Bentley builds 3 unique Bentaygas in honour of the famous 'Bentley Girls'

Released in March 2024 to mark International Women's Day and Women's History Month, the three Bentaygas have special specifications to celebrate the famous 'Bentley Girls' — Mary Petre Bruce, Dorothy Paget and Diana Barnato Walker.

Naturally, the commemorative Bentley SUVs were designed by two of the automaker's female designers — Emma Carruthers and Georgia Gough. 

The unique design cues they created for the cars pay tribute to the 'Bentley Girls', who contributed to the 105-year Bentley brand story alongside the 'Bentley Boys' who set the pace in motor races. 

'Bentley Girl' Mary Petre Bruce was a pace-setter in her own way. She drove a 4½ Litre Bentley in France for 24 hours on 6 June 1929 to capture the world record for single-handed driving.

It was her first time driving a Bentley and she had to borrow cushions from the official timekeepers so she could reach the pedals. Amazingly, she covered 3,482 kilometres in the 24-hour record attempt under difficult driving conditions and averaged 143km/h.

The Mary Petre Bruce Bentayga Azure features Parson Green Pearlescent Paint with matching heritage upholstery, vertical fluted upper-seat quilting and doorcards, 24-karat gold organ stops, mother-of-pearl crossbanded veneer, a chequered-flag D-pillar badge, and a marquetry pattern showing the number plate of the car she drove, "YV 7263".

'Bentley Girl' Dorothy Paget had a passion for speed and power, and took driving lessons from 'Bentley Boy' and racing driver Sir Tim Birkin. Dorothy went on to sponsor a splinter team of four supercharged Blowers, which competed alongside Bentley's works team at Brooklands and Le Mans. 

The Dorothy Paget Bentayga EWB Mulliner features solid Blower Green paintwork with colour-split interior leather, painted-nickel veneer carriers, an engine-spin aluminium fascia for the dashboard, and nickel-painted self-levelling wheel accent bezels.  

'Bentley Girl' Diana Barnato Walker, the daughter of three-time Le Mans winner Woolf Barnato, was a motoring enthusiast who drove a Bentley 4¼ Litre Park Ward saloon. She flew solo at the Brooklands Flying Club in 1938 after only six hours of instruction and joined England's Air Transport Auxiliary in 1941 as an aviator, delivering aircraft from the factory to front-line squadrons, including a total of 260 Spitfires.

The legendary British fighter inspired the Diana Barnato Bentayga S, which features a Smoke Green exterior, a green/saddle interior intended to evoke memories of the Spitfire Mk IX cockpit, and a bespoke D-pillar badge with the Spitfire emblem and Signal Yellow accents which replicate the colour of the Spitfire wing's leading edge. 

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This article was first published in Motorist.