ABSOLUTELY BATURED
BBC Top Gear UK|August 2023
Do you find a standard Bentley a bit mass produced? Well, meet the very exclusive (and very purple] new Batur
TOM FORD
ABSOLUTELY BATURED

Thus far, the Bentley Batur is the most expensive and most powerful production Bentley ever produced. It costs upwards of £1.6 million before local taxes and options, and accommodates one of the final iterations of a 6.0-litre W12 bi-turbo engine that's nearly two decades old, made 'more efficient' by people with big brains and complicated spanners. Though 'more efficient' in quaintly demure Bentley speak translates as 'more powerful' than ever before 730bhp, with 7371b ft of torque (1,000Nm if you prefer numerical cleanliness), delivered from 1,750rpm until 5,000rpm on a torque curve that looks like a park bench. It is gravely expensive, exclusive, powerful and very, very fast.

Which hurts. Because for the past four hours, I've been doing a maximum of 35mph in torrential rain, deploying about 60 of the available horsepower. Visibility is down to roughly 20 feet, and you get the feeling that just beyond the thick duvet of mist might be actual views, if only because the climbing, serpentine roads are dropping heavy hints. But Storm Oscar wrapped suffocating and soggy arms around Tenerife as we arrived and all bets are off - the roads might be interesting, but with this kind of weather the Batur is horribly overendowed. The backpack nuke of holiday hire cars.

At least it gives time to ponder what is a strangely compelling thing. Released last year as an 18-car coachbuilt limited edition by Mulliner, the Batur is both a sister car to the roofless Bacalar and a nod to the forthcoming vision of electrified Bentleys - in style, at least. A two-seat coupe - the rear seats are now a bench which can house a bespoke fitted luggage set - designer Andreas Mindt's Batur features carbon bodywork that apes the Continental GT Speed on which it is based, but plays with the shapes so that it resembles a Conti from a sci-fi movie set in 2035. Which it kind of is.

Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av BBC Top Gear UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av BBC Top Gear UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BBC TOP GEAR UKSe alt
HEAD TO HEAD VANTAGE vs 911 TURBO
BBC Top Gear UK

HEAD TO HEAD VANTAGE vs 911 TURBO

For as long as we can remember the Porsche 911 has been the default best sports car money can buy. Does the new Aston Vantage represent a changing of the guard?

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2024
BOSS LEVEL:PART TWO
BBC Top Gear UK

BOSS LEVEL:PART TWO

In a world exclusive, three makers of the world's most powerful hypercars are cordially invited... to drive each other's creations

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
THE THEORY 0F EVOLUTION
BBC Top Gear UK

THE THEORY 0F EVOLUTION

Ridged bladder seats, an inflating steering wheel and an AI track day coach... has Lotus hit on the supercar's future, or gone mad?

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2024
Koenigsegg Jesko Attack
BBC Top Gear UK

Koenigsegg Jesko Attack

The Jesko Attack drives like a conventional supercar. Brakes like one, turns like one, grips like one. But it doesn't accelerate like one.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
STIC LAPS are back!
BBC Top Gear UK

STIC LAPS are back!

It's a 1.75-mile figure of eight on an old Canadian Air Force base just south of Guildford. Hardly Monza, or the Mulsanne straight, and never in a million years - you'd think a place that would become one of the most sought after performance benchmarks in the motoring world.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
URBAN OUTWITTERS
BBC Top Gear UK

URBAN OUTWITTERS

Does the solution to city motoring lie in designs from the past with powertrains from the future? TopGear goes in search of answers... at rush hour

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
FUTURE FERRARIS
BBC Top Gear UK

FUTURE FERRARIS

If you thought Ferrar's past was colourful, wait until you see what it's cooking up next. The future's bright, the future's rosso

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2024
DIRTY DOZEN
BBC Top Gear UK

DIRTY DOZEN

Ferrari's new super GT makes no secrets about what's under the bonnet, but can it swallow five countries in just a few hours? Better get on with it...

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
MYTH BUSTER
BBC Top Gear UK

MYTH BUSTER

\"ADAPTIVE DAMPERS ALWAYS NEED TO ADAPT\"

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
The S2000 from a parallel universe
BBC Top Gear UK

The S2000 from a parallel universe

Meet Evasive Motorsports’ Honda S2000R, the car the Japanese firm should have built itself

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024