The Mulliner division has just taken the Bentley Bentayga to a whole new level of luxury. Here is the one-of-one, first-ever two-tone Bentayga. A couple from California took ages to choose the exterior color and onboard finishes. But they finally made it.
It is a Bentley Bentayga Extended Wheelbase (EWB) Azure V8 that the customers specifically wanted in a two-tone color combination. The model has just been delivered to its owners, a couple from Irvine, California, who worked closely with Mulliner to get the mission accomplished.
The customers first visited Bentley Newport Beach to order a Bentayga EWB Azure V8 Edition. But choosing an exterior color and interior finishes from the 46 billion different configurations available as standard turned out to be a grueling procedure.
The attempt to make a decision failed at the dealership and continued at their home in California. Mulliner's Design Manager, Phill Dean, gave them a helping hand. They fell in love with the Kingfisher, a metallic electric blue finish.
However, an SUV of that size, painted in a single vibrant color, would have been too much for them. So they went for the Onyx for the hood, roof, and pillars. The front grille, front air intakes, wing vents, side coastlines, and rear diffuser come in a gloss black finish.
They checked the Blackline and Touring boxes, asked for rear privacy glass, and the deletion of the Bentley lettering on the tailgate. They also went for 22-inch ten-spoke wheels finished in Kingfisher and Beluga with self-leveling Bentley badges.
Photo: Bentley Motors
The meeting ended late at night, at around 01:00 AM, Dean recalls. The very demanding couple is the reason why they asked for a contrasting shade, and Bentley's Paint Shop said yes. So this is how the luxury carmaker decided to bring the launch of the two-tone body option forward by a whole year.
Bentley was planning to offer the Bentayga in a two-tone paint scheme next year but has just turned it into a factory option 12 months earlier than scheduled.
And it wasn't just the exterior that the couple had a hard time choosing the looks for. They spent hours and hours trying to decide on the colors and finishes inside the cabin. The couple went for the four-seat configuration with the airline seat specification for the two rear seats.
The seats, dashboard, and door cards are wrapped in a combination of Mandarin and Imperial Blue leather, while Open Pore Koa Veneer covers the dashboard, rear center console, and picnic tables. However, to match the exterior, Kingfisher accents show up on the seat bolsters, lower dashboard, at six o’clock on the steering wheel, gear lever, and doors.
Bentley emblems show up on the seats in Kingfisher, a tone that was also used for the contrasting stitching. The luxury SUV comes with overmats in Imperial Blue with Kingfisher micro piping and Mandarin stitching. The "One-of-one" message shows up on the door treadplates.
A Mulliner key box is on board for keeping valuables safe inside the car. It sports a combination of Imperial Blue and Mandarin, while Blue Alcantara was used for the inner surfaces.
The car of the picky couple is the Azure V8 version. This means that it is powered by the 4.0-liter turbocharged engine that pumps out 542 horsepower (550 metric horsepower) and 558 pound-feet (770 Newton meters) of torque for a run from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph) in 4.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 180 mph.
With so many options available for the exterior and the interior of the Bentayga, taking so long to decide is not out of the ordinary for the Bentley team. That is probably why the trend for Mulliner bespoke commissions in 2023 has been growing, with around 75 percent for the vehicles that roll off the production line in Crewe, England. This translates into a rise of 43 percent in Mulliner content over 2022. It is proof that customer's appetite for unique automobiles is growing.
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