Coachbuilt by Mulliner

The Batur Convertible retains many of the same exquisite exterior features of its hard-top sibling, the Bentley Batur. Yet it introduces some subtle adaptations – especially at the rear, where enhancements have been introduced to allow for the aerodynamic demands of its convertible form.

When the roof is open, the unique, aviation-inspired ‘airbridge’ design becomes visible from the outside of the car. Based on two arch-shaped features positioned behind the driver and passenger respectively, it adds to the impression of a sleek, ergonomic cockpit – an entirely appropriate feeling, given the car’s immense power.

Like any car Coachbuilt by Mulliner, the Bentley Batur Convertible offers a vast opportunity for personalisation, complete with your unique choices of materials, colours and finishes. As a convertible, it is essential that the exterior and interior choices work in harmony, because they will be seen together whenever you drive the car with the top down. So embark on a commissioning journey with the Mulliner team – and co-create the coachbuilt convertible of your dreams.

Many sustainable materials are available to you in creating your Batur Convertible. Where leather is used for example, it can be sustainably sourced, thanks to a production process that uses less water and aldehyde than traditional methods. Traceable, low-CO2 leather can also be chosen to upholster your cabin - something made more accessible due to the low volumes involved in coachbuilding. Leather-like textiles made from by-products of the coffee roasting process are included in the interior's design, as are details such as floor carpets made from recycled yarn.

A car like the Batur Convertible deserves an engine that reflects its status – not least because with the top down, the sound is such an essential element of the drive. Beneath that sleek bonnet lies the most powerful iteration of Bentley’s legendary W12 engine, delivering an astonishing 750 PS. The numbers are just the beginning, however. It is the sound and the sensation you experience as you surge forward that make the drive truly unforgettable.

Commissioning a Batur Convertible is about far more than just making choices. It is a process driven by imagination, inspiration and your unique, personal vision. Mulliner’s coachbuilding designers and engineers will guide you on this collaborative journey – and help you bring your vision to life.

Few people will be lucky enough to see a Bacalar on the road, but those who do, however, will be struck by its powerful haunches – the result of a rear track 200 mm wider than that of a Continental GT – and its 22” tri-finish wheels. Unique front and rear horizontal lights add to the forward-looking, dynamic character. A ‘wraparound’ cockpit design not only allows the interior and exterior design to blend together, but it also directs the air flow over the heads and around the sides of the occupants – combining exhilaration with extreme comfort.

Starting with the original Bentley blueprints, the team studied every detail of the Speed Sixes that raced at Le Mans in 1930, before forensically analysing and digitally scanning one of the few original cars to survive from that era. Together, these activities have made it possible to create the first ever digital models of the cars. The next stage involved making new components using the original blueprints, to match those of the actual cars. Using authentic hand tools, the team will now assemble the first new Bentley Speed Sixes to be built in more than 90 years.

Introduced in 1928, the Speed Six factory racing specification was the most successful racing Bentley of all time. The racing version was tuned to deliver 200 horsepower at 3,500 rpm – a phenomenal power output for the time – and its top speed was 125 mph (201 km/h). The Speed Six chassis was available to customers with a choice of wheelbases, including 138 inches (3,505 mm), 140.5 inches (3,569 mm), and 152.5 inches (3,874 mm), with the lighter, short chassis option proving the most popular. 182 Speed Six models were built between 1928 and 1930.

By the time the 24 Heures du Mans was held on June 21, 1930, the Great Depression had already taken hold. Few car makers could afford the investment involved in racing and consequently, only 33 cars were entered – of which just 19 made it to Le Mans. Of the 17 cars that started the race, five were Bentleys. Two were Blowers – the famous supercharged 4½ Litre models created by the Bentley Boy, Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin. The other three were fielded by the Bentley works team. Each was a Speed Six Le Mans – a high-performance variant of the renowned Bentley 6½ Litre. The field eventually narrowed to just two Bentley Speed Sixes, competing head-to-head for first and second place. After a prolonged duel, the car driven by Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston proved victorious, cementing Barnato’s reputation as the most successful racing driver in Bentley history.

With the aid of an extensive research programme undertaken by Mulliner, alongside original blueprints and schemas, ‘Old Number 3’ Bentley Speed Six, was used as an important reference point on this project. As one the three Speed Sixes entered into Le Mans in 1930 by Bentley, this immaculately preserved car is still raced by its owner has been a valuable source of information.

The team began work in earnest by sympathetically and carefully dismantling a priceless 1929 Bentley Team Blower. The aim was to catalogue and digitally scan each individual component, to create a complete digital model of this legendary car that could then be used as a blueprint for the new cars. Yet even after creating their digital catalogue and, crucially, restoring the Team Blower to its original state, significant challenges remained – starting with the availability of parts. Components for a car built in the Roaring Twenties can’t just be ordered online, after all. The team therefore made almost every part from scratch, in many cases using the original 1920s moulds and tooling jigs, to ensure they matched those in the original car exactly. They then assembled the first new coachbuilt Bentley Blowers to be built since the era of the Bentley Boys.

No other pre-war Bentley is as famous as the supercharged 4½ Litre that came to be known as the ‘Blower’. It emerged during Bentley’s racing heyday in the 1920s. W.O. Bentley was convinced that the most effective way to increase power was to build bigger engines. But one of his drivers, Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin, had seen the effect of superchargers on other cars and wanted to do the same to a Bentley. When W.O. refused, Birkin used a Roots-type supercharger developed by British engineer Amherst Villiers to increase the Bentley 4½ Litre’s power from 130 bhp to 240 bhp in race tune. He persuaded Bentley Chairman Woolf Barnato to sanction production of 55 supercharged 4½ Litre Bentleys, with financial support from Bentley Girl Dorothy Paget. While reliability issues meant it never won an endurance race, the Blower was the fastest racing car of its day.

After 40,000 man-hours of work, the first new Bentley Blower in close to 90 years was complete. Blower Car Zero was a development prototype, built in advance of the customer cars and subjected to months of durability and performance testing. The test programme was designed to achieve the equivalent of 35,000 kilometres of real-world driving, including 8,000 kilometres of track driving. Sessions of gradually increasing duration and speed were used to check the car’s functionality and robustness, even under the harshest conditions. Car Zero’s successful completion of testing allowed the team to begin the assembly of the customer cars, each one individually specified and, of course, crafted by hand.