Bentley Mulsanne unveiled at Pebble Beach

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By Anthony Crawford | August 17th, 2009

Meet the new Bentley Mulsanne, the world’s most luxurious Grand Tourer, which will go on sale from mid 2010.

There is no word on pricing as yet, but as the saying goes, “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it”.

Inspired by the legendary W.O. Bentley and his famous 8-litre Limousine of 1930, which was the last, big Bentley designed and engineered from the ground up, until now.

Conceived, styled, and built at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, the new Bentley Mulsanne is a completely new and unique platform, and will be built in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, within the factory compound.

Lead designer at Bentley Dirk Van Braeckel, said of the Mulsanne project,

“From the very first hand sketches in the styling studio, we were inspired by the grand touring Bentleys and have sought to evolve this story for a new generation of Bentley enthusiasts”

The Bentley 8-litre was a truly awesome car, capable of reaching speeds above 160km/h, while providing unsurpassed luxury on the road.

This was pure Bentley, so its no surprise that W.O. as he was known, chose the “8” as his company car for over two years.

The new Bentley Mulsanne will be displayed at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, where more detailed information will be available.

Tentacles

Oh no, what have they done to those front lights? Arnage is a much classier car in my eyes. This has the potential to grow on me though, best leave final judgment until seeing one in the flesh.
NacaYoda

I’ll take the black one pictured. Looks like an asthetic designer actually had a hand in that model. The “Gold” one, not so much.
Dude

This thing is just butt-ugly, at least the Mayach has elegance and the Rolls has presence.
Deco

Wtf at the lights lol, Rolls please.

CA fix up some grammar at “There is no word on pricing as yet, but as the saying goes, “if you have TO ask, you can’t afford it”.”
Iz

I actually really like it, its also got a kinda cutesy smiling face at the front (for whatever reason that may be).
RdS

hehe.. really does look like its grinning from the front. damn those headlights look like eyes!
Golfschwein

metallic brown…noice…coke bottle hips… aha…quarter vents…OMG!!!

IT’S THE NEW HOLDEN PREMIER!!!!!

I love it.
Rob

Wow … speeds above 160km/h eh?
Anthony

Yeah Rob, not bad for a 1930 Grand Tourer is it.
Jazrod

Well… I like it… haha. (y)
http://Caradvice.com.au Baddass

The rest of the car is so achingly beautiful, why those headlights? I agree with Tentacles, it will grow on me. If you were seriously miffed by those headlights, you could probably get new headlight covers after-market. If you had the money, which I’m guessing you would if you were buying this Bentley. I’m glad they brought back the Mulsanne name though.

Go Bentley! Best luxury car maker ever!
GTR

This thing must weigh near 3 tonnes.

It looks great overall but what is with those headlights!?!
Shak

You should look at this car from the rear first, so that by the time you get to those hideous headlights you’ve seen enough good car to last you for quiet a while.
Steve-Poyza
Alex

That’s a seriously ugly vehicle!! Although most who have the money to buy one have usually suffered a taste bypass anyway!
Sgt.Sweetchuck

Wow … speeds above 160km/h eh?

Rob, they are talking about the 1930′s car
Dimwit.
Original Alex

I don’t mind it, but it will certainly need to grow on me a bit. What’s with every manufacturer releasing the first pictures or indeed the first car in that pale gold colour? It’s a nice colour, but I’ve yet to see a car that it actually looks good on. It’s the same case with the BMW Z4. I reckon this will look so much better in black or dark green. Right now it looks a bit Chinese, mainly because those headlights don’t sit right.
I’m pretty sure I will grow to love the styling, but right now the Continental Flying Spur and the Arnage both look better to me.
But I suppose the most important thing is that it still looks far better than the Maybach and I think that as soon as we see pictures of a black one with different wheels, most people will love it.
DGS

The front looks a bit like a London Black Cabs’.

Rich mans Taxi?
zahmad

Not a great looker at the front!
Wheelnut®™

The front end of this car is s-o-o-o ugly it makes even a Maserati look attractive.
http://Caradvice.com.au Baddass

Alright guys, the headlights are ugly. Now moving on…
Golfschwein

Put it into perspective: this or a wide body Camry wagon? Who’s ugly now?
Shak

Wheelnut what is wrong with you. Maserati’s make some people jizz, without even starting the engine.
Wheelnut®™

Shak – only those who are 16 y.o and haven’t seen [or heard] an Aston Martin
Shak

Fair enough Astons may have the looks of goddesses but the Maser wasnt hit by the fugly stick. ANd compared to this attrocity, its gorgeous.
crouchy

hmmmm I’m assuming they used those headlights as a ‘homage’ to the original..

Circle headlights looked right back then.. not anymore
Alex

Shak, I wouldn’t bother if I were you. I’ve tried to explain to Wheelnut before that the majority of people think that Maseratis are stunning so he should stop writing that they’re ugly on completely unrelated stories as if he’s waiting for people to agree with him, but he doesn’t seem to understand that he’s one of the very few that don’t like them.
peter

so thats where the old wrx headlights ended up, kudos to bentley for recycling – not!
Steve

If I get to sit in one before I die I’ll be happy, but since I probably wont I doubt Bentley will be too upset about what I think.
I like the little touches like the fixings around the grilles and how they’ve engineered the chassis so the car can have such a low ride height without allegedly compromising ride comfort and dynamic performance. Not that your average “rap artist” will ever take it to its limits.
Would be nice to see what they’ve done with the interior and how it compares with the new XJ, which in my opinion is the best of the crop this year.
Dude

Wheelnut i agree what you… Masers are ugly!
Alan

I think it’s very elegant looking, but somehow lacking presence compared to a Phantom for something costing around a million dollars. I’m most surprised by the engine, they’ve decided to update the 6.75L V8 instead of giving it a new engine, that engine is quite ancient
James

VW have just killed the Bentley brand. There are just so many things wrong with this that I don’t know where to begin…

Firstly, the Bentley “Mulsanne”… are you kidding me? They’ve tried to use a classic name from Bentley’s history to disguise what is a Volkswagen creation. This is not a Bentley. This is badge engineering.

Secondly, the styling. Just look at it – it’s obscene. They’ve taken an Arnage and tried to make it look like a sibling of the Continental. The result is a fugly sister. There are so many competing elements that there’s no cohesion, let alone elegance. What a disgraceful mess.

I could go on – and maybe I will later – but for the time-being, I feel that we need to take the time to mourn the death of Bentley.

RIP Bentley.

We’ll miss you.
Golfschwein

Stick with it, James. I see it as renewing the brand. It’s the first Bentley sedan in roughly fifty years that’s not a Rolls Royce with a flat radiator grille and the first all-new design since 1930, like the article says.

I love it, headlights and all, and the fourth photo has been my wallpaper since Monday. Naturally, I was joking when I suggested it’s the new Holden Premier. I meant Brougham.
The Salt

James, what is it with so many people blindly assuming that Bentleys are just Volkswagens underneath? This makes my SO angry. They said in the article that this car was built completely from the ground up and that it doesn’t even share a platform with any other vehicle. Are you blind?

The ONLY conneciton between the Mulsanne and a Volkswagen is that they are both ultimately owned by the same company. Just like Lamborghini is owned by VW. Nobody criticises a Gallardo for being a VW, and there’s no reason that this should be any different.

Wake up.