New Bentley Mulliner Batur Proves the W12 Isn’t Extinct Yet
This coachbuilt coupe will debut at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Bentley wants to become the most sustainable luxury automotive brand on earth. Before that, though, it's going to use its massive W12 engine at least one more time in the upcoming Mulliner Batur. Bentley just dropped a teaser image of the grand tourer ahead of its Pebble Beach debut, and not only is sticking with the W12, but it's also going to be more powerful than ever.
The car is named after the 88-meter deep Lake Batur on the Indonesian island of Bali. As with all Bentleys, it will be customizable down to the tiniest details. According to the car company, the "color and finish of every surface and component can be specified by the customer, with practically limitless ways of creating a Batur." Some of the new material options are natural fiber composites, low CO2 leather, and even 3D-printed 18-karat gold. I mean, are you even rich anymore if you don't have that?
Despite its hulking W12 engine, the Mulliner Batur's design "will shape the future range of Bentley Battery Electric Vehicles," the first of which will be launched in 2025. Just looking at the teaser image, it looks like the Batur will ditch the Continental GT's C-pillar window kink and stick with a flatter, sharper window line. It also gets muscular rear wheel arches, a smooth rear roofline, and a low-sloping front end.
It's unclear which platform the Mulliner Batur will be built on, but Bentley claims it will have its most advanced chassis system ever. It's possible that it stays on the MSB platform, which is what underpins the Continental GT. However, future electric Bentleys could shift to the Volkswagen Group's electric PPE platform, which Audi and Porsche are currently switching to for the A6 E-Tron and electric Macan, respectively.
Bentley didn't say whether the Batur would be a limited-run car like the Bacalar but as a coachbuilt machine handcrafted by Bentley's Mulliner division, that seems likely. Regardless, the special machine will make its worldwide debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on Sunday, Aug. 21.
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