Writing an ode to a roofless automotive, because the rain lashes towards the window and it’s brass monkey climate exterior, may appear a bit unusual, however the Bentley Bacalar doesn’t actually ‘do’ regular. It’s a £1.5 million, 12-run barchetta that’s been designed to showcase precisely what Bentley’s Mulliner division can do when it comes to personalisation and with inclement climate very a lot off menu.
It’s actually fairly the mission assertion. Even driving it on a windswept Bedford autodrome, with a thick coat on for heat, couldn’t detract from the specialness of it. The element modifications inside are predictably attractive – the 5000-year previous river wooden veneer is deliciously tactile even by Bentley’s requirements, with its open-pore end – however the actual drama is reserved for out of doors.
Each panel is exclusive to the Bacalar, with distinctive lights, ally rear clamshell and high deck, and carbonfibre panels elsewhere. Actually, the one components which might be frequent to each the usual Continental GT and this are the door handles and badge. Simply think about the tooling prices of gearing up for this, for a run of solely 12 vehicles. No marvel the automotive prices upwards of £1.5 million (apparently, a “important proportion” will find yourself costing close to £2m by the point all the additional personalisation is added in).
{Hardware} tweaks aren’t as dramatic. Energy from the W12 engine is up barely (650bhp versus 626bhp), however torque stays the identical at 664lb ft and the chassis is equivalent to a daily GT’s, save for a 20mm-wider rear monitor. Handily, this protects on costly crash assessments as a result of the laborious factors are unchanged for homologation functions.
