2024 Bentley Bentayga Extended Wheelbase Mulliner: Flagship Luxury SUV Redefines Wellness & Sustainability

British luxury automaker Bentley has imbibed its Bentayga Extended Wheelbase (EWB) with the Mulliner touch, and it made quite an impression at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering 2023. The result is a flagship luxury conveyance that Bentley calls “the world’s most luxurious SUV,” one that would make competitors from Mercedes-Maybach and Aston Martin tighten their wares. Mulliner is Bentley’s bespoke commissioning division and can trace its coachbuilding ancestry back to 1760.

The Mulliner name opens limitless possibilities for making an entirely bespoke Bentaga, taking it many steps further than Bentley’s curated tri-color interior themes. While it still has a twin-turbo V8, the Bentayga EWB Mulliner is more about craftsmanship, sustainability, and wellness, a relatively fresh approach to redefining genuine luxury in a hotly-contested segment.

2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner: Space = Luxury

Mulliner didn’t take long to work its magic on the new Bentayga Extended Wheelbase, similar to how the coach builder did with the magnificent Batur. Measuring about 7.1 inches longer than a standard wheelbase Bentayga, all the extra length is for the expansive rear quarters, creating a limousine-inspired atmosphere.

We could talk all day about the Bentayga’s diamond-quilted upholstery, curated wood veneers, diamond-illuminated door panels, and interior-matched key pouches. However, the decadent rear accommodations are more worth blabbering about.

Bentley Airline Seats

The Bentley Airline Seats were optional in the Bentayga EWB, but Mulliner made it standard in a two- or three-seat configuration. The automaker calls it the most advanced seat ever fitted to a car, offering 22-way adjustability (including a 40-degree recline), an auto climate sensing and ventilating system, and postural adjustment technology.

The seats recline in Relax mode and give the rider a leather-trimmed footrest that deploys from the back of the front passenger seat. However, its most incredible party trick is the ability to sense the occupant’s body temperature and the surrounding humidity. It then applies heat, ventilation, or a combination of both to ensure maximum comfort, a feature we’d love to have in our personally driven Konas, Galants, Civics, and Accords.

The icing on the Airline Seats cake is Bentley’s postural adjustment system. It features six independent pressure points via massaging pockets on the thighs, shoulders, and lumbar area that can make up to 177 micro-fine adjustments every three hours to prevent fatigue and sore muscles on cross-continental road trips.

2024 Bentley Bentayga Extended Wheelbase Mulliner with Bentley Airline Seats.
2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner with Airline Seats. Photo: Bentley Motors.

Performance Hardware

The 2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner may focus more on luxury and wellness, but it didn’t stray far from the vintage mantra of power and performance. There’s a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 542 horsepower and 568 lb-ft. of torque. The engine mates to an all-wheel drivetrain and a slick eight-speed automatic, enabling the 5,542 lbs. (2,512 kg) Bentayga EWB to achieve a 180 mph top speed and zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.

Meanwhile, the Bentayga EWB’s three-chamber air springs, rear-wheel steering, and Dynamic Ride electronic anti-roll system keep the sunny side up while suspending the cabin in utmost comfort.

Sustainable & Posh Cabin

Welcoming occupants is olive tan leather, a sustainable cowhide material that got its color from an organic tanning process derived from by-products of the olive oil industry. Bentley claims to be the first automaker to prescribe olive tan leather into a production car. Moreover, the carpets are from 100 percent recycled nylon, and the deep-pile floor mats are from pure wool, which Bentley describes as having an “exceptionally luxuriant, velvety feel.”

Bespoke Styling Elements

The 2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner has standard 22-inch wheels in two available finishes, self-leveling center caps ala Rolls-Royce, two-tone mirror caps, a “double Diamond” front grille, and a chrome lower front grille. Selecting the Mulliner Blackline Specification applies a gloss-black treatment to all exterior chrome and mirror caps. It also includes gloss-black 22-inch wheels for a more sinister vibe.

2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner Availability

The excellent news is clients can commission an entirely bespoke Bentley Bentayga. It may sound cliché, but Bentley’s Mulliner division is not messing around when it says “anything is possible.”

And for a luxury SUV costing upwards of $200,00, the Mulliner privilege hikes the base prices to about $340,000, and lucky clients could probably have a gold-lined dashboard covered in snakeskin for more cash. The order books are open for the 2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner.

Alvin Reyes is an Automoblog feature columnist and an expert in sports and performance cars. He studied civil aviation, aeronautics, and accountancy in his younger years and is still very much smitten to his former Lancer GSR and Galant SS. He also likes fried chicken, music, and herbal medicine.

Photos & Source: Bentley Motors.