At the Monterey Car Week 2021, Bentley marked their return to public events in the USA with six successful debuts. For the first time, all three of the Bentley Mulliner’s impressive portfolios (Classic, Coachbuilt, and Collections) were brought together for a public debut of the new hybrid range that showcased both the new Bentayga Hybrid and the Flying Spur Hybrid.
Once again, the Home of Bentley attracted attention as it had more than 2,500 Bentley enthusiasts and aficionados throughout the event. 100 visitors were lucky enough to be able to test drive the latest products. Everyday, the Home had a different Bentley line-up, with handcrafted displays telling the story of Bentley’s Beyond 100 strategy, which is the company’s nine-year journey to be the leading sustainable, luxury mobility company in the world. At the center of their display is the biofuel-powered Continental GT3 Pikes Peak. Surrounding it is a selection of in-development sustainable materials, and some information on the brand’s journey towards complete Carbon neutrality and climate positivity.
Bentley’s “Unifying Spur” was another attraction wherein the body is decorated with Rich Morris’ artwork to emphasize the new diversity and inclusion strategy of the brand. Celebrating the company’s dedicated networks of colleagues, they aim to increase management diversity to 30% by 2025.
Bentley Americas President and CEO Christophe Georges stated, “Returning to Monterey for the first time after rejoicing in our centenary at Pebble Beach in 2019 has been a fantastic experience. After the challenges of the pandemic, we chose to celebrate our customers, alongside our thoroughly modern and diverse range of new models and being able to see customers in-person after such a long time apart was a great experience for everyone. Monterey Car Week is always a highlight in our calendar and was particularly special this year as Bentley continues to deliver the strongest results in the company’s history.”
Bacalar, Blower, Hybrids, and the new Flying Spur Mulliner
The cars on display showed the expanse of the handcrafted model range of the brand.
On Thursday evening, they unveiled the new Flying Spur Mulliner at the Home of Bentley. The new Mulliner is the best of the best in the Flying Spur range, and it bears some unique Mulliner details. It is equipped with a unique “Double Diamond” front grill, a 22” Mulliner wheels that has self-levelling centers, and satin silver mirror caps that make the Flying Spur look even more elegant, matched with a cabin that has a comprehensive suite of features and materials that places the brand’s renowned handcraftsmanship to completely new levels.
The Continental GT coupe joined the Flying Spur Mulliner, as well as its convertible siblings to showcase the Mulliner Collections portfolio, one of the three areas of Bentley Mulliner. A development prototype (Car Zero) of the Bacalar project was there to represent the Coachbuilt portfolio. It displayed a gorgeous Scarab green finish matched with a retrimmed cabin which were both especially made for the Monterey Car Week. Mulliner’s workshop is now currently working on the first examples of the highly exclusive limited run of 12 units customer cars. They used the Bacalar as a demonstration unit for their clients. It made a featured appearance at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, on August 13, Friday. It then took its place in an honored spot at the Concept Lawn for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
The final featured car from the Mulliner collection is part of the Classic portfolio, the engineering prototype from the Blower Continuation Series. A 6,000-mile development and durability program has already been completed by the Blower Car Zero, and during the Monterey Car Week, it went on the road around the peninsula everyday easily covering 350 miles during the event. Guests, media, and customers were allowed passenger rides in the first pre-war continuation car, delighting everyone and surprising those same passengers with the exhilarating performance of the car.
New cars from the mainstream product range from Bentley were also displayed beside the Mulliner showcase. A notable display was the public debut of the new hybrid range as the Bentayga Hybrid was displayed beside the Flying Spur Hybrid. A Hybrid option is now available to around two thirds of the marque’s model range. This is part of their plan to electrification and a first BEV by 2025.
During the Saturday night’s Signature Party, the Hybrid range, the Mulliner family, the Continental GT Speed Convertible, and the Unifying Spur were on display to welcome guests to The Beach & Tennis Club in Pebble Beach. Hundreds of VIP guests were in attendance, enjoying an evening of fine food and drink, as well as live music. The previous night, a private dinner was held at Seal rock beach for a select 150 clients, which was supported by Bentley’s new brand partner, The Macallan, and the Home of Bentley. Through the event, they provided the finest drams for the brand, but never when the guests were driving. Regional brand ambassador Keiron Elliot brought the partnership to life as he led the tastings and also explained the plan that the two partners will be working on and implementing.
On August 15, 2022, Bentley Motors have already committed to return to the Monterey peninsula for the Car Week scheduled for next year.
The brand’s four-day exhibition and Beyond 100 strategy followed all the CDC guidelines in ensuring that all of Bentley’s guests and staff are kept COVID-safe during the event.
