- World-leading musicians Anna Lapwood, Tina Guo and Sister Bliss unite as part of Bentley’s Extraordinary Women programme
- Union honours International Women’s Day on Saturday 8th March
- Trio collaborate to design bespoke Continental GTC, to be handcrafted in Crewe and revealed in Q4 this year
- Unique result symbolises collaboration and female empowerment in celebration of International Women’s Day
- Extraordinary Talk held for Bentley colleagues, featuring inspiring discussions on creativity, leadership and driving change in male-dominated industries
Bentley Motors has welcomed three exceptional, world-leading musical artists to its Crewe headquarters to design a one-of-a-kind Continental GTC, commissioned to honour female empowerment and collaboration. Celebrated organist and conductor Anna Lapwood MBE, world-renowned virtuoso cellist and composer Tina Guo, and Sister Bliss of legendary dance music group Faithless, joined forces to create a bespoke Bentley that embodies creativity, craftsmanship, and inclusivity.
This special commission is part of Bentley’s Extraordinary Women programme, an initiative dedicated to championing gender equality, fostering inclusion, and empowering women globally. Bentley Motors invited these exceptional artists to join the programme in recognition of their remarkable contributions to music, their influence as role models, and their dedication to challenging industry norms.
The unique Continental GTC, tailored through Bentley’s Mulliner division, represents the artistic and personal influences of each musician, blending bespoke design elements that reflect their personal journeys and shared vision. Bentley’s Mulliner design team played a pivotal role in bringing the vision to life, with two leading female designers at the forefront of the project. These industry leading experts ensured every detail of the Continental GTC reflected the essence of the musicians’ artistry.
Their expertise in bespoke luxury design continues to set new standards in automotive personalisation, reaffirming Bentley’s dedication to fostering talent across industries, including the arts, automotive, and beyond. The result of this extraordinary collaboration will be revealed in Q4, after the car has been handcrafted by the craftspeople and artisans at Bentley’s Dream Factory in Crewe, England.
Alongside this design project, Bentley hosted the next session of its ‘Extraordinary Talks’ series for its colleagues, where Lapwood, Guo, and Sister Bliss shared inspiring discussions on creativity, leadership, collaboration and driving change in male-dominated industries to an audience of over 100 colleagues. The talk encouraged colleagues to embrace innovation and support a more inclusive future.
Bentley Motors continues to support DEIB initiatives that drive positive change. This unique Continental GTC serves as a striking representation of what can be achieved when talent, vision, and collaboration come together.
Anna Lapwood MBE
Anna Lapwood, awarded an MBE at just 28, has captivated millions on social media and in live audiences by redefining the role of the organ, blending classical music with modern genres and pushing the boundaries of performance. Lapwood has built a following of more than two million across her social media channels, regularly performs concertos with leading symphony orchestras and conductors and collaborated with artists including Raye, Bonobo and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Anna’s passion for the organ is matched by her mission to support girls and women in music. She was the first female in Magdalen College Oxford’s 560-year history to be awarded the Organ Scholarship and since then has run regular organ workshops for young players around the country. Having spent some years being encouraged to “play like a man”, Anna is proud and humbled to see so many adopt her hashtag, #playlikeagirl. She is an Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall in London, and in 2023 was awarded the prestigious ‘Gamechanger’ Award from the Royal Philharmonic Society.
Today, Anna announces ‘Firedove’, her new album set for release on 30th May via Sony Classical. Recorded through the night at Nidaros Cathedral in Norway, ‘Firedove’ brings together all of Anna’s different musical worlds for organ & choir with classical pieces, film scores, minimalism, new commissions and unexpected pop covers.
Tina Guo
Tina Guo, a Chinese-born American Grammy-nominated virtuoso cellist, is known for her genre-defying approach and collaborations with some of the world’s most celebrated artists. Guo has performed as the featured soloist in scores for major film productions (including Sherlock Holmes, Dunkirk, Inception and many others), TV shows and video games. One of the most recorded solo cellists of all time, Guo recent film projects include DUNE, DUNE 2, Gran Turismo and Top Gun: Maverick, while also delivering music for new video games Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Alongside her work for film scores, Tina is a classical soloist performing with orchestras across the globe, and has toured as a soloist with her electric cello as part of Hans Zimmer Live since 2016.
Tina also co-composed the Main Theme for Wonder Woman with Hans Zimmer – music that has since become an anthem for female empowerment, and a defining example of her own power and ability. Guo performs on a Gand & Bernadel cello made in Paris, France in 1878, a customized Yamaha SVC-210 electric cello, and an erhu made in Shanghai, China.
Sister Bliss
Sister Bliss, one of the founding members of legendary dance act Faithless, has led a pioneering 17-year career, producing eight albums, six top-ten singles and selling over fifteen million records worldwide, breaking new ground for female DJs. Founding Faithless as the core musician together with producer Rollo and vocalist Maxi Jazz in 1995, Sister Bliss is responsible for the music behind all of Faithless’ most iconic records, including Insomnia – voted the fifth best dance track of all time. Faithless have headlined major festivals across Europe, including four appearances at Glastonbury.
As one of the first female DJs to find incredible mainstream success, Sister Bliss paved the way for a generation of female talent to rise up through the traditionally male-dominated dance music industry. Following a break after the tragic loss of Maxi Jazz in 2022, Sister Bliss announced that Faithless would return to the stage in 2024 after an eight year absence. 2025 will bring continued touring with summer dates across the UK and Europe and the release of Faithless’ next studio album, Champion Sound.
