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Bentley's 1,000th Mulliner project is a one-off purple Bentayga

Bentley's Mulliner division completed its 1,000th project in July 2021, and the milestone car is one you can't miss unless you park it in a lavender field. It's a one-off Bentayga painted purple and fitted with special interior accents. It took seven years for Mulliner to reach this milestone; it formed its own design team in 2014. It designed the sweet potato-colored Bentayga for an anonymous client in Europe who worked closely with the division to create a one-of-a-kind SUV. Look beyond the exterior (or try, at least), and you'll see the cabin features Olive Ash wood trim, which is normally found in the now-retired Mulsanne, plus twin-stitching on the seats and on the door panels. Mulliner's work extends far beyond unusual paint colors and new stitching patterns. Its first project was bringing a limited-edition model named Flying Spur Serenity to life. The sedan received redesigned seats, among other features. It also developed stone veneers for some of Bentley's cars, a variant of the Mulsanne Speed named Blue Train that honors Bentley's racing heritage, a Mulsanne-based six-seater limousine, and the Bacalar roadster, which is limited to 12 examples worldwide. It's based on the Continental GT, but the two models share no body panels. It has also applied its expertise to a handful of unusual projects. For example, Mulliner sometimes helps design the liveries worn by Bentley's GT3 race cars. It fine-tuned details on the 1929 Team Blower continuation car, and its resume also includes creating scale models, sculptures, plus picnic baskets complete with silverware and glasses. Related Video:

Bentley preps 'Centennary Specification' for all models built in 2019

For the entirety of Bentley's 100th year in business, the English carmaker will adorn its products with a Centenary Specification. The package consists of unique badging with specially developed Centenary Gold badge highlights, available Centenary Gold thread for the headrest logos, contrast stitching and cross stitching, and a "centenary welcome light" outside the vehicle. The in-house craftsmen have also developed unique embroidery. Bentley says the gold hue was inspired by metalwork on vintage models like the 1919 EXP 2 (pictured, red and silver) and 1929 Birkin Blower (pictured, green), the latter one of the company's Le Mans winners driven by Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin. The hue possesses an "elegant warm tone and a deep fluid shadow." The steering wheel badge, key fob, shift knob, and wheel center caps feature the tinted ring. The "B" badge on the radiator surround also features "1919-2019" script, and that script is found on the tread plates, too. For those who don't know, eponymous founder Walter Owen Bentley's engineering career began with locomotives — which he loved more than cars at one point — and motorcycles, before settling on automobiles. He bought his first car in 1910, a French DFP, and after improving it himself, set a 10-lap record at the Brooklands circuit. In 1912 he opened a DFP franchise with his brother Horace Milner as Bentley & Bentley, and further upgraded the car with a new piston design that was 88 percent aluminum and 12 percent copper. The Royal Naval Air Service adopted Bentley's piston design and Bentley's re-designed Clerget airplane engines, dubbed the Bentley Rotary. After the war, Bentley refocused on cars, and in 1919 released the 3-Litre, which boasted features like a cross-flow head, overhead cams working four valves per cylinder, and twin plugs in each cylinder. The company delivered the first production model in 1921, then went racing and won the second edition of Le Mans in 1924. That is how Bentley began to become "Bentley, ahem ...", and here we are. Next year, on July 10, the company plans to celebrate the feat appropriately. Related Video:

You can buy the Queen's Bentley Mulsanne for $285,000

Want to feel like a king or queen driving around town? You'll want a Bentley. After all, the British automaker furnished the royal household of Queen Elizabeth II with the bespoke State Limousine, and delivered the very first new Bentayga to Her Majesty as well. But if you're keen to get a little closer to that sovereign feeling, might we suggest buying the Queen's own Bentley – namely, the Mulsanne you see here. Listed for sale on Auto Trader by a dealership in Surrey, this particular Bentley Mulsanne was reportedly used exclusively by the British monarch from 2012 to 2014. She's said to have used it during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations that marked her 60th year of reign four years ago, as well as for a visit to Prime Minister David Cameron's office at 10 Downing Street for his inaugural cabinet meeting. We wouldn't be surprised if she took over the wheel from her chauffeur from time to time, either. The Muslanne is said to have only 5,826 miles on the odometer – 5,000 of which was racked up in Her Majesty's service, secret or otherwise. On that note, there is no mention of 007-esque gadgetry or basic armoring you might expect from a head of state's car. Provenance aside, this being a Mulsanne, it's motivated by Bentley's ancient 6.75-liter V8, not the gauche 6.0-liter W12 or 4.0-liter V8 in the nouveau riche Continental. It's done up in classic dark green with a tan leather interior and walnut burr veneer trim, and can be yours for GBP199,850 – or $285k at today's exchange rates. Of course you could pick up a new one for not much more, but then you wouldn't be riding around in the Queen's own wheels, now would you? Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Bentley Mulsanne - ex-Queen Elizabeth II News Source: Auto Trader Bentley Car Buying Luxury Sedan bentley mulsanne queen elizabeth ii