Today is Ian Fleming's 100th birthday and pub date for Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks writing as Fleming. In celebration of this landmark, Doubleday has created a limited edition of the book produced in conjunction with Bentley which will retail for $1500. The book is bound in Bentley leather and contains a pewter replica of the Bentley Bond drives.

According to Alison Rich at Doubleday, "only 300 copies were produced, 100 for the US market and 200 in the UK. The 200 British editions sold out in under 2 hours just after midnight this morning." The US limited edition is available for purchase exclusively at randomhouse.com.

Luxury cars involved with publishing... now where have I read about that?

Bibliophiles, prepare to drool after the jump.

About the design from Bentley's press release:

Evoking the feeling of the Cold War period in which DEVIL MAY CARE is set, the edition is bound in Bodoniana style cases and finished in burnt oak leather sourced from the tannery in Italy which provides the hides for Bentley's interiors. The iconic Bentley diamond pattern found on the radiator grille and upholstery of modern Bentleys, is hand-stitched on the leather casing and the front cover and spine is finished with the silver Bentley 'Flying B' - the radiator cap of the Bentleys of Bond's time.

The inside of the casing is trimmed in deep red hotspur leather and has the striking fluting used on the 1950's and 1960's Bentley interior upholstery. Each book has a unique edition number embossed on a black aluminium plate produced by the same company that makes the Bentley engine plates.

Fleming described in detail a modified Bentley R type in Thunderball and On Her Majesty's Secret Service which Bond lovingly called 'the Locomotive'. The car never existed but, using Fleming's exact specifications, a cast and polished 1:43 scale model of the car has been hand crafted by Bentley for this edition. The miniature is inserted into the book in a car-shaped hole and is individually numbered to match the plate on the inside cover. Each book is protected by a custom-made Plexiglass slip case, which will be sealed in protective and numbered wrapping.