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 Mulliner Bacalar
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| Bentley Mulliner Bacalar |
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<< Prev Page 2 of 2  Inside the luxurious cabin, Bentley craftspeople have created a cockpit like no other. The architecture of the Bacalar has allowed Bentley Mulliner designers to seize the opportunity to create a theme that not only blends the interior and exterior together but also emphasises the two-seater character with a ‘wraparound’ cockpit design.Pure in line and surface execution, the wraparound design flows from a steeply angled centre console into the dashboard, before sweeping into the door panels. These then wrap towards a uniquely styled, semi-enclosed luggage compartment behind the seats. This ingenious space is purposely designed for bespoke Schedoni fitted luggage, the Italian company that has designed luxury luggage for the automotive industry for almost 140 years. Created exclusively for the Bacalar, the optional luggage perfectly matches the trim and materials of the cabin. These two luggage ‘pods’ flow from the interior into the exterior, enveloping the seats and creating a true two-seater cabin. Uniquely designed details and features in the cabin emphasise the coach-built character of the car, with an almost infinite number of ways for customers to express their personal taste and commission a unique interior. Every detail has been uniquely designed. A new, knurled pattern was created for the iconic ‘bullseye’ vents – a pattern that was repeated around the interior on areas like the steering wheel controls, media and climate controls and even the intricate speaker frets. Each element has a fine, Dark Bronze detail to further enhance the finish, with Midnight Black Titanium detailing. The dark, anodised titanium finish on the main controls and a metallic dark bronze on the iconic Bulls-eye air vents have been used to highlight further details. The interior can be finished in any number of ways, with each car co-created and commissioned in conjunction with the Bentley Mulliner team. Every car will be individually specified and finished using any of the many Bentley colours and materials available. The finest Beluga leather is carefully sewn together with Bentley’s heritage semi-gloss leather and natural wool to create a dark ‘tone-on-tone’ character. For the first demonstration car, the use of Bentley Mulliner’s Khamun accent leather highlights the wraparound cabin theme and matches the new and unique Yellow Flame exterior paintwork perfectly. Every element that falls to hand has been specifically designed for the Bacalar. A new D-shaped steering wheel features Alcantara inserts, with a contrast accent top marker. The gear-shifter is also finished in Alcantara with Dark Bronze detailing. Unique leather strap door and seat releases, unique digital instrumentation and a unique key design enhance the luxurious cabin still further. At the heart of the centre console is the now famous Bentley Rotating Display. This digital MMI display has been elegantly designed by Bentley with a customer-configurable home screen. The system involves 40 moving parts and revolves the Riverwood veneer when the engine is started to reveal the high-resolution touchscreen. Three configurable windows are able to display the driver’s preferred functions, such as telephone, media and navigation. The interface is designed to operate like a modern smartphone, with menus that are structured and simple to follow. The third side of the Bentley Rotating Display presents three, elegant analogue dials that display outside temperature, a compass and chronometer – providing an alternative to the touchscreen when the driver wants to digitally detox. Each car also features a unique clock face with individual one-of-12 badging. Owning a Bacalar is the start of a journey of discovery for the owner. Every element has been carefully and meticulously designed with a depth so great that over the course of time, each customer will discover new and interesting details. From the use of precious inlays and unique finishes to the driver controls, to the 148,199 individual stitches needed to embroider the unique Bacalar quilt on each seat, owners will find details and parts not seen before on a Bentley. Bentley has entered into collaborative relationships with carefully selected industry experts to create the new Bacalar. Each one uses sustainable and innovative techniques that exemplify the best craftsmanship that the world has to offer, in many cases fine-tuned over centuries, and using ethically-sourced materials. A focal point of the cabin is the wraparound dashboard cut from rare Riverwood, a sustainable wood from naturally fallen trees that has been preserved for 5,000 years in peat bogs, lakes and rivers found in the Fenlands of East Anglia, England. This exquisite wood was chosen for its striking black aesthetic, the result of lying untouched in wet earth for thousands of years. The wood has been air-dried in a controlled environment over a long period of time to prevent damage and conserve its unique, natural characteristics. The straight grain enhances the Bacalar’s sweeping interior contours, giving it genuine soul and drama. Once veneered, the dashboard is literally sliced in two, creating an upper and lower element divided by a 3mm chrome strip. The upper Riverwood is finished as open pore – a semi-matt finish that shows off the veneer’s grain and colour. The lower panels are a high gloss finish but with a modern twist to the traditional process. The Bacalar’s lower dashboard blends seamlessly from veneer into a high gloss piano black, further underlining the unique and bespoke finishes that are available. Because the Bacalar has no roof, this stunning marquetry is clearly visible from outside the car. Bentley Mulliner has also collaborated with a traditional British textile mill to produce bespoke natural wool cloth akin to a fine tailor’s suit. Bentley Mulliner has embraced the expertise and knowledge of these centuries-old methods to create an exclusive and unique woven cloth especially for the Bacalar, and customers will have the option to co-create their own bespoke fabric blend. This traditionally-produced textile is used in the seat inserts, seat backs and the side of the head restraints. Following the interior styling lines, it also flows from the side of the centre console and lower instrument panel into the doors. Further promoting sustainable craftsmanship and supporting a unique industry, the luxury overmats are precision woven on traditional Wilton looms in England using the finest natural yarns. These Wilton-woven pure wool deep pile carpets are hand-carved for the footwell and rear luggage compartment, following the embroidered pattern found on the seats. Thanks to a partnership with another local supplier, based in the nearby Peak District, the Bacalar also offers customers the rare opportunity to create individual artisan piping, chosen to enhance the dynamic styling lines of the seat architecture. This piping can be designed and customised to feature unique patterns, colour combinations and personal embossed effects, such as a customer’s signature or special, individual customer motifs. Even the paintwork on the Bacalar has been specially chosen for its sustainable characteristics. The pigment reflects an eye-catching transition of colour that intensifies the drama, form and contours of the sculpted exterior in different lights. The pigment is synthetically-manufactured silicon dioxide platelet coated with iron oxide. This synthetic process uses rice husk ash – a by-product from the rice industry – to create 90 per cent pure silicon dioxide, thereby reducing rice husk landfill waste. Each Bacalar will be hand-crafted in Mulliner’s dedicated workshop at the Bentley factory in Crewe – the world’s first certified carbon neutral factory for luxury car production. The Bentley Bacalar combines bespoke, hand-crafted luxury with state-of-the-art technology to guarantee an extraordinary driving experience. With all-new coachwork brought to life by Bentley Mulliner, at the heart of the Bacalar is Bentley’s renowned 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12 TSI engine mated to a technically-advanced drivetrain. The Bacalar’s dual-clutch, eight-speed transmission offers faster, more efficient gear changes. An adaptive chassis uses Bentley’s intelligent, 48-volt Dynamic Ride System to ensure a responsive ride and exceptional handling and refinement in all conditions. The air suspension system controls ride comfort and lateral roll, cushioning passengers from excessive movement, as well as making the Bacalar feel effortlessly precise. The legend of Mulliner is woven into the very fabric of Bentley. The tradition of bespoke craftsmanship has been passed down from generation to generation since the 1500s, when Mulliner was founded as a saddler. In the 1760s, the Mulliner family business refocused on coachbuilding and rose to prominence when it was commissioned to build and maintain carriages for the Royal Mail postal service. With the arrival of the motor car, the company stepped away from horse-drawn carriages and focussed on coachbuilding for mechanical propulsion. The then independent Mulliner crafted a bespoke, 3-litre, two-seater Bentley for the 1923 Olympia Show in London, creating a bond between the two companies that would last for decades. Mulliner bodied over 240 Bentley chassis in the 1920s alone and became renowned as the very best of the new coachbuilding firms. Perhaps the most famous was Mulliner’s design for the 1952 R-Type Continental, still considered one of the most beautiful cars of all time. The fastest, four-seat sports car of the era, the R-Type’s iconic beauty continues to influence design today through the Bentley Continental GT. Mulliner cemented its partnership with Bentley in 1959 by becoming part of the business. It later moved into the old engineering experimental department at Bentley headquarters in Crewe and has remained there ever since. Today, around 40 employees, ranging from specialists with over 40 years of Mulliner experience to apprentices learning the skills that have been honed over decades of manufacturing, work for the company. << Prev Page 2 of 2 |
| Article | Image gallery (23) | Specifications |
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