Understanding the Bentley Mulliner Story

A simple breakdown of the 3 new divisions that Bentley Mulliner will drive into the future with, and just how Mulliner and Bentley became intertwined.

Understanding the Bentley Mulliner story

Mulliner was founded as a saddler in 1559 passing down craftsmanship from generation to generation. In the 1760s, the Mulliner family business refocused on coachbuilding for horse-drawn carriages. With the arrival of the motor car, the company stepped away from horse-drawn carriages and focused on mechanical powered coachbuilding.

In the early days of the motor car, there were no showrooms; no gleaming car exteriors from which the buyer could choose. The very first drivers bought a vehicle comprising only an engine, a drivetrain, four wheels and a set of controls. For the rest, they needed a coachbuilder.

In 1923 Mulliner was still an independent coachbuilder and were commissioned to craft a bespoke, two-seater Bentley for the 1923 Olympia Show in London. This created a bond between the two companies sparking a Bentley Mulliner Story that would last for decades. Mulliner bodied over 240 Bentley chassis in the 1920s alone and became renowned as the very best of the new coachbuilding firms.

In the 1950’s Mulliner designed for the 1952 Bentley R-Type Continental, the origins of which continue to influence design today through the Bentley Continental GT. It wasn’t until 1959 that Mulliner cemented its partnership with Bentley by becoming part of the Bentley business when Rolls-Royce, who owned Bentley at the time, purchased Mulliner as well.

Mulliner later moved into the old engineering experimental department at the Bentley headquarters in Crewe, UK and has remained there ever since and has been responsible for notable cars such as the 2002 Bentley Limousine owned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Today: Bentley Mulliner’s new 3 portfolio divisions

Up until now the Mulliner division of Bentley represented around 40 of Bentley’s estimated 4000 employees. They create some of the most innovatively conceived and painstakingly handcrafted features found on today’s Bentley’s and is responsible for delivering customer personalisation and bespoke commissioning. Today Bentley has announced the separation of the Mulliner portfolio into 3 distinct arms: Bentley Mulliner Collections, Bentley Mulliner Classic and Bentley Mulliner Coachbuilt.

Bentley Mulliner Collections

This arm remains closest to what Mulliner has recently represented at Bentley. The Bentley Mulliner Collections team will continue to offer a bespoking service to every Bentley customer which involves offering unique paints, hides, timbers and thread combinations and other bespoke feature content. This arm will also continue to produce luxury-focused derivatives of the core Bentley range such as the Continental GT Mulliner Convertible, Mulliner limited edition 2019 Bentley Continental GT Number 9 Edition (100 examples) and the Bentley Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner (100 examples)

Benley Mulliner Classic

The Bentley Mulliner Classic arm was introduced in 2019 with the announcement that Bentley’s 1929 Team Blower was to be reborn with a new build of 12 supercharged 4½-litre examples of the iconic car. The original Sir Tim Birkin Bentley Blower, chassis number HB 3403, was stripped down to every nut and bolt and digitally scanned to create the 12 new identical replicas which have all now been sold. These models, each individually handcrafted by a team of specialists from Bentley Mulliner, will form the world’s first pre-war race car continuation series. This subdivision of Mulliner also completed an immaculate restoration of the 1939 Bentley Corniche in 2019.

Bentley Mulliner Coachbuilding

The new Bentley Mulliner Bacalar will be the first model produced under the coachbuilding arm with other new bespoke Bentleys to follow in time as part of the Bentley Mulliner Coachbuilt portfolio.

Tracy Crump, Bentley Mulliner’s Head of Commercial Operations, commented on the new divisions and the new Bacalar, “While Bentley’s motto is ‘Be Extraordinary’, at Bentley Mulliner we look to take it one step further, ‘Beyond Extraordinary’. With the new Bacalar we have been able to do exactly that, providing a select number of customers with the opportunity to express their personal taste in a truly remarkable grand tourer. Meanwhile, Bentley Mulliner Classic will breathe new life into the most iconic cars from our past, while our Collections team continue their work to offer a bespoking service to each and every Bentley customer.”

Bentley Mulliner’s return to bespoke coachbuilding affords them the title of the oldest coachbuilding company in the world.