Contest 67CS gets the Bentley bespoke treatment
Collaborations between the sailing and luxury automotive industries are mostly perfect marriages. The FA Porsche-designed Elan GT6, for instance, delivered a handsome sporty vessel worthy of the Porsche name. Another was the Technomar for Lamborghini 63 motoryacht, which led to a boat that reflected the automobile giant’s performance and ingenuity.
Such is also the case with Bentley’s latest work with Dutch yacht builder Contest. The pairing culminated in a cruiser that celebrates craft, quiet luxury and heritage.
“This new arrangement takes our cooperation to quite another level, creating the option of an additional dedicated line of Bentley-featured Contest Yachts,” says Contest CEO Arjen Conijn. “We hold so many of the same beliefs and ambitions, it totally makes sense bringing our two fantastic ranges of prestigious luxury yachts and autos together.”
The Bentley design team is no stranger to bespoke yacht interiors. These two brands previously worked together for a one-off example of the Contest 59CS. It was one of the more heralded ultra-luxury collaborations yet. Bentley’s imprints were most evident in the signature diamond-in-diamond stitching, an exclusive quilting procedure that requires the automaker’s specially commissioned machines.
Meanwhile, the Contest 67CS, a celebrated performance cruiser in its own right, originally owes its design to German design team judel/vrolijk & co, another specialist in this area. This 21-metre bluewater yacht has proven to more than hold its own in both racing and cruising, offshore and ocean categories. Now, its interior gets a refreshed look with the luxury carmaker, showcasing the best of what these two worlds can offer clients.
Employed during the construction process were different prototyping techniques, rendered mostly by 3D printing, to ensure the standard of finishes and materials were met. One of the most important aspects here was to replicate the elegance of Bentley’s iconic diamond quilted hides. This was applied to the entire vessel interior, extending to even small components like tissue boxes and drink coasters.
The interior of the yacht adopted Bentley’s hand-cross stitching methods. Here, Bentley Home furnishings incorporated elements like the Malvern Chair, a homage to the brand’s manufacturing history. This was paired with Contest’s distinguished Captain’s chair and “Egg” table, as well as a sofa handmade at Bentley’s engineering facility. All these, of course, possess the Bentley trim. A bespoke bar and vanity unit prove to add an invaluable warm touch to the overall space.
“It has been a pleasure to work with the Contest team – we share not only a renowned heritage in performance and luxury,” concludes Dr. Matthias Rabe, member of the Board for Engineering at Bentley Motors, “but also the desire to continually innovate to provide cleaner, greener efficiencies in our work and production practices and output.”
Visit Contest Yachts’ website for more information on custom designs.
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