{"id":412102,"date":"2022-08-24T17:31:54","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T17:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/?p=412102"},"modified":"2024-02-26T00:34:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T00:34:13","slug":"bentley-unveiled-the-mulliner-batur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/bentley-unveiled-the-mulliner-batur\/","title":{"rendered":"Bentley unveiled the Mulliner Batur"},"content":{"rendered":"

The collection of just 18 series examples of the Batur is the latest project by Bentley\u2019s in-house bespoke and coachbuilding division, Mulliner, and succeeds the Bacalar \u2013 a run of 12 individually specified, designed, and handcrafted Barchettas that relaunched coachbuilding at Bentley. Like its predecessor \u2013 the Bacalar \u2013 the Batur is named after a beautiful natural body of water. Lake Batur is an 88m deep, 16 km2<\/sup> crater lake in Kintamani on the island of Bali, Indonesia, and provides nutrient-rich water to both local hot springs and agriculture.<\/p>\n

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The Batur will also be the most powerful Bentley yet, with a 740+ PS version of the iconic, hand-assembled 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W12 engine that has metaphorically and literally powered Bentley\u2019s success for the last two decades. As the engine enters its twilight years as part of Bentley\u2019s Beyond100 transformation journey to being fully electrified, the Batur forms the first part of a celebration of the W12\u2019s extraordinary power, torque, and refinement. Engine performance will be matched to the most advanced Bentley chassis ever, with Speed-tuned air suspension, electric active anti-roll control, eLSD, four-wheel steering, and torque vectoring.<\/p>\n

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All 18 examples of the Batur have already been reserved. Each one will be designed collaboratively with each customer, guided by Mulliner\u2019s in-house design team. Customers will be able to specify the color and finish of practically every surface of the Batur, to create a car as individual as they are. Each one will then be handcrafted over the course of several months in Mulliner\u2019s workshop at Bentley\u2019s carbon-neutral factory in Crewe, England, with first deliveries expected in mid-2023.<\/p>\n

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The Batur was unveiled at Bentley\u2019s Signature Party at the 2022 Monterey Car Week, in front of almost 500 VIP guests, by Bentley\u2019s Chairman and Chief Executive, Adrian Hallmark, who comments: “The Batur is a significant car for Bentley. Far more than the heir to the highly successful Bacalar, the Batur showcases the design direction that we\u2019re taking in the future as we develop our range of BEVs. Andi Mindt and his team have reimagined the classic Bentley design cues into a stronger, bolder design that remains both elegant and graceful. Beneath the beautiful exterior lies the most powerful engine we\u2019ve ever developed. 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 BEVs, we want to mark its accomplishments. The 18 lucky customers who have already reserved their Batur will enjoy an unrivaled co-creation experience with our Mulliner Design team in specifying their cars. The Batur is the next step in Mulliner\u2019s expansion, demonstrating the demand for truly bespoke vehicles that combine luxury and performance in ways that only Bentley can deliver.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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A Design Revolution
\n<\/strong>The design of the Batur is the work of Bentley\u2019s Director of Design, Andreas Mindt, and his team including Head of Exterior Design, Tobias Suehlmann, and Head of Interior Design, Andrew Hart-Barron. The Bentley design DNA that has driven the creation of the Continental GT, Flying Spur, and Bentayga families has been revolutionized for the Batur, introducing new themes, approaches, and details. The new form language defines a new chapter for Bentley design, as part of Bentley\u2019s Beyond100 transformational journey to become the world\u2019s leading sustainable luxury mobility company. The Batur previews the design principles that are driving the development of the company\u2019s first BEV \u2013 due in 2025 \u2013 and the families of cars that follow.<\/p>\n

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Andreas Mindt explains the design: “For any design team, the chance to redefine our own rules is the most exciting challenge. We have reimagined the Bentley design language, keeping some continuity to the past and present while also drastically changing key elements. The design of a modern Bentley should always be potent, inspirational, and harmonious. The form has to be strong and muscular whilst remaining graceful \u2013 there must be both elegant flow and muscularity. The term we use is the \u201cresting beast stance\u201d \u2013 picture a lion or tiger, laying low in attack position in long grass. That powerful shape \u2013 of ultimate power at rest, that looks fast even when stationary \u2013 is one that drives our new interpretation of the classic Bentley power line and haunch.<\/em><\/p>\n

A mark of power and prestige has always been a long bonnet. Our new design cues include a line that stretches from the bonnet along the whole length of the car, connecting the bonnet to the body, making the car long and lean, and giving an elongated proportion to the front end. We call this feature the \u201cendless bonnet\u201d, and it\u2019s the only accent highlight of the cleaner shape. Meanwhile, the visual mass of the car is moved rearwards, giving the impression that the car is sat on the rear axle, which adds further depth to the haunches.<\/em><\/p>\n

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At the very front of the car, we\u2019ve modernized the famous Bentley grille and made it lower and more upright, to give a stronger face and a more dominant stance. This upright elegance brings self-confidence with a luxury stance. The grille is flanked by a new headlight shape and design, an evolution of the design used on Bacalar and maintaining the single large headlight on either side. These are matched with all-new tail-lamps at the rear, that sit on either side of a deployable spoiler.<\/em><\/p>\n

Overall, the form is cleaner and simplified, and we rely more on curvaceous surfaces bisected in the right places to reflect light and dark and bring more muscle to the design.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Next Exceptional Mulliner Project
\n<\/strong>The Batur is the heir and successor to the Bacalar, the 12-off Barchetta design that brought coachbuilding back to Mulliner. Mulliner has become adept at delivering complex projects, including the Bacalar and the Blower Continuation Series \u2013 the world\u2019s first continuation of a pre-war car. The coachbuilding skills that have been reborn through both projects will combine with generational handcraftsmanship to deliver the 18 Baturs that are to be built, each one entirely and meticulously by hand.<\/p>\n

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Paul Williams, Director of Mulliner, comments: “With Bacalar, we proved the appetite of our clients for truly bespoke and individual Bentleys. We\u2019re building on that story with the Batur, and the fact that all 18 cars are already reserved is a testament to the fact that our design team is creating cars that our clients want to buy. Batur is not only a beautiful handcrafted Bentley \u2013 it is the next member of a distinguished line of cars coachbuilt by Mulliner, which include the W.O. Bentley\u2019s favorite car in the 8 Litre and the now truly-iconic R-Type Continental.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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Mulliner\u2019s in-house design team will co-create every Batur with its customer, working together for several hours through a specially-created Mulliner visualizer that allows any part of the car to be customized in color and surface finish. Endless samples of unique materials bring texture to the process, and the resulting designs will be truly individual and created by the customer \u2013 limited only by their imagination. From the main exterior paint to the surface finish of the air vents, and literally everything in between, each customer will specify even the tiniest of details.<\/p>\n

Through handcrafted materials and exceptional colors, each Batur will then be brought to life by Mulliner\u2019s team of automotive artisans in a process taking several months for each car.<\/p>\n

Exterior Details
\n<\/strong>Beyond the exterior form of the car lies an almost endless array of choices for each car\u2019s future owner to make. Paint choice is infinite \u2013 starting with the full Mulliner color palette and traveling beyond into fully bespoke paint and even hand-painted graphics.<\/p>\n

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The aerodynamic additions of the front splitter, side skirts, and rear diffuser can be crafted in both carbon fiber or new, sustainable Natural Fibre composite. The exterior brightware can be any mix of light and dark, satin or gloss, or even titanium. As per the first car, another option is a graduated contrast color to the front grille, for a vibrant ombre effect. The Batur sits on unique 22\u201d wheels, with the \u2018standard\u2019 option being painted in Black Crystal and then surface bright machined and polished. A darker option combines dark gloss faces with satin spokes, while customers can also choose to paint-match the wheels to the body with or without contrast finish or to choose a totally different contrast color.<\/p>\n

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The car revealed in Monterey has been specified to showcase the Batur\u2019s form language. The exterior paintwork is a bespoke color \u2013 Bonneville Pearlescent Silver \u2013 that provides flowing contrast across the curvaceous surfaces. The bodywork is underscored by carbon fiber front splitters, side skirts, and a rear diffuser painted in Black Crystal. The front of the car features a grille of exceptional art \u2013 with the main matrix finished in Gloss Dark Titanium, accented with contrast chevrons in a horizontal ombre pattern that flows from Hyperactive Orange in the center and gradually darkens to the sides to Black Crystal. The \u201cendless bonnet\u201d line is finished in Satin Titanium paint, as are the 22\u201d wheels \u2013 with the spokes in Satin Dark Titanium to match the grille.<\/p>\n

A Cabin of Sustainable Bespoke Beauty
\n<\/strong>The two-seat interior space of the Batur is designed for ultimate personalization and long-distance grand touring. Inspired by the success of the interior design of the Bacalar, the Batur builds on the core elements of the Bacalar\u2019s cabin design and adds new sustainable luxury features.<\/p>\n

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Every element of the cabin is tailored to the customer\u2019s specifications. Clients can choose from a variety of sustainable interior materials, including:<\/p>\n