BENTLEY'S OMBRé PAINTWORK ON THIS FLYING SPUR COSTS MORE THAN A NEW MK8 R GOLF.
Bentley’s Mulliner division has taken the already-opulent Flying Spur and given it a finish that turns heads before the engine even fires. The Crewe-based artisans have revealed the first four-door sedan to wear the new Ombré by Mulliner paint finish - a hand-sprayed colour-fade technique that takes nearly 60 hours to perfect. The debut car, a UK-spec Flying Spur, flows from vibrant Topaz Blue at the nose into a deep Windsor Blue tail, with the transition sweeping elegantly across the doors, roof and sills. Each fade is achieved by two master paint technicians working in stages, carefully tinting and layering colours by hand to ensure a mirror-smooth gradient on both sides of the car. Unlike digital colour tricks, this is entirely analogue craftsmanship - every car will be unique, even if painted in the same combination.
The Ombré palette is currently available in three pairings:
Topaz Blue → Windsor Blue
Sunburst Gold → Orange Flame
Tungsten → Onyx
Because of the complexity of blending pigments, Mulliner curates the combinations carefully to prevent unwanted secondary tones. A blue-to-yellow fade, for example, could leave you with a green Bentley — not exactly part of the brief when you’re paying £48,000, or $68,000, or in more relatable terms - a mere R1,177,949.04 for the finish. That’s a fully-loaded Volkswagen Golf Mk8 R with change for fuel for a few months. We are NOT the target market.
This Flying Spur made its public debut at the Southampton International Boat Show, following the first Ombré Bentley - a Continental GT that premiered earlier this year at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering during Monterey Car Week. More combinations will follow, each promising the same hand-sprayed artistry. Of course, this is Mulliner’s doing - and that name carries weight. Mulliner is the oldest coachbuilder in the world, with roots stretching back to the 1760s when the firm built bespoke carriages for London’s elite. By the late 1800s, Mulliner was building custom bodies for early motorcars, and in 1923, it created its first body for a Bentley 3-Litre. The partnership was so natural that Bentley acquired Mulliner in 1959, securing a dedicated in-house team of master coachbuilders.
Today, Mulliner is Bentley’s personal commissioning division, responsible for everything from one-off models and limited-run coachbuilt cars to ultra-bespoke detailing. Think diamond-knurled switchgear, hand-stitched embroidery, marquetry veneers, and paintwork like this new Ombré finish. They’re also behind halo projects like the Bacalar and Batur, cars that showcase just how far Bentley can push craftsmanship when money is no object. The Ombré Flying Spur sits firmly in this tradition: old-world artistry fused with cutting-edge techniques, built to satisfy clients who don’t just buy cars - they commission rolling pieces of art. For a price.
Take a look at the YouTube video hosted by the Video Effect TV crew that explains more about this bespoke Bentley paintwork, and it all sounds rather fancy. Not a million Rand fancy, but fancy: Bentley Introduces 'Ombre by Mulliner' for the Ultimate in Paint Quality | Vision Effect TV
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