Scent-sational road: Engineering excellence meets master perfumers

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Take a whiff of Bentley for Men Intense EDP, and notes of rum, incense, leather, and patchouli hit you like a storm. For fragheads — perfume collectors and enthusiasts — here’s a perfume that scores over far more expensive designer fragrances. Launched in 2013, it is, however, not easy to wear. The rum note dominates, and the perfume is dense and dark, suited for, one could say, winter nights.   

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Created for Bentley by master perfumer Nathalie Lorson, this EDP is considered a classic. The scent of a rich, distinguished man standing near a Bentley in Monaco is how Nikhil Sharan, a fragrance expert who runs the YouTube channels Perfume Guru and Exotic Scents, describes Lorson’s creations. “They have a bit of leather, a touch of smoke, a hint of gasoline…” These aren’t your run-of-the-mill perfumes, he adds.   Bentley, however, isn’t the only luxury carmaker to have cruised into the world of heady aromas. Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, and BMW, too, have their signature perfumes. There’s the Mercedes-Benz Club Black EDT, for instance. A vanilla-amber fusion, created by master perfumer Olivier Cresp, it is far easier to wear than Bentley for Men Intense.  

Perfumes, and collectibles such as watches, sunglasses, shoes, and bags are becoming increasingly “essential lifestyle purchases”, says Santosh Iyer, managing director and chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz India. “We see strong growth potential in our collection items and accessories vertical, which is growing briskly at 20 per cent per annum, generating revenue of more than Rs 60 crore a year in India.”   Jaguar’s Classic line of perfumes, too, has recorded high sales in India, which represented almost five per cent of Jaguar Fragrances’ global sales in 2024, says Sarra Dadoul, general manager of Lalique Beauty, which manages the Jaguar brand of perfumes. “This year, until now, sales have grown 66 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.”  

BMW, meanwhile, is set to launch five new fragrances globally with Italian perfume house Mavive. The line includes two perfumes in EDP concentration, called Amberness and Bergamood, as well as the new M collection, called 1972, 1985, and 2025 in EDT concentration, inspired by the iconic BMW M models. The M line was created by renowned perfumers Frank Voelkl and Alexandra Monet.   Of these brands, fragheads say Bentley has the strongest following among them. “Some of Ferrari’s fragrances were also really nice — like Bright Neroli,” says Sharan. “It was similar to the more expensive Tom Ford Neroli Portofino.”  

He gives a lowdown on the coming together of luxury car brands and master perfumers. “The perfumers who design for, say, Ferrari or Bentley work for perfume-making companies such as the Germany-based Symrise, UK-based CPL Aromas, or the Swiss Givaudan and DSM-Firmenich.” It all begins with a detailed brief from the auto major, where the master perfumer is taken through what the brand stands for, its philosophy, the experience of it, its look and feel, and so on. And then it’s up to the olfactory artiste to spin their aromatic magic.    Some creations, like Bentley for Men Absolute EDP by master perfumer Michel Almairac, end up becoming iconic. “It’s a unique perfume with papyrus notes,” says Sharan. In 2003, Almairac had created Gucci Pour Homme, but the perfume was later discontinued. “He re-honoured it by creating a similar-smelling Bentley for Men Absolute, and it’s very popular among fragheads.”  

The perfume’s quality often depends on the automaker’s involvement. The view is that if someone in the carmaker’s management has a trained nose, then the magic truly hits home.