New Bentley Continental GT Mulliner to debut at Salon Privé

Bentley Mulliner has created the new luxury pinnacle of the Continental GT family with the new Continental GT Mulliner coupe. This sibling of the GT Mulliner Convertible continuing the brand’s tradition of unique Bentleys built to individual specifications, and will make its global debut at the Salon Privé, Blenheim Palace, UK, on September 22 where it will be displayed alongside the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar, also making its public debut, and an as-yet-unannounced example of the Mulliner Classic portfolio.

At first glance

A suite of exclusive exterior design features separate the Continental GT Mulliner from the rest of the family. The front is dominated by the ‘Double Diamond’ matrix grille, and flanked by matching front fender vents echoing the same silver and black design, with chromed Mulliner branding. Opening the doors reveals another Mulliner design feature: Satin Silver mirror caps with Mulliner Welcome Lamps beneath, and illuminated outer door sills with Mulliner text. Aerodynamically enhanced 22-inch Mulliner wheels dominate the profile, with a bespoke design and self-levelling centre badges (a la Rolls Royce), keeping the iconic Bentley ‘B’ upright at all times.

Under the hood

Customers of the Continental GT Mulliner in India currently get the 4-litre V8 mated to an 8-speed ‘box, offering 542 bhp which takes this superluxury sportscar to 100kmph in 4 seconds flat. Overseas, however, there’s also the iconic 6-litre W12 powertrain delivering 626 bhp. Bentley’s pioneering 48V electric active anti-roll technology – Bentley Dynamic Ride – is also on offer, delivering incredible body control and stability during cornering and a relaxed, cossetting ride when cruising.

Painstaking precision

The cabin of the Continental GT Mulliner showcases a level of choice only Mulliner can provide. Eight different three-colour combinations for the interior are a Mulliner exclusive touch, bringing the ‘Diamond in Diamond’ quilting to the seats, doors trims and rear quarter panels, now with both contrast and accent stitching running through the diamonds design. This combination of primary and secondary hide joined by a third colour creates a flowing design line, and it takes almost 400,000 stitches to deliver this quilting across the cabin of the car. This embroidery process took 18 months to deliver and consists of each diamond comprising exactly 712 individual stitches – each precisely aligned to point to the centre of the diamond it creates.

The seats are finished with embroidered Mulliner logos. The roof of the cabin is trimmed along its full length with indented, or smooth hide to match the seat backs if the fixed glass roof is selected. Further, the floor mats are edged with micro-piping to match the rest of the colour theme of the interior, with chrome Bentley ‘B’ retention caps yet another example of the novel details within the Continental GT Mulliner.

The centre console sports a new diamond milled technical finish featuring precision machining to form a perfect pattern of facets, flanked by Grand Black walnut veneer with chrome overlays. The trademark Breitling clock sits in the middle, while the passenger side fascia finished with a silhouette of the car’s exterior profile and the Mulliner logo. The veneer flows into the doors, where it is completed by a discreet Bentley ‘B’ motif.

For the driver, the brushed-metal finish of the Breitling clock is carried through from the physical world to the digital, with a unique design to the main gauges of the LED main instruments cluster where the application of digital textures mimics the look of metal. Further personalisation is available through a range of 88 veneer finishes, sanded and polished by hand, to match the interior or exterior of the car, to match the colour of the customer’s choice.

Finally, customers of the Continental GT Mulliner will receive the keys to their car in a bespoke, Mulliner-branded and handcrafted presentation box containing individual leather pouches matching the three-colour interior configuration of their car.

So where can I get one?

Orders for both the coupe and convertible versions of the Continental GT Mulliner will be taken from October, with first deliveries in the UK to begin early next year. So if you’re truly interested (and have enough moolah, of course), we’d suggest you keep your eyes and ears open, and once you’ve picked up one of your own, do let us take it for a spin. We promise not to nick it!