There were two mind-blowing reveals when I attended Bentley’s Christmas luncheon late last year. One was that Bentley makes its own honey, harvested from a colony of 10 bee hives set up by the brand at its headquarters in Crewe in northwest England as part of its #GoToZero sustainable strategy. We sampled it — it’s a saccharine honey with a slightly runny, delectable consistency.
The other was the Bentley Umbra.
The Umbra is an exquisite expression of the Bentayga S built by Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke coachbuilding arm. Available in a strictly limited run, it’s a powerful car with a first-of-its-kind design and aesthetic elements for the British carmaker. Buyers can choose a V8 or hybrid engine, but we’ll look closely at the
V8 build here.
The project was kept strictly hushed, and it’s fitting that the announcement on Bentley’s social media had the tagline: “From the shadows, Umbra emerges”.
A Mulliner Exclusive
The enigma around the car is perhaps borne from the fact that it was a project by Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke coachbuilding arm. The vehicles produced here are exclusive commissions, and most stand out not just among Bentleys but within the automotive industry at large. They push the envelope in terms of what British and European cars can be.
The Mulliner vehicles are crafted to turn heads, and in the Umbra, they’re clearly at the top of their game. From the brooding and deeply compelling Hallmark exterior to the Beluga-painted front bumper with a fade design, a pioneering feature for Bentley, there is a dark allure to the Umbra.
To augment this, there are seven accent hues that buyers can choose from to add a dose of personality and a pop of colour to the brooding tones of the car. The colours are Vivid Red, Mandarin, Kingfisher (a bright blue), Key Lime (a striking yellowish-green), Cyber Yellow, Vivid Purple and Cherry Blossom (a Sakura pink).
The customer’s selected accent colour introduces a dramatic touch with contrasting flashes of light, and the wing mirror caps’ geometric shape is accentuated. The Styling Specification takes on a distinctive tri-tone appearance, featuring an accent pinstripe along the sleek carbon fibre bodykit.
The 22-inch S wheels are painted black, with the cool painted accent (again according to the customer’s choice) along the scythed spokes to match the same highlights elsewhere on the car. The wheels most prominently feature a self-levelling Mulliner-exclusive “B” badge on each tyre.
It’s also a formidable-looking car: 1.72 metres in height, 2.2 metres in width and a spacious 5.12 metres in length.
She’s Beautiful On The Outside And The Inside
The interior has some gorgeous features as well. The most prominent is the use of porpoise leather, known for its suppleness and its lack of natural markings or imperfections, usually used in wall coverings of luxury homes. It’s paired with Beluga leather for accents, a hide that is double-tanned using traditional methods, and then hot-stuffed, which gives it exceptional suppleness and waterproof qualities.
The bespoke Umbra treadplates are one of our favourite details — a subtle one to be sure, but one crafted with such artistry and immaculate attention to detail.
In fact, many small things add up to build that amazing in-cabin experience — from the sound system (Bang & Olufsen for Bentley with satin black and silver speaker grilles) to the mood lighting and even the streamlined cut of the Sports pedals.
It’s undeniably a stunning car inside and outside, but with the style comes a heavy dose of substance.
It’s All About That Base — That Bentayga S Base
Under the hood, the Bentley Umbra is all Bentayga S — and that’s a great thing. It incorporates a plethora of cutting-edge technologies aimed at elevating the driving experience. Alongside features like a head-up display and a night vision camera, the optional Touring Specification boasts Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Guidance. This system enables hands-free driving on extended highway journeys, offering alerts and guidance to assist in maintaining proper lane positioning. Additionally, Predictive Adaptive Cruise Control ensures a consistent speed on major roads, adjusting as needed for safe navigation through intersections.
The star of the show is the twin-turbocharged four-litre V8 engine, which delivers a good 770Nm of torque and 542 brake horsepower (resulting in an incredible top speed of about 290km/h). For comparison, last year’s Aston Martin DBX 707 churned out 697 horsepower while BMW’s top-spec SUV of 2023, the BMW XM Label Red, pushed out an incredible 748 horsepower, which are impressive for SUVs (but to be honest, rather excessive for Singaporean roads).
However, it’s the twin turbochargers of the Bentley Umbra that allow it to stand out among recent SUVs. Twin turbocharging involves using dual turbochargers to compress the intake air in an engine and, in the case of the Umbra, really pushes up overall power and efficiency. This setup allows for more precise control of the turbo boost, resulting in improved acceleration and performance and a more stable drive.
The Umbra goes from zero to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds, a shade slower than the Aston Martin DBX 707 (3.1 seconds) and the BMW XM Label Red (3.8 seconds), but it is a far steadier drive — one of the more elegant benefits of the twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The DBX 707 becomes harder to manage at high speeds, while the XM Label Red loses control at relatively lower speeds.
This was perhaps exemplified in early 2023 when BMW racing instructor Matt Mullins tried to establish a new record for a production car on Colorado’s Pikes Peak, a renowned hill climb. Before even reaching top speed, he lost control of the vehicle on a corner near the beginning of the course, causing it to overturn. Mullins escaped unharmed, but the Label Red he was driving sustained serious damage and had to be towed away.
Ultimately, the Bentley Umbra is a powerful SUV whose amazing control makes it perfect for Singaporean roads. The personalisation options give some exciting colours that pair very well with the dark colour of the base build. It’s larger than some SUVs, but the twin-turbocharged engine allows a wonderfully smooth ride. It’s a great family car — but we won’t blame our single readers for wanting to get one for themselves, either.
