Just build cars and stop trying to join a stupid fad.
Bentley is best known for building ultra-luxurious highway missiles such as the Continental GT and Bentayga, but this historic British automaker has an eye on the future, and we're not talking hybrids or electric vehicles, we're talking NFTs. Non-fungible tokens have taken the world by storm in the past year, and the automotive industry has jumped on the bandwagon quicker than you can shout scam. McLaren has released an NFT of its P1 Hypercar, and even the final Lamborghini Aventador came with an NFT. These tokens are basically digital data stored on the blockchain and are a fugazi trend if we ever saw one. But that hasn't stopped Bentley from jumping aboard the bandwagon.
Bentley has announced its first NFT drop which will go live on the carbon-neutral Polygon network. The drop, which is scheduled for September 2022, is limited to just 208 pieces, representing the top speed of the Continental GT Speed, and the total production run of the R-Type Continental of 1952. The first Bentley NFT has been created by Bentley Design and will be minted on Polygon, an Ethereum scaling platform that lives within the Web3 ecosystem. If this all sounds like gobbledygook then you're not alone. As the cryptocurrency and NFT markets continue to crumble, we wonder if now is the best time to be launching an NFT. Even if the NFT itself is completely useless (read valueless), at least Bentley's first one will be completely carbon neutral, playing into its vision of being carbon neutral by 2030.
This sounds like a hollow gesture if we've ever heard one, but Bentley promises exclusive community opportunities, rewards, and unique utilities to owners. Anything tangible? Doesn't seem that way.
The proceeds of these internet fun tokens will partly go towards the brand's philanthropic efforts, including funding for students studying manufacturing and design.
"Bentley customers are living their lives online, purchasing luxury goods with digital currency, and establishing businesses in the Metaverse," said member of the board for sales and marketing, Alain Favey. "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 artists, and we believe the same can happen in the luxury automotive space."
Buy the Bentley, not the dip, bros.
After four blurry years in advertising school, and a harrowing career in the advertising industry, by the will of the car gods, and his passion for anything with more than four cylinders, he landed at CarBuzz where he covers breaking automotive news, writes the occasional review, and plays a very average game of Counter-Strike. In his personal time, Mike loves to waste money on project cars that only run once or twice a year, break his ankles at hardcore shows, and get dumb tattoos that make his mother cry.
