Autocar Notebook: Billions of ways to build a Bentley Car News

Autocar reporters have emptied their notebooks with some of the best stories you might have missed this week.

This week: Bentley and Stellantis’ vast customization options to make electric vehicles more affordable.

Spoiled for choice

Have you ever been hesitant to buy a new car because it doesn’t come with 18k gold-plated organ stops?

Step forward Bentley, which is building on the growing popularity of options from its Mulliner customization division (about three cars built a day have bespoke requests) with new options to choose from.

In addition to 1920s-inspired gold dashboard decorations, Bentley customers can now also specify new types of open-pore veneers – coated with just 0.1mm of lacquer – for the interior trim and a selection of new rims from matching color.

With an already vast array of options on the book, Bentley says there are now 17 billion ways to spec a Bentley Continental GT.

Don’t bite your hand

Automakers have a huge job to do to make sure customers aren’t shut out of the market by inherently more expensive electric cars. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares summed up the challenge.

“Electrification is much more expensive than conventional technology, so we will need time to make sure that what we do best – namely productivity – translates into lower costs for EV technology, in order to protect the affordability of automobiles,” he said.

“If we pass on the additional costs of electrification to the consumer, we will lose the middle classes: they will not be able to afford new cars, which means that the clientele of this industry will decrease, and the industry will have to be the right size.