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Bentley Mulliner Bacalar is so bespoke, it's a whole different car

Bentley talks a lot about “bespoke” — the customized elements done at the hands of its Mulliner division — but the newly unveiled Bentley Mulliner Bacalar takes the idea to a new level. This isnÂ’t just a unique paint color or a special upholstery fabric or a fabricated housing for an ownerÂ’s pet ferret. ItÂ’s a completely custom-bodied automobile, one that transforms the Continental GT convertible into a restyled two-seat roofless barchetta, which takes its name from a lake in MexicoÂ’s Yucatan Peninsula. Bentley claims that not a single exterior body panel from the Continental GT remains unchanged on the Bacalar, and the design is said to be inspired by last yearÂ’s EXP 100 GT concept. That show car was a coupe with scissor doors and an electric powertrain. The Bacalar is none of those things. But you can see some rub-off from the EXP 100 GT in the detailing, such as the horizontal lighting elements at the front and the rear. This example wears special Yellow Flame paint that incorporates the ash from burned rice husks as a more environmentally friendly way to create a metallic effect. In the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar, the doors and fenders are made from carbon fiber, while the clamshell covering over the rear compartment is aluminum. The body panels feature additional air intakes, a double hump behind the front seats, and more pronounced rear haunches over the 20-mm wider rear track. There is no roof — presumably owners will drive one of their dozens of other cars if rain is predicted. It would be a shame, after all, to let this interior get wet. The BacalarÂ’s cabin has just two seats, with a carved-out luggage hold behind each one that is specially designed to fit custom-matched bags made by Italian luggage maker Shedoni. The reworked center console angles up to meet the dash, which contains BentleyÂ’s Rotating Display and a digital instrument cluster that differs from that of production Bentleys. The seats are upholstered in British wool together with two types of leather, and the wool elements also appear on the console and door panels. The wood trim — in both matte and gloss finishes — is sourced from 5,000-year-old trees harvested from rivers, lakes and peat bogs. The 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W-12 engine is massaged to the tune of 650 horsepower and 667 lb-ft of torque (versus 626 ponies and 664 lb-ft in the Conti GT). The W-12 is paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and rear-biased all-wheel drive.

Weekly Recap: Mercedes continues the pseudo-coupe craze with AMG-tuned CUV

But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. BMW proved there is a market for crossover utility vehicles designed to look like coupes – as much as a vehicle with four doors and noticeable ground clearance can look like a coupe, anyway. Now comes the reply from Mercedes-Benz: the GLE Coupe. The rakish crossover is a harbinger of things to come from Mercedes, as it begins the company's transition to a new nomenclature and marks the debut of the AMG Sport line. It also continues the recent coupe craze. Designers from many automakers, like Nissan and Volkswagen, have increasingly turned to swoopy, dramatic styling to make utility vehicles and sedans seem more desirable. By revealing the GLE 450 AMG Sport model first, Mercedes is clearly hoping to cast the GLE Coupe as a sportier, lifestyle-oriented alternative in its lineup of beefy crossovers and SUVs. Mercedes used the word "sport," or a variation of it, 53 times in its press release, so uh yeah, it's sporty. It's not an empty promise: Benz means business with the AMG Sport line. This GLE Coupe gets a 3.0-liter biturbo V6 rated at 362 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque paired with Mercedes' new nine-speed automatic transmission, and it runs with 4Matic all-wheel drive. Specs on the other GLE Coupe models were not disclosed. But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. After all, more than 260,000 people have bought X6s since 2008, and Mercedes wants a piece of that. From certain angles, the GLE Coupe even looks vaguely like an X6. "This is really a vehicle that is all about status," said Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager for research firm AutoPacific. "You can buy a SUV that doesn't have the inherent qualities of a SUV, such as cargo hauling. People will likely be drawn to the looks. Coupes are all the rage." BMW, however, isn't running from the fight, and the updated 2015 X6 is arriving in showrooms this month. It also added a smaller sibling, the X4, to its coupe-crossover stable in July. The GLE Coupe arrives next year, though Mercedes hasn't specified exactly when it will hit showrooms from the factory in Alabama, or specified details on the rest of the non-AMG Sport models. In 2008, it was surprising the X6 was a hit. In 2015, it will be even more surprising if the GLE Coupe isn't.

Best of 2016 | The List

The List hosts Jessi and Patrick spent all of 2016 checking awesome adventures off their automotive bucket list, from escaping a car dangling off a cliff, to taking part in The Great Race road rally. In total, our hosts checked 12 challenges off Autoblog's list of "1,001 car things to do before you die," taking them on travels across the United States and the United Kingdom. Check out some highlights from the season as our hosts drive everything from the super modern to the refreshingly classic, and even take their lives into their own hands all for the sake of completing the ultimate car enthusiast's bucket list. As we look ahead to 2017, be sure to send us your automotive bucket list items. Who knows, maybe your submission will inspire Jessi and Patrick's next escapade. Click here to find more episodes of The List Click here to learn more about our hosts, Jessi and Patrick Aston Martin Bentley Land Rover McLaren The List Videos