Bentley’s latest Mulliner project starts with a small astronomy mistake. Its press release introduces three cars themed on the Sun, the Earth and the Moon, then describes their colors and materials as reflecting “each character of the three stars.” Only one of those is a star. The other two are a planet and a moon, which is a bit awkward in a project honoring the man who straightened out how those bodies relate to each other.
The trio is the Nicolaus Copernicus Collection, a three-car edition for Poland, announced from Crewe and Warsaw on September 21. Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke division, built it in close collaboration with Bentley Warsaw. The base cars are two Continental GT S coupes and one Continental GTC S convertible. Each car gets its own color theme, and all three share one heliocentric motif.
Astronomy aside, it’s a thoughtful commission.
Sun, Earth and Moon
Sun is the convertible, a GTC S painted Manuka Orange. Inside, it combines orange main hides with Gravity Grey secondary hides, adds Copper Stone veneer inlays on the dashboard and door waistrails, and finishes with orange stitching and carpet binding. Making the Sun the car with the folding roof was a smart choice. It’s the only one that can actually point its cabin at the real thing.
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Earth is a GT S coupe in a bespoke Nebula Blue. Aegean Blue main hide wraps the dash, seat bolsters and headrests, with Imperial Blue as the secondary hide. Galaxy Stone veneer, the chrome specification, silver contrast piping and a satin-painted Imperial Blue center console complete it.
Moon is the other coupe, finished in bespoke Moonstruck silver. Its cabin uses dark Beluga hide, with lighter Ice leather on the outer seat sections, headrests, center console, dashboard leather and door inlay stripes. It’s the most restrained of the three, which suits the only body in the set that doesn’t generate its own light.
Eight planets Copernicus never counted
What ties the cars together is what Bentley calls the “Copernicus Diagram.” It’s an eight-part motif of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, applied to the center console, the front and rear quilting panels, the welcome lamps and the convertible’s tonneau cover.
Here’s the history lesson hidden in that motif. Copernicus published his heliocentric model in 1543, and his book dealt with only the five classical planets beyond Earth, from Mercury through Saturn. Uranus wasn’t identified until 1781, and Neptune wasn’t found until 1846, centuries after Copernicus died. So the diagram named after him includes two planets he never knew existed. That’s fine. The motif is about modern solar-system design, not an archive reproduction. But if a Polish owner wants to win an argument at a car show, now they know how.
The extras go further than usual even for Mulliner: bespoke treadplates, a custom key box, a unique fragrance, Mulliner overmats, matching pocket squares and scarves, and a Spotify playlist.
Standard hardware underneath
Mechanically, nothing about these cars is special, and that’s a good thing for whoever ends up owning them. All three use Bentley’s High Performance Hybrid powertrain with the titanium sports exhaust, 22-inch Ten Swept Spoke wheels in gloss black and carbon-ceramic brakes.
Bentley’s own GT S technical briefing gives the numbers. The twin-turbo V8 makes 519 PS and the electric motor adds 190 PS. The combined output is 680 PS (671 bhp) and 930 Nm, with a 25.9 kWh battery. The chassis is Bentley’s Performance Active Chassis, with all-wheel steering, an electronic limited-slip differential, torque vectoring, twin-valve dampers and the ability to send up to 100 percent of torque to the rear axle.
If you’re doing the math, 519 plus 190 is 709, not 680. That’s normal for hybrids. The engine and the motor reach their peak outputs at different points, and the battery’s discharge limit caps what the motor can contribute at any given moment. The system figure is what actually reaches the wheels.
What owning one really involves
The expensive part of a car like this isn’t the drivetrain. It’s everything that makes it a one-off.
Paint: Nebula Blue and Moonstruck are both bespoke colors. After even a minor scrape, a body shop can’t just scan the fender and mix a match from a standard code library. The formula has to come from Bentley, and blending a one-off shade across adjacent panels takes a very skilled painter. Expect longer repair times and higher bills.
Interior trim: The stone-named veneers, the embroidered and embossed diagram, and the custom tonneau cover all have to be made again if they’re damaged. A replacement console or tonneau means another order to Mulliner, not a parts-counter pickup.
Insurance: A standard policy settles on market value, and a one-of-one car doesn’t have a market value until it sells. Owners should look at agreed-value coverage that spells out who repairs bespoke materials and whether factory-original replacements are covered.
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Provenance: The scarves, pocket squares, key box and fragrance may seem like decoration now. At auction in 20 years, they’ll be part of what proves this is the real car. Keep every piece with the paperwork.
Why Mulliner keeps doing regional sets
This isn’t a one-time gimmick. Bentley has been steadily turning Mulliner into a way to produce curated series, including a recent plan to release seasonal bespoke series. Letting a retailer co-develop a themed set gives local dealers something no other market can offer, and it helps the factory’s most profitable division stay busy. Bentley’s EMEA regional director, Richard Leopold, presented the Copernicus cars as an example of Mulliner working closely with the retail network.
The takeaway is simple. Three Continentals got a genuinely clever theme and a very thorough execution, all on hardware that any Bentley dealer can service. Just don’t let the release’s author explain astronomy to your kids.
Images Via: Bentley
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