We Designed Our Own $78 Million Gulfstream G700 Jet. Here’s What It Looks Like.
Anyone with an internet connection and a dream can spec a big-dollar item online—cars, yachts, and aircraft are all fair game in the virtual world. But serious buyers know there’s no replacement for direct interaction with the people, materials, and ideas that will transform their imaginings into reality.
Which is why I visit Gulfstream’s newly opened sales and design center in Beverly Hills to design the livery and interior of my own “personal” $78 million G700, aided by a team of their experts.
A stone’s throw from Rodeo Drive, the 12,000-square-foot showroom sits in the epicenter of L.A.’s luxury district. Neighbors to Versace, Tiffany & Co., Porsche Design, and Jimmy Choo, the Gulfstream facility occupies an entire floor. The space is laid out like a sand-free zen garden, embracing the aesthetic of openness and negative space you’d find in a design studio or high-end atelier.
Full-scale mockups of different aircraft interiors allow clients authentic touchpoints, from experiencing the reclining, massaging seats to viewing the indirect lighting, storage cubbies, and discreetly hidden wireless cellphone charging pads that are in the business jets.
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In a lounge area with chairs and sofas is the 16-by-9-foot screen where Gulfstream’s exterior expert Jeff Walker and I visualize possible floor plans, paint liveries, and interior layouts for the G700. I choose Gulfstream’s new flagship for my design exercise, largely because it has an extra living zone for added customization.
Before long, I’m through the easiest part: finalizing the interior layout, which is akin to a Tetris game of chairs, galleys, divans, and beds so that 18 of my closest imaginary friends and I can travel in comfort.
But after that, the process becomes a challenge. Spec’ing a custom business-jet interior is a deceptively complex and potentially daunting task, typically taking from 12 to 20 weeks. Trying to complete it in an afternoon seems, in hindsight, a fool’s errand. But an infinitely enjoyable one.
I came to the center with a mind full of ideas and two printouts: a photo of a 1960 Porsche 356 Emory Motorsports, custom-commissioned by musician John Oates, and a shot of a vintage Bentley interior. I love how the exquisitely finished custom 356 rounds out Oates’ Porsche collection with a striking dash of mocha metallic.
Also inspirational is the green leather upholstery in vintage Bentleys; for some reason, those verdant shades of cumbrian, viridian, and emerald seem like they’d be comforting at 51,000 feet.
On the big screen, I work on the livery with Walker. Mimicking the Porsche’s paint hue on the exterior takes a few tries. Once we settle on an eyeballed color, finishing the fuselage in the deep-brown metallic hue leaves the aircraft looking, well, undistinguished.
We decide on a darker hue for the underbelly and a matching band ahead of the passenger compartment. Not only does it add contrast, the solid hue makes it easier to touch up scratches from takeoffs and landings. Because a private jet is the ultimate branding opportunity, I add my company logo, Chronoscope Productions, to the tail.
Boom! Instant mogul.
Beyond the screen is a room where interior appointments, from upholstery swatches to silverware, metal trim finishes, and flooring, can be inspected. These are just a fraction of the total options. For instance, Gulfstream has 200 alternative veneer options not in the showroom.
Bedding by Vispring and materials by Loro Piana are among the choices, though outside vendors can be employed if the need arises. Beyond the wide selection of colors, equipment packages, and configurations, the list of options can quickly unfurl into potentially thousands of combinations.
The sky is literally the limit for customization possibilities: The aircraft’s livery can be matched to, say, nail-polish hues or the seats to a pair of beloved stingray cowboy boots.
Gulfstream has had to steer some clients away from precipices where marginal taste suddenly veers toward disaster. One had requested a different color for each of the cabin’s seats, but the in-house design team gently persuaded them to settle on alternating welt cords instead. Another client’s jet design included different shades of mohair—pink, blue, yellow, and green—for each section of the cabin.
Designer Breanna Carlson guides me through the interior process. Her easygoing demeanor makes brainstorming a pleasure. We look through dozens of leather grains, trim surfaces, flooring textures, and accent materials. If an off-the-rack leather doesn’t work, Gulfstream will have the hide dyed to any hue.
Seating is the most critical aspect of a long-range aircraft because this is where the most time is spent. For serious clients, Gulfstream will build a single seat to spec and deliver it to their office or home for a trial run.
Carlson offers pro tips, like the fact that leather will soften over time and larger expanses tend to wear compared to quilted areas. I opt for an aesthetically satisfying choice that combines sporty, automotive-style seats with a subtly contrasting two-tone green combination and vertical ribbing in the center section. Some 50 quilting and perforation options are available, but I prefer surfaces that look clean-cut.
Everything from bulkhead materials to dividers to trim materials to brightwork must be specified, which can lead to a domino effect of aesthetic choices. It’s ultimately on you to stay true to your vision while trusting the experts about how to optimize the final result.
Because modern aircraft are among the most complex machines ever built by humans, it’s no wonder that outfitting every inch can feel as challenging—and potentially rewarding—as building a custom house.
The G700 is in its final phases of certification and after it debuts later this year or early next, some new customers will be tempted to opt for mobile visits from the Gulfstream team. There’s an inherent appeal to considering swatches, samples, and renderings in the comfort of your home.
But if you’re really serious about personalizing your new aircraft, I guarantee there are few experiences more rewarding than total immersion at one of Gulfstream’s design centers—which are also located in Manhattan, London, Savannah, Dallas, and Appleton, Wisc. Think of it as a fitting—not of a suit or a gown, but of the lifestyle you will inhabit and the trajectory you choose to take.
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