Its carbon ceramic brakes and balanced contact with the road installed great confidence as I rolled through the deep fog of the peninsula, past hills of sea grass and oatmeal-colored sand.
Yes, it is based on the Continental GT Speed Convertible, but it has 100% unique body panels, sharing only the door handles with the GT, since those contain the hardware for keyless entry. The rear “Barchetta”-style clamshell and top deck of the Bacalar are crafted from lightweight aluminum; the doors and everything else on the body are made from carbon fiber.
Shared mechanics aside, the Bacalar felt far slinkier and more ethereal to drive than its Continental GT siblings. It felt quicker to jump to high speeds, more focused around corners, and more nuanced between gears—and the Continental GT is among the top three best all-around cars I have ever driven.
It also looks far more striking in person than it does in pictures. Some who saw it in person in Carmel or later on social media expressed surprise and curiosity about it, as if its announcement in March 2020 had completely passed them over, coronavirus notwithstanding. Some referred to the Bacalar—so named after a pristine lake in Mexico—as the “Bentley Balaclava” or “Bentley Baclava.” Others had no idea about its origins at all.
Which is fine. Amid the endless procession of special-edition and limited versions of these hyperprofitable, upper-echelon conveyances, they tend to blend together. I also blame a certain quality about Bentley bodies that, especially in darker tones of paint, tends to present them more like bricks than they actually are.
Up close, where the eye can bend around its subtle corners, the Bacalar is a delight. Its double-bubble back and air vents along the hood and sides do just enough to rough up its otherwise stately and smooth Bentley body. The complex geometric stitching on the seats, the intense azure of the dashboard clock dial (colored to match the famous blue water of the white limestone-lined lake), the woolen bags placed so thoughtfully in their compartments behind the seats—they don’t translate well in the highly modified glamour shots and renderings that seem to define automotive press photos these days.
Frankly, they don’t need to. Social media’s self-appointed critics and TikTok stars aren’t the audience here.
No, the Bacalar reveals itself most fully in real life, not on virtual land. That’s how it should be. If I could afford it, I’d buy it without hesitation. If you missed the first dozen, you’re probably not completely out of luck. You may simply be early for the next round.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.