The
flagship model you see here is the Mulsanne Speed – one of three available
trims and its base price starts from RM 3 million. Unlike the Bentayga and Flying Spur, the Mulsanne is
only available with one engine, that is the 6.75 litre twin-turbo V8 engine. No fancy W12 here,
but that’s not a problem, because in Speed form, the engine produces 530 hp at
4,000 rpm and 1,100 Nm of torque that peaks from a lowly 1,700 rpm. That’s also
25 hp and 80 Nm more than the standard Mulsanne.
Bentley says the engine, which is entirely hand-made
by one person, makes the highest torque of any
luxury four-door saloon. It propels the 2,685 kg behemoth from standstill to
100 km/h in 4.9 seconds before topping out at 305 km/h. The L410 lump is not a
new engine mind you, because its roots can be traced all the way back to the
1950s.
Today, the V8 has been completely redeveloped and
features cutting-edge technology, such as cylinder deactivation and variable
cam phasing. It’s paired with a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission
(recalibrated for quicker response) that sends drive to the rear wheels. Also
on are the rifled sports exhaust and sport suspension.
If curiosity got the better of you, Bentley says it
consumes 15 litres of fuel per 100 km on the combined cycle, while emitting 342
grammes of CO2 per km. By the way, the fuel tank is 96 litres large, and the
annual road tax for this massive engine costs RM 19k.
It’s an extraordinarily long car, measuring in at
5,575 mm (the Extended Wheelbase stretches this to 5,825 mm), 1,926 mm wide,
1,521 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 3,266 mm. That’s huge by any stretch of the
imagination, and most of the vehicle’s assembly is manually done by hand.
The Speed gets full LED headlights with up to four
beam patterns as standard, and the beam throw varies according to vehicle
speed. There’s also GPS integration for optimum illumination in all driving
conditions. Round the side, it sits on 21-inch wheels straight out of the
factory, and underscoring its profile is a chrome strip that begins from the
Bentley vents. The rump gets a three-dimensional tail light design with the
customary “B-shaped” graphics.
Inside, customers get to choose from 24
premium-grade leather colours (13 dual-tone split options), a multitude of
veneers (with the optional carbon-fibre inserts) and full-leather headlining as
well. Standard on the Mulsanne Speed is the Mulliner Driving Specification,
which adds diamond-quilted seats, a knurled gear lever, organ stop air vent
controls and drilled alloy sport pedals.
Seen here with the Hot Spur red leather (primary
hide, Damson for secondary hide) finish is a cross-stitching pattern that’s
laboriously done by hand. This option alone costs RM 24,300, and all four seats
feature heating, ventilation and massage functions – an additional RM 18,900
option.
This particular car is fitted with the RM 104,900
Entertainment Specification package, which includes the Bentley Theatre, Naim
sound system and veneered “picnic tables.” Built into the rear section of each
front seat is a pop-up mechanism which houses the 10.4-inch Android-based
tablet. It’s detachable as well, featuring a 32 GB onboard storage with Google
Maps.
Other notable features of this Mulsanne Speed is the
refrigerated bottle cooler with frosted glass and bespoke crystal champagne
flutes (a RM 58,000 option), deep pile Wilton carpets (RM 7,700; a more premium
lambswool carpeting can be specified), corner view camera (RM 6,500) and
panoramic glass roof (RM 17,300). As pictured here, this Mulsanne Speed is worth
around RM 3.4 million, inclusive of tax.