Bentley and Boodles have joined forces again, and the result is the sort of thing that makes a person quietly reassess whether their current car is, in fact, an embarrassment.
The first collaboration between these two northern British institutions produced a one-of-one Continental GTC in 2024 that sold on the night of its launch. One imagines the phones at Crewe did not stop ringing afterwards. Customers, it seems, wanted what that car had, and they wanted it on their own Bentleys. So Bentley listened, and now there are two bespoke specifications — Standard and Dark — available across the entire model range. The first car to celebrate the launch is a Bentayga EWB Azure configured in the Standard specification, available to order now through Bentley retailers for delivery in 2026. Let that sink in for a bit.
Boodles, for the uninitiated, has been making jewellery in Britain since 1798, still privately owned by the same family across six generations. Their most celebrated piece, the Raindance ring, now sits in the V&A Museum’s permanent collection. Bentley has been building cars in Crewe for 80 years. They are approximately 30 miles apart as the crow flies, and both have spent the better part of their existence proving that British craftsmanship remains, against considerable global competition, rather good.
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ABOVE: Bentley Boodles Bespoke Specification 2026
What are the two Bentley Boodles specifications?
The Standard specification draws from the quiet, collected colour palette of the 2024 Continental GTC. Gravity Grey and Linen hides sit alongside Autumn Stone and Piano Linen veneers, with a bespoke diamond-encrusted ‘Be Boodles’ motif adorning the centre console. Powder Pink contrast piping threads through the cabin with the confidence of someone who knows precisely what they are doing, and painted pinstripes in the same shade appear on the mirror caps and embroidery throughout. Outside, the Anthracite finish is punctuated by jewel-like self-levelling wheel badges and Boodles badging. It is, in short, the automotive equivalent of a very well-chosen accessory: understated enough to be elegant, specific enough to be unmistakable.
The Dark specification takes the same bones and gives them a considerably moodier edge. Satin Anthracite replaces standard Anthracite on the exterior. Inside, Beluga and Baroda hides are set against Piano Black veneer — and the Powder Pink that softens the Standard cabin gives way entirely to Silver and Chrome. These are direct references to the platinum and 18-carat white gold of Boodles’ jewellery, and the effect is precisely what you would expect: the Standard whispers; the Dark delivers its verdict with considerably less cheerfulness. Both are rather beautiful. I would have the Dark, obviously.
How does the Boodles collaboration compare to Mulliner?
Bentley’s Mulliner division has long been the house of the impossible request. The Bentayga Artenara Edition we covered recently drew its visual language from the landscapes of Gran Canaria. The Virtuoso Collection partnered with Naim for an audio experience that borders on the theatrical. Mulliner’s gift is transforming a brief — however peculiar — into something that looks as though it could not have existed any other way.
What Boodles brings that Mulliner’s in-house team cannot is 228 years of gemstone design heritage and an exterior creative identity entirely distinct from Bentley’s own. The ‘Be Boodles’ diamond motif on the centre console is not a Bentley design interpreted in a Boodles direction; it is a Boodles design, full stop, installed in a Bentley. That is a meaningfully different proposition, and one that will matter to the sort of customer who already owns Boodles jewellery and would rather like their car to know it.
Bentley posted its seventh consecutive year of profit last year, despite navigating a China slump and a round of job cuts. The company is clearly not resting. Broadening the bespoke proposition beyond the Mulliner house to include named external creative partners is a logical extension of that commercial confidence, and it gives customers something the standard options list, however extensive, simply cannot provide.
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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