Bentley’s new flagship luxmobile is a longer Bentayga by Mulliner

It’s a sign of the times that Bentley’s ultimate luxury range topper isn’t a traditional limousine, like the charming old Mulsanne or Arnage. It’s a stretched SUV: the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase, or EWB for, um, short. 

But for some folks, even that’s too mainstream. Too normcore. So for the wealthiest, most legroom-challenged people on Earth, there’s now this: the Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner. Think of it as a roast dinner with all the trimmings, served on a solid gold platter. By a unicorn.

Mulliner is Bentley’s in-house ultra-deluxe division, responsible for commissioning the limited edition Bacalar roadster and carbon-bodied Batur coupe. It’s also where you go when the usual Bentley options list isn’t posh enough for you. 

So, Mulliner’s waved its velvety wand over the plushest 4x4 this side of a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, and fitted its trademark ‘double diamond’ front grille. Get a bit closer and you’ll spot the self-levelling wheel centrecaps, so the ‘B’ always sits upright. They live within a new design of 22-inch wheel.

From inside, you won’t see any of that. You won’t hear much of the 542bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, unless you’ve demanded your driver gets a move on and hurls you and your bespoke champagne flutes from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, on your way to a 180mph cruise. 

No, you’ll be squidging your designer shoes into the deeper-pile wool carpet, and smugly eyeing the upholstery choices which aren’t available on ‘normal’ Bentaygas. And as you recline your seat by 40 degrees and stretch out into the 180mm of extra length in the rear of the cabin, you’ll breathe in the scent of ‘olive tanned leather’, which is prepared for a life of cushioning billionaire bums using waste water from the olive oil pressing industry. 

So, it’s a more sustainable hide. That’s what Bentayga Mulliner buyers will want most of all, right? A nice, ecological 2.5-tonne V8 supertanker?