Timber and faux timber veneers have been around for years and years, now Bentley is taking it up a notch introducing stone veneers.

FORGET THE CONNECTED CAR, Bentley is now offering the most ridiculous show of wealth for its car buyers by offering stone veneer for its dashboards. Yes, stone. “This innovative interior finish utilises state-of-the-art stone veneer technology to make a luxurious, contemporary feature of a natural product formed over 200 million years,” Bentley said in a statement.

The stone surfaces of the veneers are just 0.1 mm thick, meaning that they are both extremely light and translucent, allowing the elegant grain and pattern in the stone to be visible to the interior occupants.

Geoff Dowding, Director of Mulliner Operations, comments: “Bentley is the established expert in the handcrafting of wood and leather, and now we are exploring new, fine and rare materials to offer even more bespoke tailoring and choice to our customers. Stone veneers are another first for Bentley – but only the beginning of what we plan to do with this luxurious and unique material.”

The slate and quartzite used by Bentley is sourced from quarries in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, India. The stone is split on site and then hand-finished at Bentley’s factory in Crewe, UK by its “world-renowned” Mulliner coachbuilding team.