Bentley Batur Gears Up For Production

Bentley Batur Gears Up For Production

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‍In 2022, Bentley ripped the covers off its Batur by Muliner as a model that previews what future Battery Electric Vehicles from Crewe could look like. This was a response to the brand's plans to transition into a fully-electric marque by 2030. 

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That aside, it also celebrates the brand's iconic 12-cylinder engine as it nears the end of its lifespan. 

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We will let you ponder the Batur's styling while you decide whether it's worth the £1,980,000 or R39,137,720 price tag at the current exchange rate. It does look stunning, and we think it's even more imposing in the metal. 

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Bentley has now announced that the Batur has completed its whole vehicle development programme, ensuring it meets the highest performance and durability standards. 

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Bentley built two pre-production models for the tests: Car Zero and Car Zero-Zero. Car Zero features a Purple Sector body shade and a gloss dark titanium grille. Car Zero-Zero sports a Marina Teal body.

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The programme saw the Batur pre-production models undergoing durability tests on handling tracks, real-world road conditions, high-speed testing beyond 320 km/h, and 600 hours of solar loading, equivalent to five years of exposure in the Arizona desert. 

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Though you'd think it is fully electric, the Batur is not. It uses a 6.0-litre W12 twin-turbocharged engine with 544 kW and a colossal 1,000 Nm, thus making it the most powerful Bentley ever. 

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The interior is just pure work of art courtesy of recycled, 3D-printed gold on the Charisma Dial that surrounds the start/stop button. It also includes low-carbon leather sourced from Scotland or sustainably tanned leather from Italy as well as Dinamica which is a suede-like sustainable alternative to leather. 

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As the last model to be powered by the W12 engine, Bentley will only build 18 examples of the model at its carbon-neutral factory in Crewe, England, in the coming months. Each model takes around four months to complete, and according to Bentley, all examples have already been spoken for. 

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Bentley is facing a radical shift in the automotive fold as electrification becomes a serious topic of discussion. So far, 50% of Bentley's range is available with a hybridised powerplant, and the marque aims to electrify its entire range in some form by 2026. The Batur marks the end and the beginning of an interesting era in motoring.

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Ciao to the iconic W12…

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