Promotion: Mulliner, Bentley‘s Bespoke Studio, has taken automotive artistry and personalisation to “extreme lengths”, says the brand’s visualisation manager Rich Morris.
Mulliner operates Bentley’s personal commissioning division, which works with customers to highly customise the appearance and interior finish of a Bentley. The brand’s beginnings can be traced back to 1760, before the birth of the motor car, and Mulliner has worked with Bentley since 1923.
The Mulliner team is made up of skilled craftspeople who have the expertise to create elaborate modifications to cars with a blend of artisanal heritage skills and contemporary technology.
Through three services, Curated by Mulliner, Mulliner Bespoke and Mulliner Coachbuilt, the team works closely with its clients to develop cars equipped with tailor-made interiors such as ancient stone veneers, unique upholstery and painted pinstripes.
Mulliner can also design special customisations of personal significance to a client, such as adding a company logo or embroidering initials into the interior fabric.
Mulliner vehicles are designed to provide supercar performance whilst also ensuring high levels of comfort. Morris explained that the cars are also experimental, and that Mulliner is the division of Bentley that pushes the boundaries of what is creatively possible.
“Mulliner is the part of the company that can push the boundaries, do unique projects, see what works, test the water,” Rich Morris, the visualisation manager at Mulliner, told Dezeen.
An example is the recently launched Bentley Batur Convertible, the most powerful version to date of Bentley’s iconic W12 engine, according to Bentley. The exclusive open-top convertible demonstrates Mulliner’s offer – every detail of it can be customised to reflect the owner’s vision.
Morris explained that his team uses an in-house 3D visualisation software that allows any part of a Mulliner car to be customised, bringing a client’s vision to life.
The software enables customers to see the vast number of options they can choose from, including the type of leather available and the 120 colours of paint with solid, metallic, satin or pearlescent finishes.
“We have got a full model of every car that we’ve turned into our configurator,” said Morris. “We can show every single paint colour that we do, every leather colour and every trim piece.”
Morris explained that it is not only technology that enables Mulliner to create unique cars. The brand’s history of coach building is still rooted within the company, which enables it to craft classic cars – such as the Bentley Blower Continuation – that are built using its blend of historic and contemporary techniques.
“We brought the coach building back in terms of low-volume cars like the Bentley Bacalar and Bentley Batur,” Morris explained.
“We’re creating modern-day versions of the classic cars like the Bentley Blower and the Speed Six, which are built using techniques from back in the 1940s and 50s, but customers, again, can come in and spec their car.”
Morris said that the levels of customisation possible at Bentley have vastly grown in the past decade to respond to diverse clients’ wishes. The designer explained he has observed a growing demand for fully customised, unique cars for people who want to “stand out from the crowd”.
“There are customers who want something unique, who want to stand out from the crowd,” he said. “Customers want to be individual and want to put their mark on the car.”
Mulliner not only works with clients to design customised vehicles, it has produced several art-led initiatives to spotlight its customisation offer. This includes a series of Pride cars, along with the Macallan Horizon whisky bottle and the recent collaboration with world-renowned tattoo artist Bang Bang.
“We’re getting involved with everything from fashion designers to artists,” Morris explained. “We’re trying to join new audiences and trying to be a little bit different.”
Morris explained that as a team, Mulliner is always striving to grow and develop initiative techniques to ensure its cars remain creatively ahead of the curve, whilst meeting changing tastes throughout the world.
“The design of the cars is ever evolving,” he said. “We need to evolve as well to meet new tastes and expectations.”
To learn more about Mulliner, visit Bentley’s website.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen as part of a partnership with Bentley. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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