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We find out what happens when Savile Row staple Huntsman teams up with Jack Barclay for a stylishly exclusive Bentayga project
By Georgia Peck | 11 December 2019 | Cars & Yachts, Style
The Businessman and the Sportsman models are an exclusive collaboration to celebrate the anniversaries of the brands
What happens when one of Savile Row’s most esteemed British tailors unites with Bentley Motors’ oldest retailer to celebrate two 100-year anniversaries? Huntsman of Savile Row teamed up with Jack Barclay, as well as Bentley’s Mulliner Park Ward division – its impressive coachbuilding department – to create two limited-edition, bespoke Bentaygas, adorned suitably with sumptuous quantities of tweed and steeped in the epicentre of Mayfair heritage.
Designed by the iconic Jack Barclay of Berkeley Square (which has recently undergone a multimillion-pound refurbishment) and Huntsman, which is celebrating the centenary of its Savile Row boutique. The two variations of the Bentayga – the Sportsman edition and the Businessman edition – are designed to fit the modern lifestyles of their superlative clientele.
Only five of the limited-edition luxury motors are to be made – four of the Businessman and just one of the Sportsman – all offered with the unmistakable and adored V8 petrol variant of the famed Bentayga. With a 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged engine developing 542hp capable of 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds and top speeds of 180mph, it is a car that encapsulates power, usability and sportiness.
Both models feature a distinctive Peck 62 tweed throughout the interior, replacing Bentley’s traditional wooden veneer. The tweed was created in celebration of Huntsman’s own centenary, inspired by a 1962 coat from their archive that was originally designed for To Kill a Mockingbird actor Gregory Peck.
Arriving at Cliveden House, a quintessential English country manor-turned-hotel in Berkshire, to test drive the Businessman, I was especially keen to examine the vehicle’s interior. As a distant cousin of Gregory Peck, for me the marriage of Peck 62 tweed and Bentley held personal significance; the actor had been close to my grandfather and helped sell his original Bentley Blower to James Coburn before the Second World War. >>
The Businessman is the epitome of urban luxury, consisting of a two-tone grey and deep-black anthracite split satin and gloss exterior. The interior is jewelled with dark beluga hide and carbon-fibre veneer inserts, a perfect contrast to the tweed door cards and inserts. Further enhancing the feel of the Businessman edition are real sheepskin floor mats, ideal for polishing your leather soles after a hard day walking the streets of W1, and a bespoke mechanical Mulliner Tourbillon by Breitling clock. The most complex of watch mechanisms, it is automatically wound periodically by a dedicated high-precision winding mechanism built into the car, and is machined in solid gold with a choice of faces, including mother-of-pearl and diamond indexes.
In comparison, the Sportsman takes its inspiration from countryside pursuits, wearing vibrant candy red exterior gloss paintwork and featuring imperial blue hide and liquid amber veneer inserts within the vehicle – with a far more obvious use of the Peck 62 tweed, including on door cards and rear-seat pockets.
Both versions of these special-edition vehicles feature the logos of both Mayfair brands on all seat rests, and an added treat is the bespoke Mulliner chess board for rear passengers to enjoy – inspired by the chequered floor of the latter’s Berkeley Square showroom. This comes complete with a tweed-trimmed drawer for the chess pieces.
All customers purchasing one of these two very special motors will also receive a bespoke Huntsman jacket. Pricing has not been revealed, but it’s expected to be significantly more than the Bentayga’s starting price of £162,700.
“The personalisation work we do at Mulliner is about bringing a vision to life – like creating a perfect tailored suit – so adding an element of bespoke Huntsman material to the Bentayga’s lavish and beautiful interior is a perfect fit,” says Stefan Sielaff, director of design at Bentley and Mulliner.
Now managed by HR Owen Group, Jack Barclay is an important part of the vehicle’s history – and, thanks to its multimillion-pound renovation, has been exquisitely preserved.
“We are delighted to work with Jack Barclay celebrating Bentley’s centenary and Huntsman’s 100 years on Savile Row,” says Huntsman owner Pierre Lagrange. “Bentley espouses the timeless British values of authenticity, bespoke craftsmanship and attention to detail – all of which Huntsman embraces in each tailored suit.”
