Bentley Bentayga Apex Edition by Mulliner

The Bentayga Apex Edition by Mulliner is a twenty-car programme announced on 29 April 2024, based on the V8 Bentayga S. Its defining equipment combines twenty-two-inch carbon wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes with curated liveries and bespoke cabins. The factory describes a combined forty-four-kilogram unsprung-mass saving from the wheels and brakes. The separately profiled Le Mans Bentayga is one documented member of this programme, not an additional twenty-first car.

Bentley Bentayga Apex Edition by Mulliner at a glance

A twenty-car programme on the Bentayga S foundation

Bentley announced the Apex Edition as a global twenty-car collection created through Mulliner. The base vehicle is the Bentayga S with a V8 engine, which distinguishes it from the W12 Bentayga Speed Edition 12 and the earlier Space Edition commission. This difference is fundamental to the profile. A shared SUV body family does not make the programmes mechanically interchangeable, and a performance-oriented name should not substitute for the actual derivative. The twenty-car figure is the announced worldwide programme limit. It should not be described as twenty cars for every curated design or twenty cars in addition to the Le Mans specifications. The latter are customer choices within the same Apex programme.

Carbon wheels change more than the appearance

The Apex specification includes twenty-two-inch Mulliner carbon wheels developed with Bucci Composites. Bentley’s launch account assigns the four wheels a combined twenty-four-kilogram unsprung-mass saving. It also explains the intended effects of their stiffness and lighter construction on steering and tyre behaviour. These are manufacturer engineering claims, which the article keeps attached to the dated source rather than presenting them as independently measured results. The wheels are nevertheless a concrete distinguishing feature of the programme. A visual record should show their construction and finish, then connect those observations with the factory specification. This makes the technical interest legible without reducing the edition to an exterior stripe or assuming that any black wheel is the documented carbon component.

The brake system completes the forty-four-kilogram reference

Carbon-silicon-carbide brake discs are another part of the Apex specification. The launch release describes more than twenty kilograms of saving against iron discs, while its headline combines the wheels and brakes into a forty-four-kilogram unsprung-mass reference. Keeping the combined scope matters. A later delivery release uses shortened wording that could be read as assigning the full saving to the wheels alone. This profile follows the more detailed launch breakdown: twenty-four kilograms for the four carbon wheels, with the brakes contributing the remainder to the combined reference. The distinction improves technical clarity and makes comparisons meaningful. It also avoids implying that the stated saving represents the car’s total kerb-weight reduction or a measured result for every customer specification.

The V8 model reference remains separate from the bespoke treatment

Bentley quotes 542 bhp, equivalent to 550 PS, and 770 Nm for the four-litre twin-turbocharged V8 Bentayga S foundation. The dated release gives 0–60 mph in 4.4 seconds, 0–100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and a 180 mph maximum speed, equivalent to 290 km/h. It also identifies Bentley Dynamic Ride and rear-wheel steering in the specification. These numbers provide context for the programme’s equipment; they are not proof of an additional Apex engine tune. The edition’s technical interest lies in the documented wheel and brake package together with its bespoke presentation. Readers can compare it with the W12 farewell SUV while preserving the different engine reference and the purpose of each programme.

Six curated design directions within one allocation

Mulliner offered six design themes as starting points for the Apex programme, alongside the possibility of further co-creation. The factory describes finishes including Candy Red satin, Anthracite, Orange Flame, Alpine Green, Pale Brodgar and Extreme Silver, each coordinated with a livery and interior arrangement. These themes are alternative specifications rather than six separately counted twenty-car editions. The launch photograph used here shows the Candy Red satin interpretation. Its caption identifies that role so readers do not assume all Apex cars are red. A complete programme article can explain the range of designs, while an individual-car file should preserve the actual chosen arrangement and any subsequent changes supported by documentation.

The central livery stripe ties body surfaces together

A painted stripe extending along the bonnet and roof forms part of the Apex exterior brief. The factory release presents it as a new treatment for the Bentayga, with different contrast and tonal approaches among the curated themes. Its interest lies in how a long visual line connects parts of a tall SUV body. The stripe can emphasise continuity across the bonnet and roof while smaller pinstripes outline lower aerodynamic components. This is a design reading of the documented treatment, not a statement about measured aerodynamic improvement. Photographs from more than one angle help record the relationship, especially where a subtle satin stripe uses the same base colour as the surrounding paint and can be difficult to interpret in flat light.

Carbon surfaces and edition identification inside the cabin

The Apex interior specification includes satin carbon-fibre surfaces, bespoke colour arrangements and edition identification on the waist rails. Bentley also lists five-seat Comfort Specification and Naim audio in the programme equipment. Seat embroidery and carbon-fibre treadplates continue the identity across surfaces encountered during entry and travel. Those details should be documented as a coherent cabin rather than treated as isolated rarity markers. The original specification is especially useful where a customer adapts one of the curated design themes. It can explain how selected hides, contrast stitching and veneer edging were coordinated, while the photographed condition shows the car at a particular date. Both pieces of evidence belong in a clear individual history.

The Le Mans specification belongs inside the Apex programme

Owners of the Continental GT or GTC Le Mans Collection could commission an Apex Bentayga in matching Verdant and Moonbeam livery with a corresponding interior theme. Bentley later documented one such car delivered to collector Mark King in March 2025. That individual car has a separate profile because it has its own supported commissioning and delivery story. It remains one of the twenty Apex cars, however, and must not be added to the programme as a new production allocation. The relationship is comparable to a historical chassis record within a model family: the scopes differ, but the count overlaps. The archive makes that overlap explicit and uses distinct photographs and article content for the programme and the individual commission.

How to recognise and document a surviving Apex

A useful Apex file brings together original build records, the carbon-wheel and brake specification, livery photographs, cabin identification and dated ownership documentation where it is publicly supported. No single stripe or badge should replace that evidence. A later change to wheels, trim or paint should be recorded as a change rather than concealed beneath a generic edition description. The programme’s significance is the combination of a small announced allocation, specific performance equipment and Mulliner co-creation. Comparing it with Edition 12 and the Bentayga X Concept reveals three different ideas of a special SUV: an engine tribute, a customer performance programme and an experimental off-road concept. Their related profiles preserve those identities and their separate count scopes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Apex Edition’s announced limit?

Twenty cars worldwide across the programme, including its different curated and customer specifications.

Is the Apex based on the W12 Bentayga Speed?

No. The cited programme uses the four-litre V8 Bentayga S foundation.

Do the carbon wheels alone save forty-four kilograms?

The detailed launch breakdown gives twenty-four kilograms for the four wheels. Forty-four kilograms is the combined wheels-and-brakes unsprung-mass reference.

Is the bespoke Le Mans Bentayga an extra car beyond twenty?

No. The documented Mark King commission belongs within the Apex programme; its separate article is an individual-car record.

Explore related Bentley profiles

• Bentley Bespoke Le Mans Bentayga Apex Edition
• Bentley Bentayga Speed Edition 12
• Bentley Bentayga X Concept

Primary sources

• Bentayga and Mulliner reach new peaks with the Apex Edition
• Bentley collector takes delivery of bespoke Le Mans Bentayga to complete a unique stable

Identity, specifications and chronology are sourced to the dated manufacturer records. Design interpretation and documentation guidance are editorial analysis. Announced limits remain separate from completed production populations and individual-car records.

Photography and credits

Candy Red satin Bentayga Apex Edition in Bentley’s April 2024 collection launch photography. Photo: Bentley Motors / Bentley Newsroom · Editorial reproduction only. Resized and JPEG encoded without cropping or content changes. Copyright Bentley Motors. Editorial reproduction only, excluding advertising, marketing and sales-related activity. Individual photographer not identified.

The Candy Red satin Apex Edition launch Bentayga in the manufacturer’s driving imagery. Photo: Bentley Motors / Bentley Newsroom · Editorial reproduction only. Resized and JPEG encoded without cropping or content changes. Copyright Bentley Motors. Editorial reproduction only, excluding advertising, marketing and sales-related activity. Individual photographer not identified.