2011 Bentley Mulsanne debuts at Monterey
Bentley has unveiled the 2011 Mulsanne, the company’s all-new flagship grand tourer, at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in Monterey, California. The car is not a replacement for Arnage. While Arnage ends production this year the Mulsanne will be positioned “at the pinnacle of the ultra-luxury segment.”
The Mulsanne is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentley’s crowning achievement in 1930, the 8-liter. And it was W.O.’s own carefully preserved company car that shared the podium with the new Mulsanne in Pebble Beach. This early motoring masterpiece represented the last big Bentley that was designed, engineered and built from the ground up by Bentley engineers – until now.
Nearly 80 years later, while paying respect to this illustrious past, the new Mulsanne is a thoroughly modern statement of luxury driving and grand touring. Conceived, styled and engineered entirely at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, the Mulsanne, with its completely new platform, goes into production next year in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe factory.
The Bentley design team, lead by Dirk Van Braeckel, have created a flagship that offers the classic sporting, styling cues long-associated with Bentley – expressed in a thoroughly contemporary way.
The return of the Mulsanne name to a car carrying Bentley’s iconic ‘Winged B’ emblem underlines the company’s racing pedigree and nowhere reflects that heritage better than the famed Le Mans circuit, the scene of no fewer than six Bentley triumphs. Few places offer a stronger or more emotive connection with the Bentley marque than the famed Mulsanne corner.
The Bentley 8-liter displayed alongside the Mulsanne in California was first shown at the 1930 London Motor Show. It was the second-built and was W.O. Bentley’s company car for two years. Capable of reaching more than 100 mph, the 8-liter demonstrated W.O. Bentley’s ambition and ability to build a grand luxury car capable of surpassing every other leading manufacturer of the day. A total of 100 cars were built in 1930 and 1931.
The Bentley Mulsanne will go on sale from mid-2010. It will also be displayed at the forthcoming IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009, where Bentley will provide additional product information.