BENTLEY WEARS ITS COLOURS WITH PRIDE
A Bentley painted like a rainbow – a wonderful convergence of solidarity, support and diversity – specially crafted to light up Cheshire’s Pride event in 2020
The idea came from a little girl called Eleanor, aged five. It was last spring, during the first lockdown, and Bentley held a competition for Colleagues and their families to co-create a Bentley car that captured the moment.
The rainbow idea was so strong and so perfect that it captured everybody’s imagination straight away, and quickly became a project to show support not only for the NHS and other local services, but also as an emblem of the diversity represented by Cheshire East’s first virtual Pride event.
‘Who doesn’t love a rainbow?’ said Maria Mulder, Head of Colour and Trim at Bentley. ‘It’s uplifting to see appearing in the sky above a dark cloud and it brings a feeling of hope. It also gives us an element of emotional wellbeing.’
Bentley designers and Maria’s team set to work creating a wrap for a Bentley Continental GT Convertible, using six bespoke Bentley colours: Dragon Red, Orange Flame, Yellow Flame, Apple Green, Sequin Blue and Azure Purple. The result went down a storm when it appeared on video during the virtual event.
‘We embraced the opportunity to create our first rainbow car, because rainbows are recognised as an icon for the LGBTQ+ community and Pride events which celebrate individuality,’ says Dr Astrid Fontaine, Bentley’s Member of the Board for People, Digitalisation and IT.
‘As Bentley steps up its emphasis on the importance of diversity and inclusion, we’re delighted to have sponsored Cheshire East’s virtual Pride celebrations – and our rainbow Bentley captures the essence of that perfectly.’