A trio of masterpieces from Bentley’s Mulliner division have arrived in Bentley Kuala Lumpur and here’s a look at the flagship cars and the elevated luxury presented by Crewe’s bespoke commissioning division. The three pieces of canvas are the Bentley Continental GT coupe, the Flying Spur limo and the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase SUV.
First, a short intro. Described as the birthplace of coachbuilding, Bentley Mulliner is the oldest automotive coachbuilder in the world. It operates three distinct divisions, each with its own area of expertise. ‘Coachbuilt’ provides customers with the ability to work closely with a team of specialist designers to create or enhance their vehicle with a unique body style, different materials and specially curated options – think Bacalar and Batur.
Mulliner’s ‘Classic’ subdivision recreates and restores iconic models from Bentley’s rich archive. Finally, ‘Collections’, which offers customers luxury-focused derivatives of the core Bentley range as well as the opportunity to personalise their new ride. An expansive number of options is available, from unique colour-matched paint, hide and thread combinations to bespoke feature content. This is what we’re focusing on today.
If the Continental GT Speed highlights the model’s supercar levels of performance and uncanny dynamics to hold it all together, the Continental GT Mulliner is the other pillar, the luxury flagship of the best luxury GT in production (double mention of the ‘L’ word was intentional).
The Mulliner Collection is defined by a ‘Double Diamond’ matrix grille that you can see in all three cars here. That statement of a grille – beautifully contrasted by this example’s Black Velvet paintjob – is complemented by front fender ‘vents’ with the same motif and chromed Mulliner branding.
The other special touches that form the ‘standard Mulliner Collections package’ (apologies for the crude description for an infinitely customisable car) include Satin Silver mirror caps with Mulliner welcome lamps tucked beneath, and illuminated outer door sills with the Mulliner text.
Those shiny big wheels, they’re Tungsten painted and polished 22-inch Mulliner items that you don’t want to curb. The centre badge of each 10-spoke wheel is self-levelling, keeping the iconic Bentley ‘B’ logo upright at all times.
Inside, you’ll find matching ‘Diamond in Diamond’ motif on the seats, door trims and rear quarter panels, with both contrast and accent stitching running through the design. Crazy fact: it takes up to 400,000 stitches to deliver this quilting across the cabin of the car, with each diamond containing exactly 712 individual stitches – each one precisely aligned to point to the centre of the diamond it creates!
It’s a Bentley, and we have to talk about leather and wood. This Continental GT’s Mulliner Bespoke Interior is fully covered in leather (even the roof), in Portland and Burnt Oak tones. Hand-picked from herds that graze high above sea level in Northern Europe, all hides are naturally free of insect bites that can leave blemishes in the leather.
Bentley KL specified Grand Black Veneer for the cockpit fascia, and on the passenger side, there’s an unmissable overlay of the Continental GT’s silhouette with Mulliner branding. The wood wraps ‘into’ the doors, and there are B logos at each end. A stark contrast to the deep black veneer is the Diamond Milled Technical Finish on the centre console – stare long enough at this and you might be hypnotised. This sumptuous coupe is yours for RM3,257,400 with taxes, on-the-road without insurance.
The Flying Spur Mulliner you see here appears to be in the same shade of black at a glance, but Onyx – the launch colour of the first-generation Continental Flying Spur Speed, by the way – uses a hint of dark blue, mixed with darker tones to create the “deepest black finish imaginable”.
All of the Mulliner Collection specialties mentioned for the Continental GT – chrome-heavy fascia with Double Diamond grille, matching front fender applique, silver wing mirror caps, welcome lights, door sills – are also present on ‘the best car in the world’ (Crewe’s choice of words, but the claim is legit), which rolls on the same 22-inch Mulliner rims.
While these two look like Mulliner twins of different sizes, there are cues that set the Flying Spur apart from the two-door, such as the (illuminated) Flying B emblem, unique grille/bumper and high position of the front wing trim. It’s a similar story inside, where you’ll find cream coloured leather (Portland) mixed with a dark tone (Beluga), but the latter is black instead of dark brown here. Same Grand Black Veneer and Diamond Milled Technical Finish combo too, plus Diamond-in-Diamond quilting.
An extra for the four-door are two ‘picnic tables’ for the VIPs, finished in Grand Black. The fold-down tables also feature a diamond-inspired chrome overlay design, which is actually is a 2D reflection of the 3D diamond technical finish on the centre console.
Curiously, the Flying Spur has splashes of Hotspur bright red in the cabin and on the brake calipers, which you might have expected on the ‘sportier’ format of the Continental GT. This demonstrates the customising potential of Mulliner, where any combination is possible. This example is priced at RM3,432,700 duty-paid, OTR without insurance.
The white knight of the Mulliner Collections family is the Bentayga EWB Mulliner, the new luxury flagship for the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase, which as its name suggests, has a longer wheelbase (+180 mm) for more rear legroom and the option of Bentley Airline Seat Specification. The luxurious individual chairs feature 22-ways of adjustment, the world’s first auto climate sensing system and advanced postural adjustment technology.
If the Bentayga gives off a different vibe from the other two, it must be because of the solid white paint with Blackline Specification, which means all the bright exterior trim have been swapped for gloss black, including the door handles, headlamp bezels, tailpipes, bumper grille, roof rails and window surrounds, among other chrome parts.
The only silver bits left are the logos and parts of the Double Diamond grille. The wheels are 22-inch Mulliner items in black, broken up by the ring of the self-levelling wheel badge. Finally, the typical Mulliner Collection silver wing mirror caps have overwritten by Blackline on this example. It’s a sportier and – some would say – more contemporary look for a Bentley.
The dark tri-tone interior has a ‘Storm’ theme that combines the deep blues and black of Brunel and Beluga with white accents that act ‘like a flash of lightning across a night sky’. Grand Black Veneer teams up with Diamond Milled Technical Finish again, with chrome overlays on the front passenger side and picnic tables, as per the Flying Spur Mulliner. No Diamond-in-Diamond here, but the wider quilt pattern is nice. This imposing outside, opulent inside SUV limo is yours for RM3,321,200 with taxes, OTR excluding insurance.
With the demise of Bentley’s iconic W12 engine (prior to being discontinued, the 6.0L motor was reserved for Speed models), all three Mulliner Collections models seen here are powered by a 4.0-litre V8 engine with 550 PS and 770 Nm of torque from 2,000 to 4,500 rpm.
The twin-turbo TSI unit is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and 0-100 km/h times are 4.0 seconds for the Continental GT, 4.1 seconds for the Flying Spur and 4.6 seconds for the Bentayga EWB – astounding figures when you consider the size and weight of these fully-loaded land yachts. All three have Bentley Dynamic Ride and the two limos come with electronic all-wheel steer.
As for audio, the four-door models are fitted with Bang & Olufsen speakers while the Continental GT boasts the top-tier Naim for Bentley system with 20 channels – 18 loudspeakers and two ‘shakers’ – and a 2,200-watt amplifier. No Breitling clock though.
To sum up Mulliner’s scope of personalisation, check out the wooden box below – forget Burr Walnut and Connolly Leather gents, you can now have stone finishes, carved wood door cards and even plaid fabric to match your favourite jacket.
Mulliner or Speed, which are you?
GALLERY: Bentley Continental GT Mulliner
GALLERY: Bentley Flying Spur Mulliner
GALLERY: Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner
GALLERY: Bentley Mulliner options box
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