Bentley Batur (2023) Review: The most powerful and expensive Bentley ever

Bentley Batur (2023) Review: The most powerful and expensive Bentley ever


Currently, the Bentley Batur is the most expensive and most powerful production Bentley the company has ever produced. It costs about 1.9 million euros, and that’s before the tax authorities come and you’ve even looked at the options list.

It retains one of the last performances of the 6.0 liter biturbo W12, which is now almost two decades old and has been made ‘more economical’ by big brains and tough glasses.

The power of Bentley Batur

Although in the common language that Bentley likes to speak, ‘more economical’ can be translated as ‘more powerful than before’: 740 hp and no less than 1,000 Nm of pulling power, released from 1,750 to 5,000 revolutions per minute on ‘. torque curve’ which looks like a shoebox.

It is very expensive, unique, powerful and very, very fast. And that hurts. Because for the last four hours, in the pouring rain, my top speed has been 50 km/h and I have used more than 60 of the available horsepower.

Bentley Batur (2023)

‘Wait, what does this magical gold button do? For instructions!’

The view is about ten meters, and you get the feeling that the real views are hidden behind that thick wall of fog, if only because the rising and winding mountain roads strongly indicate them.

But Tropical Storm Oscar has covered Tenerife, his hands taking her breath away since we landed and has been hands on deck ever since. The roads here can be lovely, but in these types of weather the Bentley Batur has a reputation for being hopelessly overpowered.

How Bentley Batur came about

Well, it gives an opportunity to think about this strange but interesting machine. It was released last year as a Limited edition of just eighteen examples, hand-built by Bentley’s Mulliner department. He is not only Bacalar’s homeless brother, but also a preview of what electric Bentleys might look like in the future. In terms of style, then.

It is a two-seater coupe – the rear seats are now a bench on which a set of crafted luggage can find a place – with a carbon fiber body that designer Andreas Mindt is clearly based on the Bentley Continental GT Speed ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Batur is taken, but it plays with all shapes. That makes it look like the Continental just launched a movie set in 2035. Anything is somewhere.

Bentley Batur He (2023)Bentley Batur He (2023)

Only the windshield, the strip above the grille and a few interior details remain of the Speed ​​GT. The new face features slimmer headlights flanking a more vertical grill. A set of lines in chrome run from just above the headlights to the bottom of the C-pillar, creating what Bentley calls an “endless hood” and certainly emphasizing the car’s height.

Classic wavy waistlines give the car volume and a nice, slightly tapered rear – again with sharper headlights – gives it an athletic look. The titanium exhaust notes harken back to where we started: with that petrol engine strangler. It’s surprisingly subtle for a car of this price, although in the real world, where the camera lenses don’t steal its focus, it’s even more impressive.

Isn’t it almost two million euros less?

Still: it is at least special to ask millions for a car that basically costs less than four euros (in the Netherlands very expensive – in Belgium it is listed for a little ton in the price list). The interior looks like a luxury version of the Continental GT Speed, though with nice finishing details like 18-carat gold frames for the air intake grilles (also available in titanium, if you want), ‘sustainable’ leather and soft materials . .

Bentley Batur (2023)Bentley Batur (2023)

The optional sound system from Naim is probably the best you can get in a car, but that’s also possible at an additional cost of around 60 grand… Well, it’s all recognizable. Once you see the badge, there is no need to do a DNA test to find out who the parents are.

But once you spend a few days with the Bentley Batur, you realize that it’s more than just the sum of the familiar core with a few unique parts. It’s only on the second day of testing that we come to that conclusion, and it has more to do with the weather than anything else.

Finally we can go climbing with Batur

We drive through a small rainforest on the way to the top of the mountain, and the landscape gradually becomes less and less like Mars. As we climb higher, we break through the cloud cover and find … the sun. Glorious, happy sunshine, full of the golden light of day. And volcanoes.

Bentley Batur (2023) forBentley Batur (2023) for

It’s a great attitude and Bentley lives up to it. The color on Batur suddenly increases, expands, becomes alive. Details become clearer and lines are more defined. Is this the future of electric Bentleys? It still seems a bit far-fetched – that long hood screams inner combustion, so to speak.

Batur’s grace may appear suddenly, but much more is gone. The trees are nowhere to be seen, replaced by hard volcanic skeletons as far as the eye can see. Large pieces have been carved out of the retaining walls. Mount Teide is currently dormant, but the last time it spoke it left its mark.

Bentley BaturbergBentley Baturberg

Still, its severity is good, and the heavy rain this morning has chased away the tourists; they are probably now on the beach, having a little fry at Piz Buin. Except for a few brave people in rental chairs, the roads in this national park are almost empty. And those roads are beautiful.

However, there are still some things. The storm has sunk its teeth into the rock walls and managed to loosen several pieces of stone, which now follow the laws of gravity until they stand on the road. Which makes for a heart-in-the-throat few minutes.

Batur leads impressively and effortlessly

Now that we finally have the front sight and the grip levels are so treacherous, the Batur moves forward at an unfathomable speed, like leather-clad, attractive and effortless. Then we go around the bend and see that the road is full of stones. Big rocks. Rocks the size of beach balls, which can’t quite fit under a car.

Bentley Batur (2023) Tom FordBentley Batur (2023) Tom Ford

I take a quick, deep breath, drive over the first fist-sized rocks and steer sharply to the right, followed by a swift left and miraculously escape all misery. A geological moose test on a wet road with a 60 meter deep ravine on one side, in someone else’s multi-million dollar car. All right.

In a car weighing more than two and a half tons, this small escape route would end in a confusing conversation with the insurance company and, at best, a severe spray painting, or at least a trip to the beach via the shortest vertical route. Still, Batur pulled out like a firecracker: it spun in the chicane itself with no worse consequences than an increased heart rate and a slightly damaged ego.

A bag of tricks keeps you on track

It would be nice if I could say that the driver’s skill prevented the disaster, but that would be a lie. Batur was only able to get physics to look the other way by pulling open every available mechanical and electronic package of methods. There is an air suspension and a 48-volt system that keeps the bodywork in check. There’s an electronic differential, all-wheel drive and power steering, and big carbon-ceramic brakes.

And although you will always be aware of the mass of Batur, it is hidden as gently as possible by engineering skills. It might only be 10 to 15 percent more than the Speed ​​GT, but enough to feel, enough to impress. The feeling gets stronger when you push him.

Bentley Batur (2023) backBentley Batur (2023) back

The Bentley Batur has different turbos than the Speed, different breathing for inhalation and exhalation, and larger turbochargers. It’s not a night-and-day difference, but the way all the power comes through and hangs on means that smooth hopping through the first four of eight gears is too much for these roads – even on the smooth.

And yes, the launch control is nothing short of impressive; Batur feels faster than the official statistics claim. But beware: this is not a scalpel, sharp and precise, but a butcher’s ax that can cut the curve in blood pieces. On the other hand, when it comes to fighting, I would always be more afraid of that axe.

Batur is the most expensive daily driver in the world

To be honest, a big fat Bentley shouldn’t be good on hilly roads like this. What looks like a luxurious and comfortable GT has no right to bite into the pavement with its metaphorical teeth like this car does. The difference between screaming for authority and screaming for bloody murder is a matter of turning a sharp knife once. This is probably the most expensive daily driver that you can drive in the real world.

Bentley Batur (2023)Bentley Batur (2023)

The editor enjoys the view. Except for the photographer hidden among the rocks

So: is it worth the money? Well, some might suggest that it is not outrageous or excessive to command such a price, but a product is only worth what one is willing to pay for it, and all Batur have already been sold. Rich people are still very rich, it turns out.

Bentley Batur is a car for people who have passed the stage of ‘showing how rich you are’ and are now enjoying themselves.secret wealth, the less shiny phase of having tons of money. People for whom sewing is a criterion and sewing is a necessity.

It’s a shame that many Baturs will never travel many kilometers or end up in collections, because for once this is not a limited edition car according to the air houses and marketing, but a machine that you can use every day. And isn’t that at least you can expect for a million or two?

Details of Bentley Batur Mulliner (2023)

Engine

5.998 cc, W12 biturbo
740 pk, 1.000 Nm
Drive

four wheels
8v directly
Performance

0-100 km/h in 3,5 s
up 333 km/h
Usage

12.3 l/100 km
311 g/km CO2
Weight

2.715 kg
Price

€1.950.000
(excluding tax)