Bentley Batur

The W12 engine bows out with 740bhp in the nose of this ultra-exclusive, endlessly customisable, £2 million (and up) coachbuilt coupe

- ADAM TOWLER

NAMED AFTER A CRATER LAKE ON THE ISLAND Nof Bali, the Batur is a rebodied Continental GT Speed that follows on from the Bacalar (see evo 286), the run of 12 barchettas that if nothing else gave Bentley the increasing self-confidence to publicly undertake these more extreme projects.

Such endeavours fall under the remit of the company's in-house coachbuilder Mulliner - the oldest entity of its kind in the world - which offers, much like the exclusive operations of other high-end vehicle manufacturers, varying levels of 'bespoke', from unique colours through to complete cars. There will be 18 Baturs constructed, and yes, you guessed it, they're already pre-sold: at this level a company has a very good idea who will buy such cars before the designer's pen even touches the sketch pad.

Yet the Batur is more than just an ultra-exclusive Mulliner side project, it also heralds a new era for Bentley design that we'll see on its forthcoming EVs. Moreover, it signifies the final flourish of the Bentley W12 engine after 20 years of being a motoring oddity, and, if nothing else, it's an interesting commentary on the world of the luxury performance car. All of which and more you might expect given it costs nearly ten times the price of the car on which it's based: a cool £1.65m plus local taxes.