2010 Bentley Mulsanne

The Bentley Mulsanne has made history by becoming the first flagship car to be independently designed by Bentley Motors in 80 years. The last was the legendary W.O. Bentley’s 8 litre 1930 model. The name is derived from Bentley's historical racing pedigree, which included five victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans — the Mulsanne Straight being the stretch of the Le Mans racing circuit where cars reach their highest speeds. Coupe and convertible variants are expected to follow at some point as replacements for the Arnage-based Brooklands and Azure respectively, which were unveiled at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

It was confirmed at time of launch, that the car will retain the iconic 6.75 L (6750 cc/411 in³) V8 engine, albeit heavily modified to meet Euro V emissions regulations. To achieve the CO2 and emissions reduction as well as improved fuel consumption, the re-designed engine is lighter and features cylinder de-activation and variable cam phasing.

The price of the car in the United Kingdom will start from £220,000, including taxes and delivery charges. It is estimated that each car will take nearly nine weeks to build and customers will have a choice of 114 paint colours, 21 carpet colours, nine wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides, and be able to specify a custom colour scheme. Additionally, the car will have far more advanced technology compared to the Arnage, and can be specified to feature a Naim premium audio system complete with iPod/MP3 compatibility, with Bluetooth and an advanced MMI capability. The first vehicle produced has already been sold at an auction at the Pebble Beach event for around R3.7 Million