Despite the dozens of cow hides, the polished, hand-turned aluminum and the several trees’ worth of wood that is expertly fitted to the interior of a Bentley Continental GT, it is still first and foremost a performance car — especially when specified with a raring-to-go V8 rather than a smooth W12 engine. So to help discerning clients underline these sporting credentials, without crossing the line that separates customised and ostentatious, Bentley has developed a new black edition of the Contintental GT V8S with a little help from its Mulliner bespoke projects department.

Easy to immediately differentiate from a standard model, the new edition pares back the traditional brightware, giving the external trim elements around the front air ducts and the windows that would usually be finished in polished metal a gloss black treatment. Even the headlamps and taillights have been given a darker tint.

The reason for the subtlety is so that the body kit package, which increases aerodynamics, and is available in a choice of four contrasting accent colors — Beluga, St James’ Red, Hallmark or Cyber Yellow — really stands out. Under the hood there’s a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 with 520bhp and a huge 680Nm (502 lb.ft) of torque on tap that can be channeled to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. In the right conditions it means a 0-100km/h time of 4.5 seconds (4.7 for the soft top version) and a top speed of 192mph (309km/h) (191mph:308km/h for the convertible).

Inside there are GT Design seats by Mulliner and the headliner’s stitching reflects the accent color chosen for the body kit. But of course, it’s a Bentley so whatever’s in the cabin is simply the starting point on which an owner will build, adding unique book-matched veneers, carbon fiber or even stone elements.

Bentley has not confirmed prices, but expect the Black Edition to cost significantly more than a standard $210000 Continental GT V8S.