THE ULTIMATE BESPOKE BENTLEY (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

The Batur is one of the most unique Bentleys yet made. Jonathan Crouch takes a long look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 42

The Batur is, for the time being, the world's most exclusive Bentley. Outlandishly expensive, uber-rare and completely sold out, it's basically a coach-built Continental GT Speed W12 coupe with extra power and luxury. And you'll be lucky if you ever see one.

Backgroundword count: 166

What if one of the world's great motor manufacturers was to make a car just for you? It's an exclusive prospect but one that's become reality for 18 extremely wealthy customers in the shape of this model, the Bentley Batur. Actually, it's a product of Mulliner, Bentley's coach building arm, which like us, you might have thought was merely the brand's division for exclusive paint and trimming options. These days though, Mulliner has also returned to what it once did back in the 1930s, creating bespoke versions of existing models. The first of those was the very rare Bacalar - a series of barchetta-bodied models launched in 2021 of which only 12 were made. The Batur is the second modern-era Mulliner model, based on the Bentley Continental GT Speed W12 coupe. You'd need to expect to spend nearly £2 million once you specified one of these, but you won't be able to because all 18 cars - the entire production run - was sold long ago.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 267

The Batur is effectively a rather exclusive sign off to the (VW-sourced) W12 engine that has epitomised Bentleys in the modern era. In this form of course, you get more power - up from 650bhp in the source Continental GT Speed to 740bhp here, along with 1,000Nm of torque. That's courtesy of 35% more intercooler capacity, a 33% bigger intake pipe and a new turbocharger compressor wheel and scroll. The other key change is the installation of a carbon fibre body (though disappointingly, it only saves 40kgs). Apart from that, an 8mm wider rear track and a few chassis tweaks, the engineering recipe here is just as it would be in a Continental GT Speed. Which means an 8-speed dual clutch auto gearbox, four-wheel drive, active rear wheel steering and an electronic limited-slip differential. The drive modes are the same too, though in a Batur, the car reverts straight to 'Sport' when you fire it up. As is the published performance, though Bentley insists the 3.4s 0-62mph time is 0.2s quicker than that of the donor model. The 209mph top speed is a little higher too. This is the most powerful Bentley ever made; you can't argue with that assertion. Whether, as the brand claims, it's also the most agile Bentley to date might be something that the fortunate 18 owners who will take delivery of this car might be tempted to question. A 2,233kg kerb weight won't ever do anything for 'agility'; if you want that in a Bentley of this sort, you'd do better to save yourself £1.5 million and buy a Continental GT V8.

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