Bentley enters NFT marketplace with unique artwork

Luxury car brand Bentley has announced its first venture in the NFT marketplace with its unique artwork.

The British car brand is producing a one-time NFT drop on the carbon-neutral Polygon network, scheduled for September and limited to just 208 pieces.

The number 208 has special relevance to Bentley as it is the top speed of its fastest Grand Tourer – the Continental GT Speed.

It also represents the total production run of the iconic R-Type Continental of 1952, the car that inspired the modern Bentley design DNA.

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The genesis NFT will be a unique artwork created by Bentley Design and will offer unique access and exclusive rewards to holders.

The Bentley collection will be minted on Polygon, an Ethereum scaling platform onboarding millions to Web3.

Polygon recently attained carbon-neutral status and has pledged to go carbon negative by the end of this year. As a result, all Bentley NFTs will be entirely carbon-neutral.

With a commitment to achieving end-to-end carbon neutrality by 2030, the same year when all Bentley vehicles will be fully battery electric, Bentley said it was vital that its first venture into Web3 was in a sustainable way.

Member of the Board for Sales and Marketing, Alain Favey, said: “We’ve always engaged our customers where they explore their passions, and today that means being present in digital marketplaces and offering NFT assets.

“We’ve seen how NFTs have raised the profiles of both art and artist, and we believe the same can happen in the luxury automotive space.”

Bentley said it will explore other digital platforms, including NFCs (non-fungible chips), online gaming, Metaverse applications and the use of blockchain technology across the organisation. Proceeds from the Bentley NFT and future activations will further its philanthropic efforts.

The car brand will accelerate support for students interested in engineering, design, and manufacturing, all areas where Bentley requires new talent annually.

Car manufacturers are increasingly entering the NFT space, which is projected to grow to $240 billion by the end of the decade, minting unique collectible digital tokens that are often bundled with car purchases.