Is The Bentley Batur Really Worth Nearly £2 Million?

For Bentley’s bespoke Mulliner division, there are several levels of, erm, Mulliner-ness. ‘Mulliner Features’ first involves adding things on regular Bentley models that go beyond what you can get in a configurator, which could mean spending a modest(ish) sum to get some different stitching, or a chunky five-figure number if you get carried away enough with the customisation process. 

Then we have ‘Mulliner Collections’. These are fancy, Mulliner-overhauled versions of those core Bentley models which are more expensive and awash with all sorts of fancy details. Or, if you have exceptionally deep pockets, you could go for a Mulliner Coachbuilt.

The most recent one of these is a Batur, a follow-up to the open-top, £1.5 million Bacalar with an even bigger price tag of £1.7 million. Except that’s not quite right - each customer spent an extra £200,000 or so on customisation options, meaning the actual cost of each car being built is closer to £2 million. 

Underneath the unique, coach-built body lies the guts of a Continental GT Speed, a car you can buy for a whole lot less than £2 million. It’s a very reasonable (by comparison) £220,000. So what makes the Batur worth about nine times as much?

Exclusivity, for one thing - there will only ever be 18 customer cars. The example I’m being trusted with, perhaps understandably, isn’t one of them - it’s a pre-production prototype. And it certainly looks striking, not just because of its Purple Sector paintwork. The Batur has 800 unique parts and doesn’t share a single body panel with the Conti GT. It takes on a very different, more muscular-looking form with an imposing, grille-filled front end.

Step inside, and there’s no getting away from it - you’re presented with the familiar layout of a Continental GT cabin. But you don’t have to look closely to start spotting very special details. On this car, for instance, 3D-printed gold is used for various bits and pieces including the ‘organ stop’ vent controls and drive mode selector, and there’s also a natural carbon fibre finish for the centre console you can only have in this car. 

Prodding the start button in the middle of the gold drive selector ring awakes the 6.0-litre, twin-turbo W12 also found in the Continental GT and the Flying Spur. Bentley is the last of the VW Group brands to use it, and they’ve been assembled at the factory in Crewe for the last 20 years. That all comes to an end in April 2024.

The Batur, then, is the ultimate expression of the W12, with Bentley having extracted more power from this example of the unusually configured engine than in any other production car. You’re looking at 740bhp and 738lb ft of torque, and it isn’t just achieved by fiddling with the ECU to turn up the boost pressure. No - Bentley went to the trouble of fitting new, bigger turbochargers along with larger intercoolers.

The extra 114bhp and 74lb ft of torque from the W12 is conspicuous from the moment you put your foot down. The Batur pins you in those exquisitely stitched seats just that little bit more firmly, and the speed builds noticeably faster. The conditions today are frankly disgusting, but the all-wheel drive system is able to lay down the new, higher output with remarkable effectiveness. Get greedy with the throttle mid-corner, meanwhile, and you’ll find the enlivened W12 makes for a more obvious rear bias. It’s feisty, this.

It doesn’t sound any better than normal, though, and the noise from the W12 has always been a touch disappointing. It’s a strange din that’s more akin to an especially muscular V6 than a V12, and if anything, Bentley’s V8 models produce a more satisfying cacophony at full chat. The W12 is an engine that’s easy to respect for its engineering, but tricky to really fall in love with.

Away from that additional feeling of rear bias and the more enthusiastic straight-line performance, the Batur - perhaps unsurprisingly - feels much like any other Conti GT. That’s no bad thing - Bentley’s luxo-coupe has always been a fine thing to steer whether you’re chucking it around some corners and marvelling at how things like the active anti-roll bars and three-chamber air suspension shrug off its 2.2-tonne weight, or just wafting along and enjoying the cossetting ride.

From behind the wheel, it’s generally a very Conti GT experience, and unless you’re paying attention to the little details like the 3D-printed gold bits and other unique trim pieces, you might forget you’re in something worth a chunky seven-figure sum. Seek them out, or get out and drink in that unique bodywork, and you get a better understanding of where the money goes.

In any case, whether or not you think a car like this can possibly be worth the high asking price is moot - 18 customers more than happily reached into their wallets and bought one, and Bentley is pretty sure it could have sold more if it really wanted to.

In any case, it doesn’t really matter to Bentley if you think the asking price is worth it or not. 18 of its customers happily bought, and it reckons it could’ve sold more if it really wanted to.