Bentley Bacalar: its design inspires… a private jet
The beauty of bespoke, in the air. Aviation entrepreneur Kenn Ricci was inspired by his Bentley Bacalar and worked with Mulliner Design to create a bespoke, customized plane and helicopter, which have now joined the fleet of his private aviation company, Flexjet.
Kenneth C. Ricci (“Kenn”) is an American aviation entrepreneur, and literally a living aviation legend. He is the director of Directional Aviation Capital, the parent company of Flexjet, Sentient Jet, PrivateFly, FXAIR, and many others.
Owner of a Bentley Bacalar (and other models like the Continental GTC), Kenn Ricci liked the dark green finish and two-tone leather interior of his Bacalar so much that he copied the look for his Gulfstream G650 private jet and Sikorsky S-76 helicopter. Both aircraft feature silver and green liveries on the exterior, rather than a matching julep green paint scheme. Because subtlety is key here, of course.
The custom-built private jet and helicopter were inspired by Ricci’s Bentley Bacalar designs.
Inside, both aircraft feature custom seats inspired by the car’s upholstery. This includes a copper head shape and braided stitching in black and white, as well as linen and beluga leather trim on the seats of the Gulfstream G650 and Sikorsky S-76. Bentley claims that 148,199 individual stitches are required to embroider Bacalar’s unique quilt on each seat.
What’s more, the cockpit veneer was matched with the “5,000-year-old river wood made for the Bacalar cabin”, which Bentley says is Bacalar’s handcrafted veneer.
In the cockpit, there are bronze touch points, such as door handles and fittings throughout the cabin, as well as unique diamond-sculpted carpets.
According to Bentley, the trio of toys is worth around $300 million.
All the touches applied to both units were taken from Ricci’s own bespoke Bentley Bacalar. It’s also finished in Julep and wears a set of custom 22-inch tricolor wheels in satin dark gray with polished faces and Arctica highlights.
Satin bronze accents are found on the car’s headlights, beltline and exhaust tips, while satin carbon trim adorns the rear deck, hood vents, door mirrors and “power bumps”.
The plane’s seats were finished before those of the car. The jet and helicopter were also completed and delivered before Ricci received delivery of his own Bacalar.
The British luxury car brand notes that Mr. Ricci’s Bentley Bacalar is currently receiving its finishing touches.
If you’d like to see these planes for yourself, and maybe even take a flight in them, they’ll be joining the Flexjet fleet to take you anywhere in the world at any time.
The Bentley Bacalar made its debut over two years ago, in 2020, becoming one of the carmaker’s rarest two-door, open-top models. The company has produced just 12 examples, at a price of around €2 million.
Flexjet is a renowned U.S.-based provider of fractional-ownership aviation-related services, established in 1995 as a sub-unit of Bombardier Aerospace.
Credits Photos: ©Bentley
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