap, every curve and every reflection has to carry the transition without breaking it. Bentley has an entirely new paint shop capable of this sort of work, and using it on a two-seat, rear-drive, 500-car Continental GT is the right place to start. The off-centre stripe aligned to the passenger seat is the detail that tips it from clever into slightly strange, but nobody spending this kind of money wants restrained, and asymmetry at least means the car looks like a deliberate object rather than an options list.
