Bentley Mulliner Batur

Driving Bentley's Gorgeous $2M Batur Feels Pretty Normal

And on a hyper limited car, that's actually a really good thing

Driving a multi-million-dollar car like Bentley’s Batur is weird. Not only are you trying unbelievably hard not to do anything that will damage the car, but you’re also hyper-aware of everything and everyone around you, trying to ensure that nothing outside the car damages it either. Add in someone from the company who made the car sitting in the passenger seat, and you’ve got a generally uncomfortable situation.

But it gets weirder from there. That person in the passenger seat, they’re probably talking to you, extolling the virtues of this likely very rare and exclusive automobile, and you’re then obligated (if you’re not a real Grade A *******) to engage with them politely. There is a good reason that these drives are usually quite short, and such was the case with my recent drive of the Batur during Monterey Car Week. The Batur itself made the drive a lot less weird than it would have been.

jalopnik.com

Driving Bentley's Gorgeous $2M Batur Feels Pretty Normal

And on a hyper limited car, that's actually a really good thing
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
 
The Ducati Diavel for Bentley is a carbon clad motorbike inspired by the Batur

There will be 500 Diavels for Bentley, and an extra 50 with more customisation available for Mulliner customers

Thought Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg was the most unusual collab of the 21st Century? Well, this Ducati x Bentley tie up might just be ready to challenge for that title.

You see, this is the Ducati Diavel for Bentley – a limited edition motorbike that’s based on Ducati’s Diavel V4 but is inspired by Bentley’s Batur. Interesting.

Of course, both brands are part of the Volkswagen Group’s "Progressive Brand Group", which also includes Audi and Lamborghini, but it’s still not a tie-up we were expecting to see.

The bike itself will be limited to just 500 examples, with each one getting carbon fibre bodywork and diamond cut forged wheels, both of which apparently ape their counterparts on the W16-engined Batur.

 
Ducati Diavel for Bentley is a classy addition to your dream garage

The Ducati and Bentley brands might not seem like obvious candidates for a collaboration, but the result is a somewhat elegant two-wheeler that would look perfect in that dream garage, next to your Bentley Batur, of course.

The limited edition Ducati Diavel for Bentley was designed to celebrate the best of both brands, which happen to fall under the Volkswagen Group umbrella.

Described by its maker as a “striking synthesis of technology, style and performance capable of making enthusiasts dream,” the limited edition two wheeler is based on the Diavel V4 performance bike, but takes design inspiration from the Bentley Batur, of which only 18 examples will be hand crafted at a price tag of 1.65 million pounds (R39.4 million).

The Diavel for Bentley won’t be quite as scarce, however, with the bike manufacturer planning to produce 500 examples of the two-wheeler. But there is also a more exclusive “Ducati Diavel for Bentley Mulliner”, of which 50 units will be produced and sold exclusively to Bentley customers. Pricing for the former reportedly starts at $70,000 (or R1,335,600).

The Batur is of course the most powerful Bentley ever, making use of a 544kW twin-turbo W12 engine.

 
Bentley Batur Convertible

Bentley Motors revealrf the third coachbuilt Bentley of the modern era - the Batur Convertible. Created by Mulliner, Bentley's in house bespoke division and the longest standing coachbuilder in the world, the Batur Convertible follows the exquisitely hand-crafted Bacalar barchetta and Batur coupe. With the Batur Convertible, Mulliner continues its long tradition of crafting truly individual cars, tailored to the wishes of each of its extraordinary clients.

The Batur Convertible furthers the innovative design DNA introduced by its coupe sibling that will ultimately guide the design of Bentley's future cars. The Batur Convertible retains the most powerful version of Bentley's iconic W12, with a 750 PS, hand-assembled 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged engine that has metaphorically and literally powered Bentley's success for the last two decades. With the engine to finish production this summer, the Batur Convertible will be one of the last ever Bentleys to use this incredible powertrain.

Bespoke two-seat grand touring

Bentley has a rich history of open-cockpit cars, from the very first Bentley of 1919, through the company's foundation years in the 1920s, to the most recent - the Bacalar. The architecture of the Batur Convertible has allowed Mulliner's designers to seize the opportunity to create a theme that not only blends the design of the Bacalar and Batur but includes the usability of a convertible. The designers also chose to highlight the two-seater character with a 'wraparound' cockpit inspired by the design of the Bacalar.

 
It’s the gorgeous new 730bhp Bentley Batur convertible

Just 16 soft top examples of Bentley’s most powerful production car ever will exist, will likely dwarf the hard top’s £1.65 million pricing

Bentley has just chopped the top off its super exclusive Batur model, with 16 build slots available for the select few whose pockets are as deep as the Mariana’s Trench.

It’s quite a looker, you'll agree. Good news when you consider this car strongly previews Bentley’s design language of the future. So you’ve got a dark titanium mesh grille out front, flowing lines across the bonnet and flanks, sharp lighting clusters at either end and 22in alloys to bring it all together.

Bentley also says the paint choice is ‘infinite’, with the example shown sporting a Vermillion gloss and satin finish. Perhaps be a bit more creative than ‘I’ll have a blue one please’ if you do seal a build slot.

The two-seat configuration still lays at the heart of a gorgeous ‘wraparound’ cabin, with the occupants separated by a thick centre console with many buttons that do… many things. There's a triumvirate of clocks directly above, with the rest of the dashboard left relatively tidy to allow the sparing use of rose gold to stand out a bit more.

 
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