Shiny, Happy Bentley Continental GT: The Revenge of Pop Art

John Voelcker

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Bentley Continental GT, used as a canvas by artist Romero Britto

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Quick, imagine a 2009 Bentley Continental GT: low, wide, sleek, its powerful turbocharged W-12 engine purring as the driver relaxes in his Connolly leather seats. But, what color do you see in your mind?

We're betting you don't see deep sky blue with white squiggles all over it, and a handful of really big red, pink, and orange flowers and hearts splashed across the surfaces.

If you do, you're channeling the vision of Romero Britto, a Brazilian artist who creates a fantasy world "inhabited by child-like creatures and optimistic, strong colors."

Britto grew up in poverty in Recife, Brazil, but now his work is displayed all over the world, including pieces at New York's Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim.

The car underneath the large, happy flower, little stars, squiggles and signs on the hood and colorful, comic-like figures adorning the doors is actually a six-year-old static prototype of the Continental GT, donated by Bentley, not a running car.

But this is far from the only Bentley used as a canvas or subjected to other indignities. We've shown Bentleys in camouflage, but even worse fates seem to befall the GT: some go swimming, while others just lose their wheels. What IS it about the Bentley Continental GT that makes it so ... ahem ... accident-prone?

The Romero Britto exhibition, hosted by the Automobil Forum Unter den Linden in cooperation with the Mensing Gallery, will take place from 10 July until 6 September 2009. After the exhibit closes in early September, the Britto-fied Bentley will be auctioned off, with proceeds donated to organizations devoted to multiple sclerosis and integrating the mentally disabled into society.