Ian Fleming always admired the stately beauty of the Bentley
and, as a result, James Bond owned three Bentleys over the
course of the 14 original Bond novels. In Carte Blanche, award-winning
thriller writer Jeffery Deaver reunites Bond with this classic
marque. In this contemporary adventure, the agent will be behind
the wheel of the beautifully sculpted and sophisticated new
Bentley Continental GT.
The design team at Bentley worked closely with Hodder & Stoughton
to capture the spirit of Bond and Bentley. A team of seven
designers submitted proposals for the edition and the final
design came from Bentley Senior Designer Brett Boydell. He
comments: “As a designer it doesn’t get much better
than a brief of ‘Carte Blanche’! The design features
radical concepts that we feel reflect the name of the book,
the ideas inherent in the Bond legacy, and the design principles
we are passionate about.”
This special edition links the legendary hero with the iconic
automobile in the most spectacular way. Each copy of the special
edition is custom-produced to Bentley’s exacting standards
and arrives inside a stunning metal case. The result is a striking
and unique collector’s item. The special edition is strictly
limited to 500 copies worldwide at a price of £1,000
each. They will be available to pre-order worldwide through
www.007carteblanchebentley.com. The editions will be delivered
after publication date.
The Design
The case of the Bentley special edition is inspired by the
deserts of Dubai - one of the exotic locations Bond finds
himself in within the new novel - and the new Bentley
Continental GT, Bond’s car of choice in the book.
Like the exterior of the GT, the case is made from polished
aluminum, giving it a seamless and aerodynamic shape. More
sculpture than car, it evokes the GT’s signature outline,
its metal skin making it look like the car has risen from the
desert sand. To ensure the finished case meets Bentley’s
renowned standards of quality, an automotive supplier was employed
to create the case to automotive standards using a specially
commissioned machine.
In deference to the title Carte Blanche, the book itself is
bound in white Nappa leather, the same outstanding grade of
leather used in a Bentley’s interior, mimicking the interior
of the GT with its contrast of white leather trim and Pillar
Box red edging. The title, author’s name and the familiar
wings of the Bentley logo are carefully embossed into the front
and foil-blocked onto the spine. The text is printed in two
colours, black and red, on sumptuous ivory paper, with endpapers
of a matching red leather. The pages are expertly cut and trimmed
to reflect the handcrafted techniques of the Bentley construction
process. As with the other details of the special edition,
the colours are carefully selected from the Bentley range.
The book sits on a base of black anodised aluminium, chosen
not to mark the white leather.
In one last twist, playing on the idea of an agent being given
Carte Blanche, is one of the most dramatic features of the
design: a die-cut bullet hole that pierces pages of the book.
Hidden within the pages is a single polished 9mm bullet, individually
marked with a number distinct to each copy, making the edition
truly unique.
Brett Boydell adds: “Bond destroys as well as he creates
and saves. It was this element I needed to convey in my design.
The reader has the excitement of finding the bullet housed
in the centre of the pages with the text positioned so that
the reading experience is undisturbed. I hope they find the
book as exciting to hold and look at as the unfolding drama
itself.”
