Bentley Residences: How a Luxury Car Brand Built the World's First Automotive Penthouse Tower—And Set a New Standard

Bentley Motors and Dezer Development have created the tallest beachfront residential tower in the United States, featuring patented car elevators that deliver residents directly to their living rooms.

Landlord Ledger Publications • Profile • 2026-02-23

When Gil Dezer stands at the intersection of Collins Avenue and 184th Street in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, he sees more than a construction site—he sees the culmination of a vision that began nearly a decade ago. The Bentley Residences tower, rising 749 feet into the South Florida sky, represents something unprecedented in luxury real estate: the world's first Bentley-branded residential tower, where automotive engineering meets architectural ambition in a way that redefines what it means to arrive home.

The Vision Behind the Tower

The partnership between Bentley Motors and Dezer Development emerged from a shared philosophy: that luxury should extend beyond the automobile into every aspect of life. For Dezer, whose family development company had already pioneered the Porsche Design Tower in 2017, the Bentley project represented an opportunity to push the boundaries even further. The 61-story cylindrical tower will house 216 residences, each ranging from 3,500 to 9,000 square feet, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing uninterrupted views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.

The collaboration brought together Bentley's design team, led by Chris Cooke, head of design collaborations, with Sieger Suarez Architects, the Miami-based firm known for innovations in luxury residential design. Every detail reflects Bentley's design language—from the diamond-shaped glass panels on the façade, evoking the diamond motif seen in Bentley's cars, to the diamond-shaped tiles adorning the lobby floor. Even the structural pillars in the lobby are veined with wood ingrained with copper dust, a technique borrowed from Bentley's EXP 100 GT concept car.

Engineering Marvel: The Foundation of Luxury

The foundation of Bentley Residences tells its own story of ambition. In November 2025, the development team completed what became the second-largest continuous concrete pour in U.S. history—and the largest ever for a residential building in Florida. Over 36 uninterrupted hours, more than 2,100 concrete trucks delivered 20,000 cubic yards of concrete to form a 15-foot-thick mat foundation. The logistical feat required four months of planning and coordination between the project team, the City of Sunny Isles, and the Florida Department of Transportation.

The engineering challenges extended beyond the foundation. The tower's glass curtain wall carries a faceted, diamond-like rhythm inspired by the knurled and quilted textures of Bentley interiors, but it also serves a practical purpose: the glass is rated to withstand 175 mph winds, a necessity for any oceanfront structure in hurricane-prone South Florida. The building will earn Florida Green Building Coalition certification, incorporating environmentally safe building materials and reduced coastal lighting to protect endangered sea turtle habitats.

The Dezervator: Driving Home in Style

The signature innovation of Bentley Residences—and the feature that most directly connects the automotive brand to residential living—is the Dezervator, a patented hydraulic car elevator system that allows residents to drive directly into their apartments. Named after the Dezer family, the Dezervator represents the evolution of technology first introduced at the Porsche Design Tower. But where that building featured three car elevators, Bentley Residences will operate four, each capable of reaching speeds approaching 1,000 feet per minute.

The experience is designed to feel seamless. Upon arrival, an RFID sticker in the resident's vehicle triggers an automated system that identifies the car and activates LED lighting to guide the driver to the correct elevator. A hydraulic system gently secures the car by its tires, and a robotic shuttle transports it up or down the shaft. The lower floors of the elevator shaft are enclosed by glass, giving passengers panoramic views of the building's shared spaces as they ascend. Each residence includes an in-unit, glass-ensconced garage with space for up to four vehicles, complete with EV charging points.

Gil Dezer, a car collector himself, understood the appeal intuitively. "It is the only building in the world that you can come and go and you do not have to see a valet or security and you have full access to your home the way you would have it in a single family home," he explained. The system transforms the routine act of arriving home into something theatrical—an automotive ballet that makes the transition from road to residence feel like an extension of the drive itself.

The Penthouses: Living at the Summit

If the Dezervator is the building's most innovative feature, the two penthouses represent its most luxurious expression. Priced at $37.5 million each, the two-story residences occupy the 61st floor and offer what the development team describes as "resort-style living with the convenience of urban access." The penthouses feature 22-foot ceilings, four bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a study, powder room, entertainment loft, and separate service quarters.

The indoor-outdoor design philosophy reaches its apex here. Private indoor and outdoor pools create a seamless connection between interior and exterior spaces, while a sunset terrace and summer kitchen provide the infrastructure for al fresco entertaining. The terrace itself has been specially engineered to provide shelter from Florida's characteristic coastal winds—so effective that, as the development team notes, a candle can be lit on the terrace without going out.

Bentley Home, the luxury furniture division inspired by Bentley's automotive heritage, has created an optional interior design concept for penthouse buyers. The design captures the timeless elegance of Art Deco, subtly woven throughout the interior to evoke Miami's architectural legacy. Colors are neutral, textures are soft, and materials are harmonized—natural stone, high-quality oak flooring, and transparent crystal panels create a sense of lightness that complements the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Amenities: Five-Star Living, Elevated

The residential experience extends far beyond individual units. Bentley Residences will offer 20,000 square feet of amenities across three floors, designed to deliver what the development team calls "unprecedented five-star plus hospitality." A beauty salon with sweeping ocean views offers complete hair, manicure, pedicure, and makeup facilities. A 114-square-foot pet spa, designed with Bentley signature motifs throughout, provides grooming, wash, and dry services exclusively for residents' pets.

The wellness center includes a spa, fitness facilities both indoors and out, and a yoga studio with ocean views. A games room offers VR headsets alongside simulators for golf and driving. The cinema has been designed to mimic the concept of a Bentley car interior, with a cosseting sofa that wraps around three walls. The whisky bar, inspired by the iconic matrix grille of Bentley's cars, features a bar suspended from the ceiling to appear weightless and floating.

Culinary Excellence: Todd English Partnership

In early 2026, Bentley Residences announced a partnership with four-time James Beard Award-winning chef Todd English to helm the tower's private, residents-only restaurant, Proper English by Todd English. The concept marks English's first-ever private residential dining venture and will be accessible exclusively to residents and their guests.

Located on the lobby level overlooking the pool and ocean, Proper English will offer rotating seasonal menus, private dining experiences, and chef demonstrations with English himself. The chef maintains an active presence, hosting resident-only events designed specifically for the community—a level of personal engagement typically unavailable in traditional residential settings. The partnership reinforces a broader trend in ultra-luxury real estate: that lifestyle amenities now matter as much as square footage.

Construction Timeline and Market Position

With the foundation complete and construction well underway, Bentley Residences is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2028. The project secured a $630 million construction loan in late 2025—the largest financing deal in South Florida that year, issued by Madison Realty Capital and arranged by Berkadia South Florida. The financing milestone signaled strong market confidence in what Dezer Development describes as one of the region's most anticipated residential towers.

Pricing starts at $5.8 million for standard residences, positioning the project firmly in the ultra-luxury segment. The tower will become the tallest residential building on any U.S. beachfront, a distinction that reflects both its physical presence and its ambition. For buyers, the appeal extends beyond the amenities and design—it's about membership in an exclusive community defined by automotive passion and uncompromising standards.

Setting a New Standard

Bentley Residences represents more than a branded building—it represents a new model for how luxury brands can extend their identity into residential real estate. The collaboration between Bentley Motors, Dezer Development, and Sieger Suarez Architects has produced a tower that translates automotive design principles into architectural language, creating living spaces that embody the same engineering precision, material quality, and attention to detail that have defined Bentley for more than a century.

The project also reflects broader trends reshaping South Florida real estate. Sunny Isles Beach, once a quiet stretch of coastline, has become a magnet for branded luxury developments—Porsche Design Tower, Armani/Casa Residences, and now Bentley Residences, all developed by the Dezer family. The concentration of automotive-branded towers in this narrow corridor speaks to a specific kind of buyer: someone for whom the automobile represents not just transportation but identity, and for whom home should be an extension of that identity.

For Gil Dezer, the vision is clear. "With Bentley Motors, together we will create something inspiring, powerful and iconic—a true game-changer when it comes to luxury living." As the tower rises on Collins Avenue, that vision is taking shape—one Dezervator ride at a time.