“James Bond, now didn’t he drive a…?” Not always – ‘pay attention’ if it makes you any happier – in many of the original Fleming stories 007 was a Bentley driver, and the new book by Jeffery Deaver has our hero behind the wheel of the latest Continental GT.

Set in the deserts of Dubai, ‘Carte Blanche’ is an officially sanctioned ‘continuation’ novel in the James Bond canon and follows ‘Devil May Care’ written by the British author Sebastian Faulks. To celebrate the new book’s launch on 26 May, publisher Hodder & Stoughton has partnered with Bentley Motors to create an exclusive Bentley special edition, limited to only 500 examples.

The outer case is made from polished aluminium, “giving it a seamless and aerodynamic shape” says Bentley, whose Senior Designer, Brett Boydell, came up with the concept – winning a ‘contest’ between seven designers asked to submit proposals for the project. Interestingly, the actual production of the pressed sculpture was outsourced to an automotive supplier.

Inside, the book itself is bound in white Nappa leather (as in ‘Carte Blanche’ – a neat touch) with the title, author’s name and the Bentley logo carefully embossed into the front and foil-blocked onto the spine.

Two-colour (black and red) printing is employed on the ivory paper, which contrasts well with endpapers of red leather. The book sits on a base of black anodised aluminium – a nice contrast, and carefully selected as it will not mark the white leather.

As a final design twist, hidden within the book (nestling in a die-cut bullet hole) is a single polished 9mm bullet facsimile (one assumes!) individually marked with a number distinct to each copy, making the edition truly unique.

The book is available worldwide, at a cost of £1000, for pre-order from www.007carteblanchebentley.com. The editions will be delivered after publication date (26 May 2011).

Bentley book collectors should, of course, already have Classic Driver's own, definitive book about the last 'Brooklands' on their bookshelves. See www.bentleybrooklandsbook.com .

Text: Steve Wakefield
Photo: Bentley