Bentley wowed us all when it flooded the internet with images of the glorious Bacalar, an aggressive two-seater based on the current-generation Continental GTC with design strokes signed by Bentley's famed coachbuilder Mulliner. Now, we're getting a peek at how a coupe version might look but you should withstand the urge to throw money in Bentley's general direction as this is merely an unofficial render.

From the ashes of the canceled 2020 Geneva Auto Show rose many models that were supposedly slated to make their debut in Switzerland and Bentley's eye-catching Bacalar would've surely attracted every and all camera lenses. As it happens, a web reveal is all we got but, alas, we've been drooling at the $2 million roadster ever since we laid eyes on it so we do hope Bentley's short-term plan includes a Bacalar with a fixed roof arching over the heads of the driver and his very special companion sitting in the passenger's seat.

More than just a Continental GT with an extra bit of fizz

Nowadays, we seemed to be swamped by limited-edition models and even one-offs are almost a dime a dozen. The bulk of the world's ultra-exotic automakers are constantly looking at ways to outdo one another when it comes to building four-wheeled contraptions that only the people filling Forbes' 'World's Billionaires' list can afford.

Upon seeing ludicrously expensive cars such as La Voiture Noire, Bugatti's $18.9 million Chiron-based one-off made as a tribute to the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, or the Rolls Royce Sweptail billed as the most expensive modern Roller ever thanks to its $13 million price tag, the Bacalar may seem mundane.

only costs about $2 million and Bentley will assemble 12 copies, all of which have already been spoken for.> But the Bacalar Is, for now, the rarest modern Bentley. If the tides turn in the world, Bentley hopes it will make other special models by knocking at Mulliner's door in the future.

One such model could be, Nikita Aksyonov suggests, a Bacalar Coupe. The graphic designer posted his own rendition of a closed-top Bacalar and it got us thinking. For starters, it oozes with sumptuous elegance while retaining all of the key design features that make the Bacalar unique but, at the same time, it arguably looks a bit too much like the standard Continental GT - a much more pedestrian offering at just $202,500 a pop.

Having said that, let's not forget what goes into the recipe for a Bacalar. You start off with the underpinnings of a Bentley Continental, albeit with the rear track widened by 0.8 inches. Under the hood, there's a twin-turbocharged, 6.0-liter W-12 engine cranking out a respectable 650 horsepower and 667 pound-feet of torque, figures that suffered no improvements over those of a standard Continental. But we know 650 horsepower is sufficient because, in spite of the fact that the Bacalar weighs some 5,000 pounds, it goes from naught to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds en route to a top speed of 200 mph.

Bentley Bacalar specifications

Engine

6.0-liter W-12

Horsepower

650 HP

Torque

667 LB-FT

0 to 60 mph

3.5 seconds

Top Speed

200 mph


We'd expect a coupe Bacalar to also lack seating in the back and that means only two people at a time would be able to feast their eyes with the gorgeous cabin loaded with posh materials. While entirely customizable, Bentley proposed for the Bacalar stuff like fine leather and wool upholstery, deep-pile carpeting, and Riverwood trim and the Bacalar shown in the official imagery boasts an obsessively intricate tweed upholstery with 148,199 stitches in its material.

The Bacalar coupe rendered here was painted In blue, probably a nod to the car's name that refers to a lake in Mexico whose blue waters are mirrored by the car’s digital displays. We hope a closed-top version would also be available in a range of unique colors such as Yellow Flame, the ultra-metallic tint on the Bacalar that was shown to the world.

At the end of the day, you could still argue the convertible will always look that extra bit more special due to its subdued roll hoops behind the headrests but, instead of seeing a potential Bacalar coupe as just a Bacalar with a roof, consider it the EXP 100 GT Concept from 2019 in production form. The round headlights and diamond-shaped taillights are all there so we can just about see it.