Happy New Year! The start of the New Year brought us a new steering wheel to build. It was a wheel from the exciting new 2013 Bentley Continental GT V8.
Bentley GT V8 (after)
Bentley’s new 2013 Continental GT V8 is a work of art, offering the lucky few an unmatched driving experience. Bentley claims the 4.0 liter V8 engine has a zero-to-sixty of only 4.6 seconds, and a top speed over 180 miles per hour! The modern interior design brings wood, leather, and knurled metal together beautifully. Bentley has chosen Dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus veneer, as an option in the interior, a rare, expensive, exotic wood. This is a beautiful wood, with a straight grained appearance and stunning three-dimensional effect that complements the rest of the interior. All this attention to detail and the driving experience is still missing one thing. A matching wood steering wheel! This is only a problem for those who don’t know about William Rau’s work. Luckily, this dealer knew.
The factory leather steering wheel wasn’t enough for one driver, so they turned to the dealer to see if they could have a wood wheel. The dealer knows the factory doesn’t offer a wood steering wheel, so they contacted us. They know our work, as they’ve worked with us in 2008 for the very first wood steering wheel for the 2008 Bentley Continental GT. (You can read that story here) So the wheel was sent to us.
Bentley GT V8 (before)
There are multiple ways to design a wood steering wheel. We work with customers to get the design they want. This customer wanted a three piece wood wheel with one large piece at the top and two smaller pieces between the spokes. Another way to design this wheel would be a complete wood wheel, as you can see in this computer rendering.
Bentley GT V8 full wood rendering
Some wheels are made with veneer and others are made with solid lumber that is steam bent. The type of wood being used dictates how the wheel will be made. The wood used in this steering wheel was steam bent as you can see in these photos.
steam bent wood
Bentley GT V8 with steam bent wood
It’s your car, it’s your steering wheel, you should have the design you want.
Bentley GT V8 (after)
So, this is the first wood steering wheel matched to the 2013 Bentley Continental GT V8 Dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus interior. Contact us today, so you too can have a beautiful steering wheel!
To see a more complete list of the woods available please visit our Palette Page.
rau-autowood.com