Bentley makes Continental GT SWB because it can

Bentley has announced it is creating an ultra-short wheelbase version of its Flying Spur limo to prove to its customers that its Mulliner bespoke division can, and will, create anything requested by wealthy buyers.

Taking a gas-axe to a Flying Spur probably won't be at the top of any wealthy owner's shortlist, but Bentley's did, nonetheless, prove it could.

Unfortunately, in its quest to make the shortest car since Bentley first started making cars back in 1919, engineers might have got a bit carried away.

Part-way through the conversion they realised there was no longer any room to fit the standard car's leather armchairs.

Since it's not yet complete, it's not yet known if the Flying Spur's transformation into a Continental GT SWB will feature a roof.

Under the bonnet, Bentley hasn't confirmed if the gas-axed Flying Spur comes with its twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 or the mightier 474kW/820Nm 6.0-litre turbocharged W12.

If it does get the full-house W12 -- and if there is a way of driving it -- we expect a significant improvement on the luxury limousine's 4.5-second sprint to 100km/h, on account of all that weight shed from removing most of its wheelbase.

Bentley hasn't announced any plans to show the final car as it claims the butchered Flying Spur has chiefly been built for training purposes for apprentices who could work on future one-off Mulliner commissions.

Sadly, if you're vertically challenged and you fancy the idea of a sawn-off Bentley you'll need extremely deep pockets to have the Crewe, England-based car-maker replicate its latest creation.

Biggest challenge isn't the build, but the costs of homologation and crash tests involved to allow the one-off Conti GT SWB to become road-legal.