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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.
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Driving experience
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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Design and build
Since this is a coach-built Bentley rather than a completely new model, the exterior design, rather than the engineering, is where you'd expect the development money would have been spent - and so it proves. There's nothing very reminiscent of the current Continental GT coupe in the way this Batur looks, which is actually quite impressive given that this design must share all of that one's hard points - header rail, A-pillar uppers and windscreen. And that the Batur had to be similar enough to the Continental to avoid being crash-tested.
The styling is supposed to be reminiscent of the brand's 1950s R-Type Continental with what the company claims is a 'resting beast mode' stance around the rear haunches. Up front, the so-called 'endless bonnet' flows down into an upright grille (meant to resemble a horse's chest). No, I can't see it either. Bentley hints that the headlights and grille are suggestive of its future design language.
You might hope that near-on £2 million would get you more coach building inside, so it might be a touch disappointing for the exclusive clientele to find that all the same Continental GT cabin architecture has been retained. It's all very well disguised of course - everything's been more exclusively packaged; the seats, the door cards, the steering wheel, the instrument design and the switchgear (which can be 3D-printed if you wish). Many of the overall finishing touches are controlled not by the designer but the customer - the decision between gold or machined titanium 'organ stop' vent controls for instance. Customers who plan to take their grandchildren for a spin might be also disappointed to find that the usual Continental GT +2 rear seats have been disposed with in favour of a storage shelf. Out back, the compact lidded boot is deep and wide. Which customers will of course want to fill with tailored luggage.
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Market and model
It's interesting to press our noses against the glass with cars like this one and speculate about just how far away we are from being able to afford one. Well quite a distance in this case. If it was still possible to buy a Batur, you'd be looking at a £1.65 million price tag, but once you added taxes and a likely £100,000 spend on personalisation to that, you be far more likely to be spending in the region of £2 million. In comparison, the Continental GT Speed the Batur is based on costs 'just' £230,500.
The aforementioned personalisation process will not be straightforward for Batur clientele; Mulliner claims that there are potentially up to 49 billion potential special paint and trim colour options - and of course none of them are inexpensive; a bespoke pearlescent paint job costs £17,000 just on its own.
There's nothing as crass as an online configurator to sort it all out. Either Bentley will invite you to the factory to specify your car or they'll send a designer to you. You'll have particular enjoyment creating the 3D-bespoke design of the switchgear. Yet you still won't be the most exclusive kind of Bentley customer. 'Bespoke', the division that created them Batur, is only the second rung on the Mulliner ownership ladder. The top one is 'Coachbuilt', which will produce a forthcoming 1930s Bentley Blower and Speed 6 follow-up models.
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Cost of ownership
You will of course need deep pockets to run a Batur, not surprisingly given this W12-powered model's prodigious kerb weight (2,715kgs). Cylinder on demand technology in the W12 cuts out six of the twelve cylinders for better fuel economy at low-to-medium throttle speeds, but the WLTP combined fuel economy figure of around 23mpg will still keep you off the Greenpeace Christmas card list (don't expect to go too far on the 24-gallon fuel tank). As will the CO2 emissions figure of around 337g/km (though that's better than something like a Rolls Royce Ghost).
But of course all will be forgiven when it comes to consideration of the way that this uber-rare Mulliner model is expected to appreciate in value. In stark contrast, it should be said, to the Continental GT Speed W12 coupe it's based on, which over three years of use would typically lose around 35% of its value. The three year manufacturer's warranty is an unlimited mileage one and requires an authorised repairer to undertake any work - plus of course use of genuine Bentley parts (which come with their own two year warranty).
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Summary
Should we be glad the Batur exists? To give 18 super-rich people the opportunity to speculate and make even more money? I'll let you answer that one. This Mulliner project will certainly make Bentley plenty of money - on top of the profits this division already makes for the marque. Its bespoke personalisation programme is the main reason the Crewe company has just posted its highest-ever profits - up 82%, despite a vehicle sales increase of just 4%.
Those fortunate enough to own a Batur will do so for that pleasant, unique feeling of rarity. However exclusive the destination, no one else there will have a car like yours - or could ever replicate it. Which is why though on paper, paying nearly £2 million for a coach built Continental GT makes no sense at all, the luxurious reality here is very different. And magnificently Mulliner.
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