Bacalar

Make
Bentley
Segment
Compact

The 2020 Geneva Motor Show may have been canceled but Bentley's Mulliner division still had the chance to wow us with its latest creation called the Bacalar. The 2021 Bentley Bacalar is based on the Continental Convertible, except every panel is brand-new and only 12 examples will be built. No wonder why it costs around $1.9 million. Bentley first showed off a yellow Bacalar with a matching black and yellow interior but the UK automaker says each of the 12 examples will be highly customized in collaboration with individual customers.

Each of the 12 cars will feature never-before-seen paint options, exterior treatments, interior finishes, and materials. To showcase how some of these options will look on the Bacalar, Bentley has rendered six unique examples of the car. "The six example specifications we have created each have their own personality and purpose, but what they share in common is that only Bacalar can reflect this level of personalization and attention to detail," says Maria Mulder, Head of Colour and Trim at Bentley.

If you want to justify the Bacalar's nearly $2 million price tag, you need look no further than the paint. Bentley has developed a new color pigment that has been synthetically manufactured using rice husk ash, which adds a metallic quality to the paint. Then there are the interior materials. The fully bespoke fabric uses centuries-old blending methods in collaboration with a traditional British textile mill.

Bentley has shown off six possible configurations of the Bacalar, each of which has been given a different name and theme. The Clerkenwell is finished in Cumbrian Green and Golden Oak and pays homage to Bentley's British racing heritage. The Menlo is named after Menlo Park, Palo Alto, California, where many tech companies (and future owners) live. It is painted in Cobalt Blue with Cyber Yellow accents. Then there is The Fulton, which is painted in Lacquer Red and is named after Downtown Chicago's Fulton River District.

The Greenwich is finished in New Grey with a unique interior made from Cricket Ball hide mated with Grey Tweed textile. The Brickell represents Miami, Florida and is painted in Atom Silver with Hyperactive orange accents. Finally, The Randwick is the specification Bentley used when debuting the Bacalar, finished in a bright shade of Yellow Flame paint.

If you think you can design a Bacalar that is better than all six of these cars, Bentley is now hosting a design-your-own Bacalar competition via the @BentleyComms Twitter channel. Bentley invites children and adults to download a blank template of the Bacalar's exterior and interior and color it in. You won't win a free car but your design will be on the channel.