Bentley Mulsanne Archives

Final Bentley Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase Joins Heritage Collection

Bentley Motors has added a bespoke 2020 Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase to its Heritage Collection, marking the final example of the Mulsanne handcrafted at Bentley’s Dream Factory in Crewe. This particular Mulsanne was commissioned for the late Queen Elizabeth II and includes various custom features for royal duties. The exterior is in solid Barnato green, paired with an interior in Twine and Cumbrian hide, Burr Walnut wood veneers, and deep lambswool carpets.

The specifications include rear privacy curtains, the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom inlaid into the door waistrails, and a custom-sized tray to accommodate the Queen’s handbag, replacing the front center armrests. Additionally, discreetly concealed blue police lights, a siren, and a bullhorn were installed, with a dedicated switch panel hidden behind a walnut-veneered door.

The car is powered by Bentley’s famous 537PS 6.75-litre V8 engine, rides on 21” alloy wheels, and features chrome brightware for the grille and front wing vents, along with the iconic Flying B. This Mulsanne will be the third and final one in Bentley’s Heritage Collection, joining the second Mulsanne ever built and a 2019 Mulsanne Speed that previously served on Bentley’s press fleet.

The Mulsanne, initially launched in 2009, underwent several updates during its production, with the final 30 series production cars forming the unique ‘6.75 Edition by Mulliner’ in 2020. The name was derived from the car’s legendary 6.75-litre engine, which also came to the end of production after more than 60 years. The Heritage Collection is part of Bentley’s broader effort to rebuild its family of cars, covering the brand’s 104-year history.

Bentley’s Heritage Collection now comprises 45 cars, showcasing the evolution of the brand from the oldest Bentley, the 1919 3-Litre EXP2, to the 2021 Continental GT Speed. The collection includes 37 road-registered, road-legal cars that represent Bentley’s development over its 104-year history. In addition, eight motorsport and record-breaking vehicles are featured, including three Speed 8s, both generations of Continental GT3, and cars used for Pikes Peak and Ice Speed Records.

All the cars in the Heritage Collection are meticulously maintained and displayed at Bentley’s carbon-neutral Dream Factory in Crewe, England. Visitors, including customers, VIPs, media guests, and Bentley colleagues, can explore the brand’s rich history through the Collection as part of the factory tour experience.

The Mulsanne chapter in Bentley history ends

After more than a decade in production, the final Bentley Mulsanne has been completed. During that time, more than 7,300 handcrafted units have been produced of what is undoubtedly the ultimate luxury sedan.

The Mulsanne’s lineage, which comes to an end, can be traced back through Bentley’s history, from the original 8 Litre of 1930 – the last car designed and developed by W.O. Bentley himself – as the most luxurious, coach-built Bentley of its time.

The final unit is a Mulsanne Speed ‘6.75 Edition by Mulliner’ finished in Rose Gold over Tungsten. It will soon be on its way to a lucky customer in the USA. However, it has also been revealed that there is one extremely special unit, a final Mulsanne but its future home remains a closely guarded secret.

A true icon
“The Mulsanne is the culmination of all that we at Bentley have learnt during our first 100 years in producing the finest luxury cars in the world. As the flagship of our model range for over a decade, the Mulsanne has firmly solidified its place in the history of Bentley as nothing less than a true icon,“ said Bentley Chairman & Chief Executive, Adrian Hallmark.

“ I am immensely proud of the hundreds of designers, engineers and craftspeople that brought the Mulsanne to life over the last ten years. Now, as we begin Bentley’s journey to define the future of sustainable luxury mobility through our Beyond100 strategy, the role of Bentley flagship is passed to the new Flying Spur.”

In the last 11 years, over 700 people have invested nearly three million hours crafting Bentley’s ultra-luxury sedan. Producing the Mulsanne bodies required approximately 42 million spot welds, and creating the sumptuous leather interiors took more than a million hours alone. Nearly 90,000 hours have been spent polishing cars, before a total of over four million individual quality checkpoints.

Mulsanne 6.75 Edition by Mulliner
In 2020, the final series production cars formed the unique ‘6.75 Edition by Mulliner’ signifying the end of Mulsanne’s reign. Taking its name from the legendary 6.75-litre engine which, this year, also came to the end of production after more than 60 years, the ‘6.75 Edition’ was limited to only 30 units.

How Bentley ensures the highest quality for its cars

Celebrating 60th anniversary, Bentley’s V8 is the world’s longest-serving engine of its type in production

Bentley is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its venerable V8, the longest serving engine of its type in production. Originally fitted to the S2 model of 1959, the lasting appeal of the Bentley engine is proven by its continued application today in the luxurious Mulsanne limousine. Whilst every part of the original S2 engine has been re-engineered over the decades, the basic principles and dimensions that have defined the engine for the last 60 years remain the same.

“The original V8 was designed to deliver a step-change in performance, along with smoothness, reliability and refinement. The engine was tested over hundreds of thousands of miles in the toughest conditions, as well as at full throttle for 500 hours. The success of Bentley’s acclaimed 6¾-litre V8 today in the Mulsanne owes much to that ethos,” said Dr Werner Tietz, Member of the Board, Engineering at Bentley Motors.

The 6¾-litre V8 defined, and still delivers, the traditional Bentley ‘wave of torque’, unstressed performance and exceptional refinement and efficiency. It remains the beating heart of every flagship built over the last 60 years.

Origins of the engine
The development of the first Bentley V8 engine began when a replacement was needed for the inline 6-cylinder engine used in the Bentley Mark VI, R-Type and S1. The brief was to build an engine that was at least 50% more powerful than the 6-cylinder it would eventually replace, while occupying the same space under a bonnet with no increase in weight. A ‘V’ configuration was the natural choice.

The resulting 6.2-litre engine – the first V8 – was almost 14 kgs lighter than the 6-cylinder unit. It made its debut in the Bentley S2 of 1959. The car featured air conditioning, power steering, electrically-operated ride control and press button window lifts – the most luxurious equipment for a car of that era.

In Pursuit Of Excellence
The original V8 engine had to be redesigned to fit into the new Bentley T-Series cars introduced for 1965. The engine design team focussed on improving performance, while reducing the overall engine dimensions to fit the space available under a lowered bonnet. Engine capacity was increased to 6¾-litres in 1971 through an increase in stroke which delivered even more torque.

The arrival of the first Bentley Mulsanne in 1980 required major changes to the V8, not least the need for stricter emission controls and improved passenger safety in the event of a front-end impact. The latter included a collapsible water pump, which effectively shortened the engine by 10.1 cm.

The biggest single change to the engine was for the launch of the Mulsanne Turbo. With the fitment of a large single turbocharger, the 6¾-litre engine become the first forced-induction Bentley engine since those that powered Tim Birkin’s Blower Bentleys of the 1920s. Power and torque made a step change, and the single turbo set-up was eventually replaced by a twin-turbo design.

Fuel injection, variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation have all been engineered-in to the engine since. Power slowly climbed to levels above 500 bhp, while torque figures rose to exceed 1,000 Nm – for a time, the L-series V8 made more torque than any other automotive engine in the world.

Bentley also uses a smaller, 4.0-litre V8 engine in the Continental GT and Bentayga models. The twin-turbo is distinguished by a characterful, burbling exhaust note and develops 550 ps/770 Nm.

(more…)

Piston.my