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The Bentley Bacalar went from a sketch to a 650-hp roadster in nine months

Bentley's Mulliner division cemented its status as a modern-day coachbuilder when it unveiled the Bacalar, a two-seater roadster loosely based on the Continental GT. Nearly every part that drivers will see and feel is specific to the model, including the body panels and most of the interior, yet the company created it in just nine months. Mulliner has worked on many one- and few-off models in the past, it notably turned the stately Mulsanne into a six-seater limousine in 2016, but the Bacalar (pictured) takes customization to an entirely new level. Repeated requests from its most loyal clients convinced Bentley to expand the scope of its coachbuilding division. "We felt a strong demand from our high-end customers. They asked again and again, 'can you do something very special?' They weren't talking about one of a hundred, but one of 10 or even one of one," explained Stefan Sielaff, the company's lead designer, in an interview with Autoblog. He added the Bacalar project started shortly after Bentley introduced the EXP 100 GT in 2019 to celebrate its 100th birthday. This explains some of the visual parallels between the two cars. While the concept was electric, the sold-out production model receives a mighty, 650-horsepower W12 engine because Bentley couldn't create a suitable battery-powered drivetrain in the short amount of time it had to make the roadster a reality. Sielaff stressed the effort his team put into making the Bacalar in nine months shouldn't be underestimated. "We had to make sure the car was road-legal, homologated, and certified. The car you would have seen at the Geneva auto show is literally what the customer will get. It's not a crazy show car. The only difference will be the colors and the materials, because we will work with each customer to make an individual statement," he said. In the United States, the Bacalar will be imported under the Show and Display law, like the McLaren Speedtail. The expedited design process meant the 12 future Bacalar owners signed the dotted line after seeing only digital renderings of the car. They weren't shown the final product until much later. Their enthusiasm is encouraging; it tells Sielaff there's a tremendous appetite for one- and few-off Bentley models among wealthy clients.

2021 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid revealed with tech improvements, same powertrain

The 2021 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid is here, and it’s treated to the same round of updates as the rest of the refreshed Bentayga lineup. That means it gets the new exterior design, a thoroughly revised interior and plenty of new tech. Nothing on the powertrain side has changed for the plug-in hybrid Bentley. ItÂ’ll continue to make do with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 aided by an electric motor. Output remains the same at 443 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque combined. EPA range is not yet available, but given the 31-mile NEDC-tested range hasnÂ’t changed, we donÂ’t expect the 18-mile EPA-rated electric range to budge either. The biggest upgrade draw inside is the new 10.9-inch infotainment system. ItÂ’s the latest and best Bentley has to offer, and it features wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto. A wireless phone charger, new USB-C ports and a larger rear seat touchscreen remote tablet round out the best of the interior changes. ThereÂ’s more space for passengers in the rear. And Bentley upped its luxury game with a redesigned dash, instrument cluster (digital), door trims and steering wheel. The seats are re-done for even more comfort, too. Bentley hasnÂ’t detailed any fine tuning changes it may have made to the way the Bentayga Hybrid drives, but given our disappointing first drive a couple of years ago, we hope there are some unsung, under the hood improvements. The telltale sign that itÂ’s the PHEV is via the tiny “Hybrid” script on the lower door trim. Bentley says the updated Hybrid is available to order now, but we donÂ’t yet have a full breakdown of pricing. Expect it to maintain its status as the cheapest Bentley in the brandÂ’s lineup. 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: