Bentley explore Vegan alternatives to leather interior

According to reports, Bentley are experimenting with numerous vegan materials in order to meet demand. The materials include protein leather, mushroom leather and a jellyfish material, which will allow the British brand to sell vehicles to happy vegan customers.

Known for its luxurious interiors, Bentley cars can feature up to approximately 20 animal hides in their leather and trimmings. Recently, Bentley’s Director of Design Stefan Sielaff has stated that the customer demand for vegan materials has had an impact on the way the brand wants to design their vehicles. He said they are open to investigating alternatives.

“You can’t sell an animal-containing product like a Bentley, with 20 leather hides, to someone with a vegan lifestyle,” Sielaff said. “We’ve been talking to these customers, in California especially, and they’re asking us what can we give them. We do a lot of custom-made and coach-built solutions, in conjunction with our colleagues at Mulliner, and therefore we want to satisfy these customers because they are the peak of a trend,”

“We will shortly present a Bentley with a vegan interior; it’ll give you a luxury sensation but with a different way – protein leather, mushroom leather, jellyfish material.”

However, a Bentley spokesperson has since declined giving an expected time of arrival for these new vegan motors. However, the person admitted, “This is something the design and colour and trim guys are interrogating.”

Additionally, Sielaff has noted that the team are also exploring electric powertrains and their influence on the future designs of Bentley vehicles, “We are working on exploring at the moment what will be the Bentley design language of the future, “ he said, “when we do this big step. It’s a nice philosophical discussion because we have certain elements in Bentley proportion – short front overhang, long rear overhang – and we are asking how much we can change these proportions, and whether it still be recognisable as a Bentley?”