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W12-powered Bentley Batur coupe shows its swept-back profile

Bentley's Mulliner division is nearly ready to introduce the Batur, a limited-edition coupe designed to preview a new design language and to celebrate the W12 engine. The big coupe remains shrouded in darkness, but a new teaser image gives us a better look at its silhouette. Viewed from the side, the Batur (which is named after a crater lake in Bali, Indonesia) looks like it's longer than the current-generation Continental GT. Its front end wears single-piece swept-back headlights rather than the twin oval units fitted to the Continental GT and its rear lights look thinner. We're told that the coupe "showcases a new design language for Bentley," one that puts a new spin on classic styling cues and relies "on contrast to provide definition." This design language will permeate the EVs that Bentley will launch starting in 2025. While the Batur's sheet metal previews a range of upcoming battery-powered cars, its drivetrain is very much rooted in the present. The model will benefit from an evolution of the familiar twin-turbocharged W12 that delivers more torque and horsepower than any variant of the engine to date. Bentley stresses that "advanced chassis systems" will ensure that the Batur is engaging to drive even on a twisty road. Bentley will introduce the Batur in Monterey, California, at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time on August 20 (that's 11:00 p.m. in New York City). Full details will be released when the veil comes off, and we wouldn't be surprised if every build slot is spoken for by the time of the unveiling — few-off models are in hot demand and the Bacalar unveiled in 2020 was sold-out before members of the public saw it in the metal. And, the odds of seeing two identical examples of the Batur are low regardless of how many Bentley chooses to build. The company notes that buyers will have the option of customizing the color and finish of nearly every surface; 3D-printed 18K gold parts will even be offered. Related video:

Your Bentley interior can literally rock with stone trim

The ultra-luxury car market has been moving in the direction of ever more customization to provide buyers the most unique products possible. The latest move comes from Bentley and its Mulliner division, which has added some special interior trims to the existing line of gloss wood. Now buyers with the means can finish their Bentley interiors in open-pore wood, carbon fiber, aluminum, color-matched paint and even stone. The two most impressive interior trims are the stone and open-pore options. The stone veneers are made from slate and quartzite, and are available in four different colors: Autumn White, Copper, Galaxy, Terra Red or the Galaxy that's shown in the gallery above. In order to keep the stone from adding too much weight, the veneer is only 0.1 mm. It's also finished so that you can feel the texture of the rock. For the open-pore trim, Bentley offers three wood choices: Liquid Amber (made from American Red Gum), Dark Burr and Tamo Ash. Each has a unique grain that can be felt thanks to the 0.1-mm thick matte protective coating, which is a fifth the thickness of the gloss wood coating. The carbon fiber trim is pretty straightforward. It's gloss carbon fiber, though Bentley says the the resin it uses highlights the weave of the carbon. The aluminum is also fairly straightforward, featuring a thee-dimensional texture mirroring the grille of the car. The diamond-brushing is meant to emphasize the dimension to the panels. Interestingly, this option is exclusive to the Bentayga. Choosing painted trim gives owners the most variety in choice, since they can opt for any of Bentley's 88 exterior colors, or have the panels matched to the interior leather. Related Video:

249 reasons you want to go to Goodwood Revival

At its most basic, Goodwood Revival is a long weekend worth of car races featuring cars made before 1970. There are lots of those, though, including some pretty great ones all over the world. But nothing is like Goodwood Revival because it's so much more than "just" vintage car racing.  First, you have to look the part. Attendees are strongly encouraged to dress in period clothing from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, with a strict dress code enforced should you want to enter the paddock. The goal is to create a more authentic atmosphere to match the cars and the meticulously restored and recreated paddocks, grandstands and other facilities of the reborn Goodwood circuit. Now, the dress code was relaxed this year since the Saturday was literally the hottest Sept. 9 on record in that part of England, and the organizers didn't want people dropping dead because they needed to wear an ascot. Some people definitely took the "relaxed" bit too far, but there was still plenty of atmosphere maintained. It really does make a big difference, as those "relaxed" individuals were often akin to seeing a Starbucks cup in a scene from "Game of Thrones."  You can see what I came up with below along with former Autoblog editor Reese Counts and various other Goodwood attendees. Second, there's the parking lot. But I'll let this entire separate post detail that. Third, there's the enormous carnival-like area featuring vintage-looking rides and various boutiques. Both of those are on the outside portion of the track, and honestly, you could easily just spend your entire day in the parking lot and carnival/shopping area without even crossing over into the circuit area. There you'll find more shops, food and drink opportunities, plus obviously, race car paddocks and the track itself.  Fourth, there are airplanes! I heard there are fewer than in the past, but they're there and they're cool. The Goodwood circuit started out life as the perimeter road around the World War II airfield RAF Westhampnett.  Fifth, with all of the above, Goodwood Revival really is fun for the whole family. It isn't just a bunch of old guys sitting around in lawn chairs. There are plenty of women and adorably dressed children, including babies in vintage prams. It's also not an event that's exclusively for the uber rich, even if they are certainly in full force given who has the sort of money needed to go vintage racing.