The Bentley brand is associated with quality and for creating products that allow customers to travel in style. The luxury car manufacturer is now aiming to make cruising the information super highway a similarly extravagant experience for the select few who will own the new Bentley laptop computer.

Bentley’s new product, one of the most expensive on the market, debuted at the British International Motor Show in London in July and will be retailed globally in high-end stores in October – but only to the first 250 people able to splurge the £10,000 to get one of the limited edition laptops.

Featuring Windows Vista, a 64-bit processor, a 160GB hard drive and 12 direct access keys, each Bentley laptop is hand-built, and encased in leather with the same cross-over stitching detail seen on the car seats. The chrome carry handle is modelled after the trademark automobile’s door handle as well.

Bentley paired up with Ego Lifestyle, a luxury and lifestyle product designer, who specialize in creating customized computers, to produce the laptop. Though it’s not the first time high-end car brands have relied on their brand perception to launch into the electronics market, to date this type of pairing has been mostly the domain of sports car manufacturers, like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Koenigsegg.

Bentley’s newest addition to the market stands apart from the specialist designs created by the sports car manufacturers. These brands are associated with products that are sharp and fast, and promote the idea that the computers will have the same type of edge the sports cars evoke. The difference with the Bentley laptop closely reflects the differences in the brands, with Bentley emphasizing individuality and class. And while the sports car branded laptops retail at between £1,200 and £1,700, the Bentley laptop’s much higher price is a clearly distinctive point.

Bentley’s new product will appeal to luxury consumers of both the Lambda and Theta worldviews. Each PC can be moulded into a highly specialized look based on the consumer’s colour choice for the leather casing as well as the chrome interior, so there’s little chance of running into someone with the same piece and the same bespoke detailing, a plus from the Lambda perspective. On the other hand, the Bentley logo is clearly visible, and the laptop exudes the same sense of craftsmanship associated with the automobile brand, which will appeal to the Theta consumer.

With the Bentley laptop set to go on sale next month, it will be interesting to see how quickly the few available products will be snatched up. Success in this venture may see Bentley, like other luxury goods makers, continue to use its status as a trusted brand as a platform to hype existing markets.

We’ve spoken about luxury cars before on Janus Thinking–often wondering whether they can be both luxurious and practical. Here’s an extreme: the new Tesla Roadster, a sports car that costs $164,000, goes from 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds (with a top speed of 125 mph), and is entirely electric, producing no emissions and able to go 220 miles on a full charge.

By not consuming any fossil fuels, it’s even more environmentally friendly than a hybrid. This should make it especially appealing to a Lambda, who will value it for the benefit its use brings to the environment and find intrinsic pleasure in how unique it makes its owner (only 1350 are being produced this year). Adding to the car’s uniqueness: it makes no noise. Pedestrians and cyclists beware–here’s to hoping it has good brakes.

The on-going economic downturn in the US has caused Hyundai to market its new 2009 Genesis sedan as the new alternative for value-conscious prospectvei car buyers.

In a move to tap into the luxury market from the bottom up, the Genesis is Hyundai’s most expensive model to date and full of amenities which make it comparable to other luxury car brands.

A recent review in the Washinton Post highlights the fact that the Genesis offers as much or more than its luxury rivals, but leaves open the question of whether consumers will use this as a basis for their decision-making:

The Genesis also offers every technical advantage provided by its rivals an serves up more standard safety features — eight air bags, electronically enabled head restraints in the front seats, and electronic stabiliy and traction control — than those usually offered by competiitors.  It styling is attractive inside and out.  And the car is loaded with amenities, including thoughtful touches such as a power rear sunshade.

Is luxury becoming practical?  Grounded in features instead of fashion?  The success of this car will be able to give us some insights…

When Mercedes-Benz and McLaren launched the SLR Coupe in 2005 they sought to set new benchmarks in motoring by incorporating Formula 1 racing performance in a Mercedes road car. Technology that was previously the exclusive preserve of a professional motor racing class and restricted to the racetrack was now available to normal (albeit extremely wealthy) consumers.

The Coupe has now been joined by a GT Roadster, which uses an AMG V8 engine to achieve 617 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque, resulting in a 3.8 second 0-60 and a top speed of 206 mph. US models rest on 19-inch turbine-style nine-spoke alloy wheels, and the engines even come signed by the engineer who hand-made them.

With supply strictly limited and even the base model costing $495,000 the GT Roadster is a luxurious toy attainable only to a seriously wealthy and patient clientele. However while the Roadster’s race-track performance may receiving positive reviews, it remains to be seen whether this translates to the less suitable environment of public roads, where the 206 mph top speed may be a luxury unobtainable even to those prepared to spend half a million dollars.