8:51 am, July 14, 2021
Bentley Mulliner is celebrating its 1,000th bespoke commission.
It comes seven years after the dedicated design team was formed to meet the rising demand for bespoke and personalised vehicles.
The landmark project is for a European customer who wanted two specific interior features to extend the personalisation of their Bentley.
The first was the application of olive ash veneer – normally associated with the Mulsanne – to the inside of a Bentayga. The second was to use a contrast twin stitch to the upper areas of the seats and door trims.
In 2014, the initial project was a limited edition of 15 vehicles that focused on increased levels of passenger comfort – the Flying Spur Serenity.
That saw the seats and headrests re-engineered, with a new and unique diamond quilting for a truly bespoke feel.
Since then, the design team’s work has included jet fighter-inspired Continentals, Mulsannes celebrating its 6¾-litre V8 engine, and a Bentayga with different interior trim specifications for the driver and passenger.
Other commissions have ranged from personalised, bespoke treadplates to unique and coach-built projects such as the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar.
The Bentley Mulliner Breitling jet formation
The specialist team, part of the Bentley Design department, comprises designers and digital artists.
They led the 12 customers of the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar through their design choices via Zoom during the pandemic, and helped guide the dozen clients of the Blower Continuation Series in their specifications.
Paul Williams, director of Mulliner and Motorsport, said: ‘Since 2014, our Mulliner design team has averaged three customer commissions a week, showing just how popular bespoke Bentleys are becoming.
‘The team, led by design manager Phill Dean, has worked on everything from Continental GT3 liveries all the way up to the specifications and details of the 12 cars of the Blower Continuation Series.
‘The only thing all of those designs have in common is that they are for individual customers. Apart from that, each one is as unique as the rest.’
He added: ‘The scope of what’s achievable with a standard production Bentley has now been brought to life by the team through the use of the dedicated Mulliner visualiser.
‘It allows our customers to choose the colour and trim specifications of their cars with real-time photo-realistic visualisation of the result. The co-creation process with Mulliner designers is now available to everyone.’
Pictured at top are the first and 1,000th Bentley Mulliner commissions
