CREWE (August 18, 2023) ― The launch of the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase Mulliner defines a new pinnacle for the Bentayga family and indeed the Bentley model range, adding a new level of modern craftsmanship to the already potent combination of supercar performance, go-anywhere ability, driving dynamics and limousine rear cabin of the Bentayga EWB. The flagship Bentayga EWB Mulliner offers more cabin space than any comparable luxury competitor and its bespoke enhancements make every journey an occasion to be savored, equally as special from the driver’s seat or the expansive rear cabin, providing the world’s most luxurious SUV so far.
Unique design features inside and out make a striking statement, each one curated with painstaking care by the Mulliner team. The rear compartment, available in 4+1 and 4-seat configurations, features the Bentley Airline Seat specification – the most advanced automotive seating system in the world – as standard, to cosset occupants in unrivalled comfort. The Mulliner Harmony Diamond Quilt to the seats and doors demonstrates the craftsmanship that elevates the interior to a truly pinnacle position.
Using Bentley’s extremely potent 542 bhp (550 PS) and 568 lb.ft (770 Nm) 4.0-litre V8 engine, the Bentayga EWB Mulliner combines limousine comfort with exceptional performance for a car in this class – a 180 mph (290 km/h) top speed and 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds (100 km/h in 4.6 seconds). A chassis that includes Bentley Dynamic Ride (48V active anti-roll control), rear wheel steering and three-chamber air springs gives the Bentayga EWB Mulliner all of the dynamic ability of the standard wheelbase Bentayga, making the EWB Mulliner an accomplished driver’s car as well as a luxurious SUV limousine.
Elegant and distinguished
The lines of the Bentayga EWB convey style and presence, and Mulliner’s unique design features complement them perfectly. Exterior details include exclusive Mulliner 22-inch wheels in polished or grey painted and polished finishes, with self-levelling wheel caps that remain upright as the wheels rotate. Mulliner’s distinctive “Double Diamond” front grille and chrome front lower grille are complemented by Mulliner wing vents, with two-tone mirror caps in Satin Silver and body colour.
Customers can order the car from launch with Mulliner Blackline Specification, which applies a gloss back treatment to all exterior chromework and mirror caps, but excluding the Bentley badges. A gloss black 22” Mulliner wheel completes the darker look.
When opening the doors, a welcome illumination is projected on to the ground, one of many subtle details that go beyond the everyday into a higher level of luxury.
Curated three-color combinations
Mulliner illuminated three-dimensional treadplates and deep-pile Mulliner overmats welcome passengers into the cabin, which is offered in a choice of eight three-color combinations curated by the Mulliner Design team. The tri-tone split of main hide, secondary hide and accent color hide are a Mulliner design signature and only available for Bentley’s pinnacle models.
Each combination has its own title, from the fiery combination of Hotspur, Beluga and Linen that comprise ‘Flare’ to the deep blues and black of ‘Storm’ – the latter with an accent color of White like a flash of lightning across a night sky. Customers can also specify their own Mulliner Bespoke Interior, using any three colors, producing nearly 4,000 tri-tone interior color combinations.
Complementing the curated colors, Grand Black veneer trim showcases the mirror-finish polished surface achieved by Bentley’s wood shop, with overlays of silver Mulliner lettering and the Bentayga silhouette to the passenger fascia, the Bentley ‘B’ on door waistrails and Mulliner chrome patterning on the rear picnic trays. A three dimensional diamond milled finish to the center console provides another visual and tactile highlight.
On the seat uppers, Mulliner’s intricate Harmony Diamond Quilt patterning consists of alternate lines of the secondary hide and accent color, with the Mulliner namestyle embroidered on each seat. For the doors, lines of main hide and accent color are alternated.
As a further thoughtful touch, owners will receive a Mulliner presentation key box and key pouches matched to their Bentayga’s chosen three-color combination.
Olive Tan Leather and other sustainable materials
Olive Tan leather is used extensively throughout the cabin. The distinctive feature of this leather lies in a sustainable tanning process that uses an organic by-product of the olive oil industry. Derived from waste water extracted during the olive pressing procedure, the tanning agent remains free of harmful metals, minerals and aldehydes. The technique requires less water than a conventional tanning process and also offers a higher concentration of renewable chemicals. The resulting organic leather is incredibly soft and worthy of the world’s most sought-after luxury car brand. Bentley Motors is the first automotive manufacturer to use this industry-leading Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW) technology from the leather manufacture Pasubio SpA.
Olive Tan Leather is another milestone in Bentley’s sustainable leather strategy. The British marque already uses leather hides that are a by-product of the meat industry and highly traceable. Annually, global leather production recycles an estimated 270 million hides that would otherwise go to landfill. Leather manufacturing is regarded as a safe, compliant and heavily regulated means of recycling a sustainable product.
As standard for Mulliner models, new deep pile overmats are more luxurious than ever. Using 100 per cent pure wool, the deep pile Wilton carpets have an exceptionally luxuriant, velvety feel. A specially-selected wool variety is used due to its cleanliness and purity in color which is tested to ensure quality standards are met before use. Color is applied via the method of hank dyeing, which allows better control of the quality of the dye and ensures improved color matching as required. During the manufacturing process no bleach is used and therefore the end result is a beautiful quality finished carpet from pure wool.
The standard cabin carpets have also been made more sustainable. The new cabin carpet is now 100 per cent recycled Nylon delivering the same level of comfort and feel of previous carpet which previously utilised 100 per cent virgin Nylon material.
Increased cabin comfort through innovation and technology
Whether the owner chooses 4-seat or 4+1 seating, the Bentayga EWB Mulliner features Bentley’s Bentley Airline Seat specification. This is the most advanced seat ever fitted to a car, with 22-ways of adjustment and world-firsts in a new auto climate sensing system and postural adjustment technology.
In Relax mode the seat can recline to nearly 40 degrees, whilst the passenger seat simultaneously motors forwards and a beautifully leather-trimmed footrest deploys from the back of the front passenger seat. In Business Mode, the seat moves into its most upright position to make working on the move more comfortable.
The auto climate seat technology senses occupant temperature and surface humidity and then determines whether to apply heat, ventilation or both simultaneously to keep the occupant at optimum thermal wellbeing.
The Postural Adjustment function uses new thigh and shoulder pockets, plus additional lumbar massage pockets, to subtly yet continuously change the shape of the seat to ease pressure points around the body, preventing dead spots and fatigue build up. The system goes beyond the 2D motions typical of adjustable seats, able to employ a three-dimensional twist to relieve pressure points. Six independent pressure zones can provide 177 adjustments every three hours to ensure that seat comfort is never compromised, regardless of the length of the journey.
Bentley Diamond Illumination
A further striking and elegant feature as standard for Bentayga EWB Mulliner is Bentley Diamond Illumination. The illumination effect is achieved using LEDs (12 on each of the front doors, 22 on each of the rear doors) that emit light through small perforations in the leather trim on the door panels. This is achieved by a combination of digital craftsmanship and precision technology.
Within each diamond, the flawless leather is perforated with holes of less than 1 mm diameter. Each hole has been digitally positioned with precision by one of Bentley’s interior designers to achieve a cohesive overall design – the ‘digital-crafting’ process. The finished result is a beautiful, elegant and unique design.
The intensity and color of the illumination through the trim can be controlled by the customer through the infotainment system and Touch Screen Remote. The feature is linked with the mood lighting to ensure consistent color and intensity of light throughout the car. This dramatic feature can transform the interior feel and look of the cabin, especially at night.
Beautiful instrumentation
A Mulliner clock flanked by chromed bullseye air vents provides a focal point on the center console, featuring a silvered face and a bezel in a technical knurled finish. This design is echoed in the driver’s digital instrumentation, which features the same silvered finish and typeface for the numerals. The clock and instrumentation style are unique to the pinnacle Mulliner models.
Effortless performance and dynamic capability
The Bentayga EWB Mulliner is powered by Bentley’s 4.0-litre, 32-valve dual twin-scroll turbocharged V8 petrol engine. The design concept of the V8 engine has delivered a high level of power and torque, whilst still achieving lower emissions and the best possible efficiency. Mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and powering all four wheels, the V8 offers effortless performance, developing 542 bhp (550 PS) and 568 lb.ft (770 Nm) of torque, resulting in a top speed of 180 mph (290 km/h) and 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds (100 km/h in 4.6 seconds).
The new Bentayga has won critical acclaim for its dynamic abilities, with its performance on the road and its ride and handling universally praised. The Bentayga EWB Mulliner continues this ethos with the inclusion of Electronic All Wheel Steering and Bentley Dynamic Ride as standard.
Secondary ride comfort is another key variable that affects onboard wellness – the smoother the ride, the more calming the journey. At typical road speeds and in the crucial frequency range of 5 Hz to 20 Hz, the Bentayga EWB has up 27 per cent lower secondary ride vibration than its competitors.
Electronic All Wheel Steering provides two highly desirable benefits and ensures no compromise between high-speed confidence and low speed convenience.
At faster speeds – above 37 mph (60 kph) – the system makes small adjustments to the direction of travel of the rear wheels, in tandem with the direct steering inputs from the driver to the front wheels. This increases high-speed stability – making overtaking and lane changing more assured – and improves handling when driving through sweeping bends.
At low speeds, – below 37 mph (60 kph) – the All Wheel Steering has the effect of ‘shortening’ the wheelbase, reducing the turning circle, and increasing agility in tight urban environments making parking noticeably easier. This is achieved by steering the rear wheels (up to +/- 4.8 degrees off center) in the opposite direction to the front wheels. The system actually provides a turning circle which is smaller than that of the standard wheelbase Bentayga by 7 per cent.