The name is distinctly French, derived from the LeMans racetrack straightaway,where revered Bentleys of the day thundered their way to five checkered flags. While Bentley’s flagship Mulsanne pays undeniable homage to its old-school racing past, it’s also a 21st-century stately British grand tourer par excellence — and an instant contemporary classic.
The Mulsanne experience begins simply enough: Just open the door, get in and savor the perfume of the buttery best from 17 hand-selected, hand-stitched hides. The vast cabin, a forest of mirror-polished, book-matched high-quality timber and deliciously thick wool carpet, is the summit of elegance.
Everything is artfully designed to do something in an extraordinary way. The console button surfaces are topped with glass for a cool, polished feel. The gleaming steel organ-stop pulls on the dash are climate-control vent switches, specially damped to glide smoothly and soundlessly. Even the retro black-needle speedometer packs a surprise, unspooling counterclockwise like Bentleys of old.
All this is breathtaking, and you haven’t even started the engine yet. When you do, the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8 burbles to life, packing 505 horsepower and a stump-pulling 752 pound-feet of torque, propelling the 3-ton Mulsanne from zero to 60 miles per hour in just over five seconds. Even a slight tap of the accelerator at virtually any speed tells you that there’s a whole lot more where that came from. Handling is shockingly nimble for such a gargantuan vehicle, with a surprising amount of road-feel feedback through the steering wheel.
Options abound, of course. Want to match your vehicle’s interior and exterior with your bichon frise’s coat and eyes, respectively? No problem. Prefer to be chauffeured? Super. Customize the rear quarters to include power-operated rear privacy curtains, reclining massage seats and leather-wrapped picnic tables that flip open and hold iPads connected through the onboard Wi-Fi.
There’s more, but you get the picture. Indeed, fantasizing about the Mulsanne’s infinite options is an entertaining indulgence even if you’ll never own one. And with a base price of $298,900 and annual production of just 1,000, it’s pretty evident that most of us won’t.
With 2013 deliveries at 19 percent over 2012, Bentley is the most sought-after luxury brand in the world. The 3,700 dedicated craftspeople at the company’s longtime English home in Crewe, Cheshire, have clearly poured their hearts and souls into building the Mulsanne as more than just transportation — it’s an impeccable vehicle for the ages.