Bentley has long been renowned for it’s exquisitely refined interiors but the new Bentley Mulsanne is expected to move to even higher standards of excellence when production begins later this year.

This will represent the final stage of a four-year journey that saw Bentley’s design team, led by Dirk Van Draeckel conduct a study to identify exactly what signature features have made Bentley synonymous with luxury and superior craftsmanship.

“Hundreds of cars were the subject of a painstaking review to define highly challenging targets for every facet of the new Mulsanne’s interior. This embraced key elements, such as materials, colour harmony and craftsmanship, ensuring the new Mulsanne will become the purest expression of Bentley design yet,” Mr Van Draeckel said.

Bentley’s study was so exhaustive that they discovered customers even wanted a certain luxurious smell from their leather. As a result, they have now reverted back to the traditional, more time consuming tanning process that creates the rich, mature leather aroma.

The Crewe-based production team chose these hides meticulously and apply the same level of attention to the full cabin. All stowage compartments are leather-lined, while the hand-sewn leather rim around the Mulsanne’s steering wheel takes two days to create, even longing if you’re after cross-stitching.

Not only can customers select the exact colour of the leather in their cabin, they also have an extensive variety of carefully carved veneers ranging from Walnut and Piano Black to Bird’s Eye Maple and Sapelli Pommele.

While Bentley have value never strayed away from tradition and elegance, the Mulsanne certainly hasn’t overlooked modern technology. A new 8-inch multimedia screen is housed in the upper dashboard and is hidden behind an electronic veneer door when not in use.

Bentley’s interior production team is so thorough that each Mulsanne’s interior requires 170 hours of attention. Robin Page, head of Interior Design believes there is one single production difference that sets them apart from other vehicle manufacturers: “we start where others stop.”

Bentley are convinced this meticulous approach to quality will mean each Mulsanne’s interior will be enjoyed for many years to come. As well as being subjected to an extensive array of durability tests such as skin lotions and human perspiration, each hide is tested over 20,000 times by people of varying height and weight to provide the most accurate assessment possible.

The new Mulsanne is Bentley’s new flagship grand tourer and the company will begin to make its first production examples in Crewe later this year.