Nearly 80 years later, while paying respect to this illustrious past, the new Mulsanne is a thoroughly modern statement of luxury driving and grand touring. Conceived, styled and engineered entirely at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, the Mulsanne, with its completely new and unique platform, goes into production next year in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe factory. The Luxurious Cars - Bentley Mulsanne luxury 2010 design team, lead by Dirk van Braeckel, have created a flagship that offers the classic sporting, styling cues long-associated with Bentley - expressed in a thoroughly contemporary way. Mulsanne is an entirely new car, designed, engineered and to be manufactured at our factory in Crewe, England. This early motoring masterpiece represented the last big Bentley that was designed, engineered and built from the ground up by Bentley engineers - until now. Bentley Motors unveiled the Mulsanne, the company’s all-new flagship grand tourer, at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in Monterey, California. The Mulsanne was inspired by the 8-litre Bentley of 1930-31, which at the time was the largest and most luxurious cars in the world and was conceived as a halo car at the top of the Bentley range. And it was W.O.’s own sensitively conserved company car that shared the podium with the new Mulsanne in Pebble Beach.The return of the Mulsanne name to a car carrying Bentley’s iconic ‘Winged B’ emblem underlines the company’s racing pedigree and nowhere reflects that heritage better than the famed Le Mans circuit, the scene of no fewer than six Bentley triumphs. Few places offer a stronger or more emotive connection with the Bentley marque than the famed Mulsanne corner. The Bentley 8-litre displayed alongside the Mulsanne in California was first shown at the 1930 London Motor Show.To push around that 5,700 pounds, Bentley has opted to use a 6.75 litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine making 505-hp with a peak torque of 752 lb-ft. Mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission with electronic shift interface, sport mode and steering-wheel mounted paddle-shifters – the Bentley Mulsanne goes from 0-60 mph in 5.1 seconds with a top speed of 184 mph. Fuel-economy is estimated at a combined 14 mpg. It was the second-built and was W.O. Bentley’s company car for two years. Capable of reaching more than 100 mph, the 8-litre demonstrated W.O. Bentley’s ambition and ability to build a grand luxury car capable of surpassing every other leading manufacturer of the day. A total of 100 cars were built in 1930 and 1931.“The 8-litre’s breathtaking performance and quality was perhaps the finest example of a ‘pure’ grand Bentley. Every mechanical detail carried W.O. Bentley’s unique stamp and it was the clearest demonstration of a car built without compromise,” commented Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board Engineering. “The Mulsanne has been designed with exactly the same guiding principles, so it is entirely fitting that these Bentleys from different eras share the same stage.” The Bentley Mulsanne will go on sale from mid 2010.
Luxurious Cars - Bentley Mulsanne luxury 2010