The Gentleman Magazine Issue 20 | April 2020 | Page 31

Bentley Mulliner Returns To Coachbuilding Bacalar – A Dynamically-Sculpted Design For The Future
With the Bacalar, customers will again have the ability to
work closely with a team of specialist designers to enhance
their vehicle with a selection of unique materials and specially
curated options. The Bacalar will be the first – but other new
bespoke Bentleys will follow as part of the Bentley Mulliner
Coachbuilt portfolio – one of three new divisions of the Bentley
Mulliner organisation. The new Bentley Mulliner Bacalar is a genuine ‘roofless’
Barchetta – a luxury, two-seat, open-air performance car, the
likes of which has never been seen before. Handcrafted to the
individual customer’s personal tastes, Bacalar is the ultimate
expression of an open-top Grand Tourer: a spirited GT
combining traditional handcrafted techniques with the latest
cutting-edge technology.
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 arm of the business – Bentley Mulliner Collections
- will continue to offer customers luxury-focused derivatives
of the core Bentley range, such as the new Continental GT
Mulliner Convertible, 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.
Tracy Crump, Bentley Mulliner’s Head of Commercial
Operations, comments:
“While Bentley’s motto is ‘Be Extraordinary’, at Bentley Mulliner
we look to take it one step further, ‘Beyond Extraordinary’.
With the new Bacalar we have been able to do exactly that,
providing a select number of customers with the opportunity to
express their personal taste in a truly remarkable grand tourer.
Meanwhile, Bentley Mulliner Classic will breathe new life into
the most iconic cars from our past, while our Collections team
continue their work to offer a bespoking service to each and
every Bentley customer.”
The Bacalar shares no body panel with any other car in the
Bentley model line-up and derives inspiration from the
dramatic EXP 100 GT concept car conceived to mark the
company’s centenary last year. Indeed, it only shares one
exterior component with a Continental GT – the door handle,
simply because it contains the keyless entry system.
Stefan Sielaff, Bentley’s Director of Design, comments:
“You can clearly see echoes of the EXP 100 GT in the Bacalar,
as well as the influence of the past. Bentley has a rich history
of open-cockpit cars – the design of the Birkin Blower Bentley
of the late 1920s was also an inspiration. We needed to push
the boundaries as far as possible – customers were asking
what Bentley’s take on a more expressive-looking car at this
price point would look like. We were also tasked with starting
to deliver on Bentley’s promise to use sustainable materials.
Within less than a year of revealing our future-focused concept,
we have already delivered on this promise.”
The rear clamshell and top deck of the Bacalar are crafted from
lightweight aluminium, while the doors and wings are carbon
fibre. Combined with the use of three-dimensional printing, it
has allowed designers to create an even more distinctive car.
The Bacalar sits on extended haunches, with the rear track 20
mm wider than a Continental GT, to provide a more muscular,
sporting stance. They house bespoke, 22-inch tri-finish wheels
with dramatic depth and contour on the road.
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