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Car of the Month - April 2020
Bentley Mulsanne, 2010, #SCBBA63Y2BC015387
4-door saloon
The Bentley Mulsanne is named after the Mulsanne Straight of the Le Mans racing circuit; it is the stretch of the course where the highest speed is is attainable. In the past Bentley cars had won six victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It has been that ‘glorious background’ which ignited to revive the name. That had been used previously – over a time-span from 1980 thru 1992 – when a Bentley Mulsanne was among the portfolio when parallel to Bentley cars the models from the Rolls-Royce range, too, had been produced at Crewe.
The conclusion for the new model might have been proceeded to use the 6750cc, V8 power unit that had propelled the predecessor, i.e. the Bentley Arnage, was not entirely correct. Shoehorned into the engine bay was a considerably lighter power-plant with major components completely re-engineered. New features had been phased-in, e.g. cylinder de-activation and variable cam phasing making use of highly advanced digital engine-management which hitherto had not been found in any Bentley motor car.
As regards the model's designation Bentley had accepted a faint echo from an era when another marque, which in the meantime had been taken over by a competitor and now was a serious concurrent, had its home at the Crewe factory. However it was heralded chrystal-clear that past was a closed chapter in the company's history. Bentley pointed out the new Bentley Mulsanne was the first flagship car to be independently designed by Bentley Motors in nearly 80 years; the last having been the Bentley 8 Litre from 1930 which had been designed by the legendary W.O. Bentley.
