Bentley’s bespoke Mulliner Bentayga has seen a few variations in the past year, and all were so self-consciously alpha-luxe that one could only be impressed. A little ridiculous, but beautifully crafted, they are masterpieces of marketing: snobbishly aristocratic, fascinatingly considered, and undeniably desirable to a certain esoteric taste.
Bentley enhances their own singular mystique and makes a buck with each new edition, and each is designed to appeal to a specific buyer demographic. The Bentayga Mulliner revealed late this past winter was something of a picnic-mobile, featuring a backseat bottle cooler stocked with crystal flutes, and a hamper packed with bone china and silverware; the hamper is a $28K option in the non-Mulliner model. Last year’s Fly Fishing Mulliner-bespoke Bentayga, for the well-heeled angler gunning for steelhead, featured leather-trimmed rod tubes, matching leather bags for nets, saddle-leather reel cases, refreshment case, and burled walnut tacklebox (to all the real fishermen out there: try not to die laughing).
This time around, the target Bentayga consumer is a falconer, and probably a Middle-Eastern one, as most falconers hail from that part of the world. The Bentayga Falconry cabin features an ornate marquetry Saker falcon/desert scene inlay on the glovebox, yes, but the tools, as always, are in the back, and the rear of the vehicle opens to reveal a set of cork-fabric trimmed cases: one for everything the falconry enthusiast needs on a weekend excursion, the other a refreshments case. And, if you don’t have a good set of binoculars, a GPS bird-tracker, and a hand-crafted leather falcon-hood and gauntlet, Bentley can set you up.
A third cork-fabric trimmed case in the trunk holds a perch, and there’s another, removable perch in the cabin, in case Talons is a big Charlie Parker fan, and wants to listen to the stereo.
It doesn’t come as any surprise that the Middle East is Bentley’s fastest-growing sales marketplace; their website landing page currently, and most prominently, features an aerial shot of Dubai. The car is specifically designed for very wealthy consumers in that part of the world, falconers or no.
Pricing has not been detailed by Bentley. The Bentayga Fly Fishing by Mulliner, though, added an additional $100K to the standard Bentayga’s $230K base price. And that model didn’t feature an example-specific marquetry scene crafted from 430 individual pieces of wood.
All these various special editions won’t appeal to everyone; they’re not supposed to. One thing’s for sure, however: The underlying vehicle is sure to deliver one of the finest and most luxurious driving experiences money can buy.
