Collecting the Crazy

Paying more for a popular logo has been a celebrated tradition in human history that easily dates back to the inception of marketing itself. The whole concept behind developing a brand is to reach a status in the public consciousness where rationally evaluating the cost of something is no longer an option. Automobile manufacturers have exploited this human weakness for years now, charging anywhere from 100-1000% mark-ups for commonplace items such as key rings, clothes and stationary items.

Bentley has decided to take this already ill advised habit to the highest level of insanity possible, by releasing a coffee table book that costs more than the car itself. This extremely special edition book has been made for the 100 year celebration of Bentley and its fabled history, which this book will certainly become a part of.

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It comes in three distinct editions, depending on how crazy the buyer is and how much money can they afford to spend on this madness. The cheapest variant is called the Centenary Edition, which is being sold at around $3,845 (Rs 2.70 lakh). If that doesn’t seem enough money for a book, you can always go for the more exclusive Mulliner Edition that costs around $16,022 (Rs 11.27 lakh). Bentley will make 500 copies of each edition, and expects no issue in selling them off to overzealous buyers.

However, the title of king crazy will go to 7 rare souls, who will reach new depths of stupidity, by agreeing to pay $2,56,000 (Rs 1.80 crore) for the 100-Carat Edition. Yes, you can take your time wrapping your head around the concept of paying that kind of money for a book with pictures of cars in it. The silly thing is, that no matter what edition you buy, you will get the same content, which starts with an introduction written by Ralph Lauren himself, and ends with a write-up from Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark. In between, you will see pictures documenting the varied history of the Bentley brand, both in car manufacturing, as well as motorsports.

Bentley has graciously agreed to let owners get a picture of their own Bentley added to the book, which is the least they could do, considering that customers are essentially paying for a second car they won’t even get. We can’t wait to see who these 7 mad billionaires are, that will take such a big leap of faith on a coffee book investment.

From the August 2019 issue of FHM India.