Bentley turned Tokyo Tower green, then took a Supersports to Daikoku
Most brands book a hotel ballroom. This one booked a landmark
Luxury launches usually happen behind closed doors, with a lectern and a tray of canapes. Bentley did the opposite in Tokyo. Over three nights in June it lit Tokyo Tower in its own green, put a car on the screens above Shibuya Crossing, and then drove out to Daikoku to park among everyone else.
The tower
On the Saturday night, Tokyo Tower was illuminated in Bentley green, with the Bentley emblem displayed on the viewing deck. Beneath it, more than 100 guests attended the Japanese unveiling of the Continental GT S. Lighting one of the most recognisable structures in the country in your corporate colour is not subtle, but it does guarantee that half of Tokyo sees it whether they were invited or not.
Daikoku is the interesting bit
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights the Supersports turned up at the Daikoku car meet with its underbody lit in green. Anyone who has followed Japanese car culture knows what Daikoku is: a motorway service area that became the spiritual home of the country's car scene, entirely grassroots and entirely unimpressed by marketing budgets. Sending a 500-unit Bentley there to park alongside modified Silvias and hand-built specials is a genuine choice, and a braver one than the tower.
Shibuya and Shinjuku
The Continental GT S appeared across the large-scale LED screens at Shibuya Crossing, wrapped in a design inspired by the Hayabusa Shinkansen, which is a neat piece of local specificity rather than a generic livery. On the Friday evening there was also a coffee and cars gathering in Shinjuku, hosted by Creative Director Mai Ikuzawa.
The cars
Both models made their Japanese debut here. The Continental GT S is the more conventional of the two, while the Supersports was shown in its FULL SEND Pymkhana specification, the car built for the film with Travis Pastrana. Bringing the stunt car rather than a showroom example says a fair amount about the tone Bentley was going for.
What Bentley says
"Japan has always been a strong market for Bentley," said Dave Hayter, Regional Director for Asia Pacific, adding that interest in the brand is growing while the company also makes new friends. Bentley did not publish sales figures for the market alongside the announcement.
AutoNext Take
The tower will get the photographs, but Daikoku is the part worth noticing. Luxury brands usually treat car culture as something to be admired from a distance, at a concours or behind a rope, and turning up three nights running at an open car meet is the opposite of that. It only works if the cars can take the scrutiny, which a rear-drive two-seat Continental GT and an actual gymkhana car can. Three nights at Daikoku buys a kind of credibility that no amount of ballroom canapes ever will.
