SPEEDOMETER
Bentley Mulliner’s 500-Year Legacy of Craftsmanship and Luxury
by Robert Stedman
23 Dec 2025
23 Dec 2025
From 16th-century saddle makers to the pinnacle of bespoke coachbuilding today,Bentley Mulliner proves that true luxury is still shaped by artisans.
In an age of mass production, robots, and algorithmic uniformity, there exists a, believe it or not, a rarefied world where automobiles are still handcrafted. Welcome to Bentley Mulliner — the oldest coachbuilding company in the world and the ultimate expression of bespoke luxury on four wheels.
The Mulliner story begins not with pistons, carburetors, and combustion, but with the quiet squeak of fine saddle leather in 1559. What started as a family of carriers and saddlers evolved through centuries of craftsmanship, finding its true calling when F. Mulliner was commissioned in 1760 to build carriages for UK’s Royal Mail. By 1870, Robert Bouverie Mulliner had established Mulliner London Limited, and custom coachbuilding as we know it today had arrived.
In 1923, Mulliner debuted its first collaboration with Bentley at the Olympia Show in London (an International Horse and Motor event) – a bespoke 3-litre, two-seater that sparked a partnership between the two companies. Throughout the 1920s alone, Mulliner crafted more than 240 bespoke Bentley bodies. After being acquired by Bentley in 1959, Mulliner now operates as the marque’s personal commissioning division, seamlessly blending half a millennium of artisanal heritage with old world craftsmanship together with cutting-edge technology.
- THE ART OF CO-CREATION
- THREE TIERS OF PERSONALISATION
- THE DETAILS THAT DEFINE
- A PHILOSOPHY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
- A LIVING LEGACY
At Mulliner’s workshops in Bentley’s Crewe factory, England, clients become collaborators. It isn’t about selecting options from a dropdown menu — it’s about bringing automotive visions to life.
“A Mulliner derivative, like this car, is fairly low volume – no more than five to seven per cent worldwide of all Continental GT sales,” explains Chris Cole, head of the entire Continental GT line. “For these customers, it’s less about the cost and more about having something unique. We quite often see 2025 Continental GTs over £300k.” In Singapore, of course, that number is much, much higher.
The customisation process can take anywhere from an hour to an entire year. Want a paint colour matched to your grandmother’s favourite handbag? Mulliner’s artisans will undertake the painstaking process, with each car hand-sprayed, fine-sanded, and polished with lamb’s wool for 12 hours to achieve the “Bentley Mirror Finish.”
Every panel on the car can be personalised. One client requested a dashboard veneer made from open-pore Riverwood, sourced from naturally fallen trees that have been preserved for 5,000 years in the peat bogs of East Anglia. Another commissioned a Continental GTC with British luxury jeweller Boodles, featuring diamond-set ‘B’ emblems in 18-carat white gold.
- THE ART OF CO-CREATION
- THREE TIERS OF PERSONALISATION
- THE DETAILS THAT DEFINE
- A PHILOSOPHY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
- A LIVING LEGACY
Three Tiers of Personalisation
Mulliner offers three distinct levels of bespoke craftsmanship. “By Mulliner” represents an exclusive selection of curated colours and materials. “Bespoke by Mulliner” unlocks the full palette: Over 100 exclusive exterior colours, custom marquetry patterns, personalised embroidery, and hand-painted pinstripes. Clients work directly with Mulliner’s design team either in virtual or with in-person visits to the Crewe factory.
Then there’s “Mulliner Coachbuilt” — the pinnacle. These are vehicles built from the ground up to a client’s precise specifications, representing the zenith of automotive exclusivity.
The Bentley Bacalar, unveiled in 2020, marked Mulliner’s dramatic return to coachbuilding. Just 12 open top Barchettas were created, each priced at $1.9 million and sold before the public even got a chance to see them. With sustainable materials like wool carpeting, rice-husk-ash paint, and 5,000-year-old Riverwood, the Bacalar proved that sustainability and extreme luxury aren’t mutually exclusive.
Following the Bacalar came the Batur — a limited run of 18 grand touring coupés — and the Batur Convertible, with 16 examples powered by Bentley’s most powerful W12 engine ever developed, a fitting swan song for the legendary twelve-cylinder as the brand transitions to electrification.
- THE ART OF CO-CREATION
- THREE TIERS OF PERSONALISATION
- THE DETAILS THAT DEFINE
- A PHILOSOPHY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
- A LIVING LEGACY
The Details That Define
What truly sets Mulliner apart are the details most will never notice, but the owner will never forget. Self-levelling wheel centre caps that always stay upright. Diamond-encrusted grille elements. Breitling dashboard clocks. Optional 18-carat gold interior detailing, complete with hallmarks to validate authenticity.
The Continental GT Mulliner features mood lighting with six preset “moods” plus “My Mood,” allowing occupants to choose from 15 colours. Even the audio experience is bespoke: The Naim for Bentley system delivers concert-hall acoustics through twenty speakers driven by a 1,950-watt, 21-channel amplifier – the most powerful in its class.
- THE ART OF CO-CREATION
- THREE TIERS OF PERSONALISATION
- THE DETAILS THAT DEFINE
- A PHILOSOPHY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
- A LIVING LEGACY
A Philosophy of Craftsmanship
Under the leadership of Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, who joined as Chairman and CEO in 2024 after nearly three decades at Porsche, Bentley is navigating one of the most significant transformations in automotive history. His philosophy on luxury is refreshingly straightforward: “There will always be a need for good craftsmanship, and that’s part of a luxury product. If it’s just digital, it will never be luxury. It will be expensive, but not luxurious. Luxury is linked to material and craftsmanship, like art.”
Robin Page, Director of Design, rejoined Bentley in 2023 and is now leading the brand’s design revolution while preserving its connection to heritage. Working within Bentley’s stunning new Design Studio, a lovingly restored 1930s building, Page and his team are reimagining Bentley’s future while honouring its storied past.
- THE ART OF CO-CREATION
- THREE TIERS OF PERSONALISATION
- THE DETAILS THAT DEFINE
- A PHILOSOPHY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
- A LIVING LEGACY
A Living Legacy
As Bentley embarks on its Beyond100 transformation to become the world’s leading sustainable luxury mobility company, Mulliner remains the guardian of its soul. The division’s work extends beyond new creations to include Mulliner Classic, which handcrafts and restores coachbuilt cars from Bentley’s illustrious past.
“Mulliner workers aren’t just hand-building for today. They are also helping to build the foundation for tomorrow’s Bentley client base,” notes Walliser. “Usually what happens is, once a client has gone through that process and has received their final product, they’ll do it again and again and again.”
In the world of Mulliner, anything is possible. From monogrammed upholstery to elaborate body modifications, each creation is not simply a car, but a rolling work of art — testament to what happens when 500 years of craftsmanship heritage meets modern luxury.
In an era of instant gratification and cookie-cutter luxury, Bentley Mulliner offers something increasingly rare: The time, attention, and artistry to create something truly yours. Because true luxury isn’t about what everyone can have — it’s about what only you can imagine.
Back
