LONDON: Bentley has introduced its pinnacle in-car audio system – Naim for Mulliner – across a dedicated series of cars built around it.
The Virtuoso Collection is an exclusive series of cars featuring the Naim for Mulliner system combined with refined materials, unique embroidery, and Champagne Gold detailing inspired by high‑end musical craftsmanship.
Available across the Continental GT, Continental GTC and Bentayga, the Virtuoso Collection is offered in three curated themes – Soprano, Tenor and Bass – ranging from serene, light interiors to darker, more dramatic specifications with deep textures and rich tonal contrasts.
With a partnership with Naim spanning over 15 years, and over 10,000 hours of innovation developments alone to produce the pinnacle ‘Naim for Mulliner’ for Batur, the logical next step was to share the learnings to create an audio system for the Virtuoso Collection.
The unique ‘Naim for Mulliner’ system for the Virtuoso Collection uses 18 speakers, plus two upgraded drivers (originally developed for Batur).
Working closely with Dolby Laboratories, music is brought to life through the integration of Dolby Atmos.
With Dolby Atmos, sound moves freely in a multi-dimensional space with remarkable clarity and depth, delivering a truly immersive audio experience.
With the enhanced hardware, Bentley’s audio engineers also used Fraunhofer Symphoria to develop the sound stage for each particular car.
Fraunhofer Symphoria is a high-quality rendering technology for two and three-dimensional surround sound in cars.
Soft Dinamica inserts have been strategically placed within the door panels to absorb unwanted frequencies and vibrations.
Even the bespoke ‘Naim for Mulliner’ speaker grilles have been revised to deliver a 26 per cent increase in the acoustic transparency, allowing sound to pass with minimal interruption.
The overall results in a richer, more immersive audio experience, crafted exclusively for Mulliner.
The new speakers featured in the Naim for Mulliner system are derived from Focal’s Grand Utopia speakers, and for both mid-range and tweeters feature patented 'M' cones.
The exclusive 'M'-profile made from a single piece (without a core cover) provides incredible rigidity and perfectly combines the three critical criteria for a speaker driver: rigidity, lightness and damping.
This enables an extremely linear frequency response with a low distortion rate and better sound dispersion.
The new hand-wound Focal driver units feature an increased height of 15mm, providing 20 per cent more cone movement for greater articulation and a broader dynamic range.
The tweeter has been chosen to produce a silky treble – its distinctive wide-angle diffusion is beneficial for the 'off-axis' listening of in-car environments.
Comprising an 'M'-profile aluminium/magnesium cone, it delivers flawless harmonic balance and impressive purity.
The combined system produces a sound that is immersive, exhilarating, warm and powerful.
