Bentley presents the Mulliner Batur, a new grand tourer coupé produced in a limited series (18 units) that represents the beginning of a revolution in the British luxury manufacturer’s design language. Designed by the Bentley design team led by Andreas Mindt, the Batur reveals shapes and aesthetic contents that will influence the lines of future Bentleys. The Batur is, after the Bacalar, the second car the British marque has produced with the Mulliner division, the one dedicated to the most exclusive limited edition and bespoke Bentleys. The Batur will also be the most powerful Bentley produced to date, with a 740-plus horsepower version of the iconic 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine that is set to retire by the end of the decade.
“For any design team, the chance to redefine its rules is the most exciting challenge. With the Batur, we developed a new Bentley design language, maintaining a logical continuity with the past and present, but revising key elements,” explains Andreas Mindt. “The design of a modern Bentley must always be powerful, inspiring and harmonious. The shape has to be strong and muscular, while maintaining that innate elegance: we have to perceive both an elegant flow and a strong muscularity from the lines. At the front of the car we have renewed the famous Bentley grille, making it lower and more vertical, to give it a stronger face and a more dominant stance.
The grille is flanked by a new shape and design of the headlights, an evolution of the design used for the Bacalar and retaining a single large headlamp at the sides. These are combined with a new rear light, which are located on either side of a retractable spoiler. “Overall, the shape is cleaner and more linear, so we relied on sinuous surfaces cut in the right places to reflect light and darkness and give the design more strength overall,” continues the designer who worked on the project with Tobias Suehlmann (Bentley Head of Exterior Design) and Andrew Hart-Barron (Head of Interior Design).
The two-seater interior of the Batur is designed for maximum customisation and long-haul grand touring. Inspired by the success of the Bacalar’s interior design, the Batur builds on the Bacalar’s cabin design elements by adding new features in the area of sustainable materials. Every element of the cabin is customised to the customer’s specifications, who can choose from low-carbon leather from Scotland, sustainably tanned leather from Italy in five different colours, Dinamica (a sustainable alternative material to leather, similar to suede), and a new natural fibre composite material, a sustainable alternative to carbon fibre and available in 2×2 twill weave, finished with a satin varnish.
