Bentley Mulsanne
(Bentley Motors, Crewe, England) Today,
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 is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentley’s crowning achievement in
1930, the 8-litre. And it was W.O.’s own sensitively conserved company
car that shared the podium with the new Mulsanne in Pebble Beach. This
early motoring masterpiece represented the last big Bentley that was
designed, engineered and built from the ground up by Bentley engineers -
until now.
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.
Introducing the Bentley
Mulsanne at Pebble Beach, where Bentley was the featured marque, Dr.
Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors,
said:
“The challenge we set our engineers was to create a
new grand Bentley that would stand as the pinnacle of British luxury
motoring, offering the world’s most exclusive driving experience. They
have responded to this challenge with real passion and the result is a
luxury grand tourer that sets new standards in terms of comfort,
effortless performance and hand-crafted refinement – the very qualities
for which Bentley is renowned.“
The Bentley 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.
“From the very first
hand sketches in the styling studio, we were inspired by the traditions
of the grand touring Bentleys and have sought to evolve this story for a
new generation of Bentley enthusiasts.”
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. 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.”
79114|2153