Bentley's Tricycle Fisher Prices Your Kid Among the One Percent
Who needs a Little Tikes car when your kid could be rocking a Bentley at the next playdate?
Generally speaking, luxury child toys and accessories are ridiculous. Raising a kid is expensive enough without splurging on $260 baby rattles or Gucci diaper bags. However, the new 6-in-1 Bentley Mulliner tricycle admittedly has us feeling a bit less judgmental. Technically speaking, it is one of the cheapest ways to own a Bentley, so there's that. It also is versatile enough to adapt to your kid's size and capabilities over time, extending its useful life well beyond the mosquito-fart-length spans most baby things enjoy.
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As you can tell by the name, this tricycle is inspired by Bentley's custom Mulliner vehicles. No where is that more obvious than looking at the seat, which features Bentley's signature diamond quilt stitching and a plush headrest. There's even some bolstering on the side to keep the child centered when mom or dad wants to make a spirited turn down the organic baby food section at Bristol Farms. The wheels are modeled after the Mulliner Flying Spur's (pictured above, behind the tricycle), complete with the Bentley "B" in the floating center caps that always stay upright during rotation. If that wasn't enough branding, a winged Bentley "B" emblem graces the neck of the tricycle while both pedals feature chromed Bentley logos.
For what it's worth, the tricycle's "6-in-1" is design lets it grow with the child so parents can get multiple years of use out of it. It starts off in "stroller-mode" for children starting at six months old and up. For its final form parents can remove the push handle and the kid is free to pedal off in the Bentley tricycle all on their own. At that point, they're free to clown on the other kids pushing Little Tikes pedal vehicles. So, how much will this luxury trike set you back? Just £595—approximately $734. Steep, yes, but the currency translation is moot in this case, since the trike is only available in the United Kingdom for now. Hey, sounds like the perfect excuse to hop on the private jet for a weekend in the U.K. to pick one up and tour London with the little one.
Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.
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