The Linley Bentley

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Bentley and David Linley have produced The Linley Limited Edition Continental Flying Spur and Yves de Contades went to interview all the designers.
 
Interview with David Linley:
 
YdC: Tell us about the collaboration with Bentley on the Limited Edition Continental Flying Spur?
DL: As you can see in the car, it says "Linley for Bentley", the result of a longtime collaboration, we started talking about it about 5 years ago and the premise is the coming together of the best of the two brands, we hope to have achieved the highest standard of wood in a car that's ever been accomplished to create a unique series of ten beautiful Bentleys. I have an eagle eye for quality and the detail once you sit in the back is incredibly lovely such as changes to the chair and the addition of a humidor. It is an exercise in British elegance, sophistication, craftsmanship and subtlety
YdC: How was it working with the Bentley's designers and craftsmen?
DL: I have always held them in highest regard, It was of paramount importance that the Linley and the Bentley design team worked in harmony. The aim was to succeed in creating together a fully finished perfect object that happens to be a car.
YdC: What technical challenges were there?
DL: In comparison to furniture there are temperatures in the car that passed over a hundred degrees, so extensive testing had to be carried out to avoid shrinkage and the waist rail has curves and there are also double curves in the rear console which presented further practical challenges in the working of the wood.
YdC: Which school of British furniture influenced you?
DL: Not so much British but more of an international influence, a combination of life experience and expectation and creating an interior of a car which has the style and decoration of the furniture I love making.
YdC: What other projects are you working on?
DL: I am very much hoping that this will lead to working on other exciting projects such as this one.
 
Interview with Daniele Ceccomori, interior designer for Bentley:
 
YdC: What was it like working with David Linley and his design team?
DC: Fantastic, bringing in of an outside designer was very exciting and it was a pleasure working with such a fine craftsman who brought his own individual approach and matching it with Bentley's expertise.
YdC: What challenges did this pose for you?
DC: When you try to bring a furniture manufacturing approach to car production, you have to take into account that cars are subject to humidity, shaking, extreme heat and cold. Also the automotive industry uses double curves in it's manufacture. If you try to wrap a piece of paper or wood around a ball, you will get problems with the material bending and breaking , but we managed to come up with innovative techniques to achieve this perfectly.
YdC: What are you particularly proud of in this project?
DC: The beauty of achieving a clear message that when you step inside this car you feel that it is unique, the Rosewood waterfall effect of the wood and the elegant iconic helix motif define it's elegance.
 
Interview with Mark Blanchard, head designer for David Linley
 
YdC: What was your experience on this brand collaboration?
MB: It was a fantastic experience, quite a challenging project working with Bentley to their very tough constraints. One of the challenges was using a very rare veneer Santos Rosewood in the car, Bentley do not normally use straight grain veneers and it is quite oily. We also used the Helix motif in the marquetry running along the top of the doors and in the picnic table on the rear seats. Making the Linley Humidor box work ergonomically meant we had to have the rear console specially made and attention to every detail, such as the lid hinges, were vital as they had to cope with sudden movements in the car. All in all it was a wonderful project and I also happen to be a car fanatic so bringing together these two brands with such different expertise was an exciting and wonderful opportunity.