With the help of Mulliner Design, an aviation entrepreneur has created two bespoke, personalised aircraft, which are now part of his private aviation fleet, Flexjet.
Flexjet owner Kenn Ricci has been a Bentley customer for more than 10 years. After co-creating numerous cars with Bentley, Ricci has been working with Mulliner’s internal design team to develop two new aircraft modelled after his own Bentley Bacalar, one of the most coveted two-door Bentleys of the modern era.
As Mulliner returns to coachbuilding, its team of artisans is meticulously handcrafting the Bacalar, a series of 12 fully customised vehicles. Flexjet’s new Gulfstream G650 private jet and a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter, both customised to fit the unique specifications of the Bacalar, showcase the same meticulous attention to detail and remarkable design.
Ricci chose Julep paint colour for his Bacalar, which inspired the unique modification to Flexjet’s livery in chameleon paint. However, the key accents of this pair of aircraft have been painted silver-green chameleon.
The custom seats in the Gulfstream G650 and in the Sikorsky S-76 were inspired by the copperhead shape and basket weave stitching on the Linen and Beluga leather-trimmed seats of the coachbuilt Bacalar.
A 5,000-year-old riverwood that was recovered and handcrafted into Bacalar veneer inspired the wood veneer used in both aircraft, while the cabins are decorated with satin Bacalar Bronze furnishings and diamond-carved carpet.
There are many companies that appreciate the uniqueness that bespoke personalisation can provide, including Flexjet. Since 2020, an almost unprecedented increase in customers have been specifying Bentleys with specific Mulliner features.
The first and original Bacalar, the development car dubbed as Car Zero, was present to meet the Gulfstream G650 at Farnborough Airport in UK prior to a journey to New York, USA while Ricci’s vehicle was receiving its finishing touches. The S-76, on the other hand, made its public debut last August at The Quail, a part of Monterey Car Week.
The modified tri-colour 22-inch wheels, painted in dark grey satin colour scheme with polished faces. The centre headlamps were in contrast to the Satin Bronze exterior, that can be seen on the waistrails and edging the Satin Carbon rear deck.
The bonnet vents are also painted with satin carbon fibre, along with side skirts, rear diffuser, and power humps behind the front seats. The rear of the car is finished off with exhaust finishers with matte black inners and Satin Bronze outside surfaces.
The interior include a white and black cabin coupled with Bacalar bronze details. Using leather and Alcantara in white, black and bronze, gloss and satin metals in black, as well as dark tint and bright chrome finishes, every element of the interior was customised to Ricci’s preferences.
