Bentley Mulliner is adding to its new Collections portfolio and creating the new luxury pinnacle of the Continental GT family with the new Continental GT Mulliner coupé. This sibling of the GT Mulliner Convertible celebrates modern craftsmanship and offers the client even wider possibilities to commission a unique Bentley to their individual specification.
The Continental GT Mulliner coupé makes its global debut at Salon Privé which is being staged in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, UK, from 22 September where it will be displayed alongside the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar, also making its public debut, and an as-yet-unannounced example of the Mulliner Classic portfolio.
A suite of exclusive exterior design features separate the Continental GT Mulliner from the rest of the family. At the front, the new ‘Double Diamond’ matrix grille defines the new Mulliner signature style, complemented by matching front fender vents echoing the same silver and black design and with chromed Mulliner branding. Approaching and opening either doors reveals the other Mulliner design features – Satin Silver mirror caps with Mulliner Welcome Lamps beneath, and illuminated outer door sills with Mulliner text.
The car sits on new and unique 22” Mulliner wheels, with a bespoke design of elegant beauty in a painted and polished finish. The centre badge of each wheel is self-levelling, keeping the iconic Bentley ‘B’ upright at all times.
The cabin of the Continental GT Mulliner is one defined by luxury, and showcases a level of choice and customisation that only Mulliner can provide. A unique colour split is exclusive to the car, with a new combination of primary and secondary hide joined by a third colour through a flowing design line. Eight different three-colour combinations are proposed by Mulliner, using Bentley’s palette of hides and threads to create striking yet elegant contrast throughout the cabin.
The Mulliner Driving Specification is fitted as standard, bringing the “Diamond in Diamond” quilting to the seats, doors trims and rear quarter panels, now with both contrast and accent stitching running through the diamonds design. It takes almost 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. Developing the embroidery process to deliver this process alone took 18 months.
The seats themselves are finished with embroidered Mulliner logos. The floor mats are edged with micro-piping to match the rest of the colour theme of the interior and chrome Bentley ‘B’ retention caps are an example of the fine details that separate the Continental GT Mulliner.The roof of the cabin is trimmed along its full length with indented hide, or smooth hide to match the seat backs if the fixed glass roof is selected.
The centre console is dressed in a new diamond milled technical finish that uses precision machining to form a perfect pattern of facets, flanked either side by Grand Black walnut veneer with chrome overlays. A unique Breitling clock sits in the centre of the console, while the passenger side fascia is finished with a silhouette of the car’s exterior profile and the Mulliner logo. The veneer flows into the doors, where it is completed by a discreet Bentley ‘B’ motif.
For the driver, the brushed-metal finish of the Breitling clock is carried through from the physical world to the digital, with a unique design to the main gauges of the LED main instruments cluster where careful skeuomorphic design and the application of digital textures makes the virtual dials look like real metal.
Further personalisation is available through a range of 88 contemporary, colourised veneer finishes that can be matched to the interior or exterior of the car. Burr walnut veneer is hand-sanded and polished to produce a perfectly smooth finish before painting to match the colour of the customer’s choice. Once dry, the veneer is polished to achieve a mirror-like finish.
Customers of the Continental GT Mulliner can choose either Bentley’s iconic 6.0-litre W12 powertrain delivering 635 PS (626 bhp), or its sublime 4.0-litre V8 offering 550 PS (542 bhp), for a level of performance to juxtapose the car’s handcrafted luxury.
Bentley’s pioneering 48V electric active anti-roll technology – Bentley Dynamic Ride – is fitted as standard*, delivering incredible body control and stability during cornering and a relaxed, cosseting ride when cruising. Orders for both coupe and convertible versions of the Continental GT Mulliner will be taken from October, with first deliveries beginning early next year. Customers of the Continental GT Mulliner will receive the keys to their car in a bespoke, Mulliner-branded and handcrafted presentation box containing individual leather pouches matching the three-colour interior configuration of their car.
Bentley Mulliner is renowned throughout the automotive world for crafting some of the most individual Bentleys ever created. Bentley Mulliner is the birthplace of coachbuilding – the oldest automotive coachbuilder in the world. Bentley Mulliner operates three distinct divisions, each with its own artisanal specialism: Bentley Mulliner 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. The Bentley Mulliner Bacalar will be the first – but other new bespoke Bentleys will follow as part of the portfolio.
The Bentley Mulliner Classic offering was introduced last year with the announcement that Bentley’s 1929 Team Blower is to be reborn with a new build of 12 supercharged 4½-litre examples of the iconic car. These models, each individually handcrafted by a team of specialists from Bentley Mulliner, will form the world’s first pre-war race car continuation series. This subdivision of Mulliner also completed an immaculate restoration of the 1939 Bentley Corniche last year.
The third division of expertise – Bentley Mulliner Collections – will continue to offer customers luxury-focused derivatives of the core Bentley range, such as the new Continental GT Mulliner, as well as the opportunity to personalise their new Bentley. An expansive number of options is available across the full line-up of current production cars – from unique colour-matched paint, hide and thread combinations, to bespoke feature content.
The experienced team, supported by in-house engineers and designers at Crewe, prides itself on a long history of fulfilling the desires and demands of Bentley’s most discerning customers worldwide.
