Bentley Motors today reveals 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.
The dramatic ‘airbridge’ behind the seats and tapered cowls at the rear hark back to the barchetta sports cars of old, whilst underlining the promise of a dynamic, driver-focused adventure in a cosseting, cocooned environment. The airbridge and tapered cowls are not only aesthetic, but also provide a semi-enclosed luggage compartment behind the two front seats.
The convertible roof delivers an aesthetic of beauty as a modern, tactile alternative to a hardtop roof. A combination of insulation material, sealing system refinements and acoustic treatments create a cossetting environment in a system which can be deployed or stowed in just 19 seconds, with the car travelling at speeds of up to 30 mph (50 km/h), transforming the car from a luxurious coupe into an open-top Grand Tourer at the touch of a button.
Personal and uniquely commisioned
Mulliner’s in-house design team will help co-create every Batur Convertible with its customer, working together through a specially created Mulliner visualiser that allows any part of the car to be customised in colour and surface finish. Endless samples of unique materials bring texture to the process, and the resulting designs will be truly individual and created by the customer – limited only by their imagination.
Customers will be able to specify the colour and finish of practically every surface of the Batur Convertible, to create a car as individual as they are. Beyond the exterior form of the car lies an almost endless array of choices for each car’s future owner to make.
