2023 Bentley Mulliner Batur is a $2.8 million view to the future
Motor Shows
The second modern hand-built model from Bentley’s Mulliner division is the company’s most powerful petrol car yet – but debuts a new design direction set to star in its electric future.
0
The 2023 Bentley Mulliner Batur has been revealed, as a high-priced preview of the car maker’s future electric cars – but powered by the most powerful petrol engine it’s ever built.
The Mulliner Batur – limited to 18 cars, all pre-sold with a £1.65 million ($AU2.8 million) price tag before taxes — is the claimed to be the ultimate in automotive opulence, with a list of available options including 3D-printed parts in 18-carat gold and sustainably-sourced leather.
It’s also the most powerful car in Bentley’s history, with more than 544kW (740 metric horsepower) and 1000Nm from its 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine.
Despite featuring Bentley’s most powerful road-legal engine, the Mulliner Batur – named after a lake on the island of Bali, Indonesia – has been unveil the brand’s new styling direction, and preview what owners can expect to see in upcoming electric Bentleys, due from 2025 onwards.
<button class="navigation_glide__arrow__je__h navigation_glide__arrow–left__y3DP1 navigation_glide__arrow–inactive__H6d8_" data-glide-dir="|Previous
“The Batur showcases the design direction that we’re taking in the future as we develop our range of BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles). Andi Mindt [chief designer] and his team have reimagined the classic Bentley design cues into a stronger, bolder design that remains both elegant and graceful,” said the chairman of Bentley Motors, Adrian Hallmark, in an official statement.
The car is also a tribute to petrol power and old-school performance, with an eight-speed automatic transmission, speed-tuned air suspension, electronically-controlled active anti-roll bars, an electronic limited-slip rear differential and four-wheel steering.
No performance metrics have been quoted, though a 485kW version of the W12 engine in a Bentley Continental GT Speed coupe can cover the 0-100km/h sprint in a claimed 3.6 seconds.
“Our W12 engine is easily the most successful twelve-cylinder automotive engine in history, and as it approaches its retirement to make way for future hybrids and [electric cars], we want to mark its accomplishments,” said Hallmark.
<button class="navigation_glide__arrow__je__h navigation_glide__arrow–left__y3DP1 navigation_glide__arrow–inactive__H6d8_" data-glide-dir="|Previous
Design work on the Batur — which follows the Bacalar convertible in Bentley’s run of limited-edition Mulliner models — begins with a bolder frontal treatment and a long bonnet, while retaining a traditional Bentley look.
However, the Batur’s carbon-fibre-accented body appears to have been draped over the Continental GT’s chassis, with a side-by-side photo comparison revealing the cars share their wheelbases, key proportions, and even their mirrors and door handles.
“Our new design cues include a line that stretches from the bonnet along the whole length of the car, connecting the bonnet into the body, making the car long and lean and giving an elongated proportion to the front end,” said the car’s designer, Andrea Mindt, in a Bentley statement.
The 2023 Bentley Mulliner Batur was unveiled at Monterey Speed Week in California at the weekend, ahead of deliveries promised from the middle of next year.
It will follow an “extensive” development program for the car – seemingly funded by the funds of its followers.
