Bentley Motors

By Tom Sangers

Bentley is the brand that captures class, style and sophistication. The newest offering from a brand that has background in luxury motor cars and smooth and comfortable travel has now been unveiled. This article will look at the latest serving from one of the pioneers of elegant motoring and how they maintained loyal to their identity.

The latest addition to the Bentley legacy of luxury cars is not a stones throw away from the high quality that you have previously come to associate with the Bentley name. The new Bentley Mulsanne is the new stylish car that Bentley Motors Limited is offering to the market as from 2010. This newest offering by the Bentley brand takes it name from the history that supports the Bentley brand which includes 5 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (the Mulsanne being the part of the course where the cars reach their highest speed).

Replacing the popular Arnage, Bentley’s latest flagship model was unveiled in 2009. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait until 2010 before you will be able to get your hand on it. The success of this model will determine what Bentley do next, but the interest that this car is generating is likely to mean it becomes a highly sought after model and the Coupe and Convertible editions are sure to follow.

The car has been paralleled as ‘a powerful athlete that is also a swift and graceful runner’ and it has also been said about it that ‘it captures a unique fusion of power, elegance and sporting style’. By looks alone this is a monster of a machine and with it come everything that you expect a Bentley to be.

This car is a modern taken on the classic Bentley style and although a modern look through and through there is a great deal of the original Bentley feel that resonates in the cars presence. “To achieve this look, we spent a lot of time studying iconic Bentleys over time – the Bentley 8 Litre, Flying Spur of the 1950s, Brooklands, Azure and Arnage were all touch points,” says Chief Exterior Designer Raul Pires.

More information is to be released about this much anticipated addition to the Bentley brand and nearer the time there is going to be plenty more reviews so watch this space. Continue Reading

By Grant Pearson

Bentley is one of the most famous names in the automotive industry. The name is essentially synonymous to the best in British car engineering, with its high level of sophistication, technology, manufacturing, and luxury, seen in all of its cars. Today, it is the brand of choice for many celebrities, businessmen, and affluent people, opting for famous models like the Continental T and the Azure that have placed very good numbers of Bentley sales. These 2 models, however, owe their lineage to a car named the Bentley Mulsanne, an iconic model that paved the way for many of Bentley’s famous modern models today.

The Mulsanne, named after the “Mulsanne Straight” of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was created with the intent of epitomizing the essence of what it is to be a Bentley car: high performance, topnotch luxury, advanced engineering. This was achieved by using some of the most expensive materials, machinery, and technology of its day, a truly top-of-the-line vehicle produced between 1980 and 1992.

Originally, the Mulsanne was equipped with a 6.75L Rolls-Royce V8 engine which had cylinder heads made out of aluminum alloy, with a 3-speed automatic transmission system. A Bosch fuel injection system replaced the original SU carburettors on cars made after 1986, and continued on until the end of production.

However, the original Mulsanne model was not the only one made. In 1982, the Geneva Motor Show saw the unveiling of the Mulsanne Turbo, a version of the Mulsanne whose main feature is a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger that gave a 50% increase in engine power. On top of this, the Mulsanne Turbo also featured an upgraded interior, using polished walnut veneered fascia, luxury carpets, pure wool headlining, and the best leather available.

It was a very exclusive car, with only 498 short wheelbase versions ever built, and eventually paved the way for the development of the Bentley Turbo R.

Another variant of the Mulsanne is the Mulsanne S, introduced in 1987 in an effort to revitalize the original. It didn’t have the extra engine power of the Turbo, but it featured many of the features that would appear in the Bentley Turbo R, like changes in the headlamps, wheels, suspension, and interior. It lasted for five years, with the last Mulsanne S appearing in 1992. Continue Reading

By Larmour Tan

A Blurb on the soon to be on sale Bentley Mulsanne from the Bentley website:

“Something large, fast, refined and comfortable. This philosophy resonates deeply at Bentley and has, over time, created a legacy that embodies all of these characteristics: record-breaking feats, daring exploits and a host of exquisitely handcrafted and beautifully engineered cars. Now, more than 90 years later, the all-new flagship Bentley Mulsanne embodies W.O Bentley’s passion. It is a powerful and elegant driver’s car like nothing else on the road.”

It is good news that Bentley is coming out with a replacement for the Arnage, which has been around since the end of the last century. It will have the usual Bentley 6.75-litre V8 but it is redesigned with modern features so that it will meet Euro 5 emissions regulation as well as being lighter and with ‘new’ technology like cylinder de-activation and variable cam timing. Looks like Bentley has decided to leave the 1950s at last. Not that I really care, as I always loved the old 6.75-litre engine that has been around basically unchanged since those days in the pre-split up with Rolls Royce, especially in its Turbocharged form in the Turbo R versions. I have had the pleasure of listening to a 1970s Rolls Royce Corniche being started a few years ago and it is a characterful V8 lump. Not as silent as you think as it burbles like a traditional V8.

I do not know how much Bentley is going to charge its customers in Singapore, but in the United Kingdom, the land of tea, macaroons and scones, it will sell for a starting price of £220,000 beginning September 2010. Each car will take 9 weeks to build and there will be 114 paint choices, 21 carpet colours, 9 wood veneers and 24 different leather hides. But if the customer isn’t happy with the choices, they can always specify a custom colour and leather schemes subject to cost of course. All the latest technology that you can find in an Audi can be found in this new Bentley (as Bentley is owned by the Volkswagen-Audi Group) and you can specify a NAIM audio system, whatever that is as I am not an audiophile, iPod/MP3 user inputs and a derivative of the Audi MMI system.

Yes, yes, yes. You can find all of these information plastered somewhere on other websites but let’s now go back to the blurb posted above. Especially the part where it says ‘handcrafted’. This would mean that the Bentley Mulsanne is hand assembled by some blokes in overalls at the Bentley factory in Crewe, England. But this statement should not be taken too seriously as I’ve read that parts of the Mulsanne will be built by R2D2.

Yup. Bentley has allowed robots to assemble parts of the Mulsanne. R2D2 will then weld half of the 6,300 spot welds in the car. According to the report, the reason they’re using robots instead of having Harry the welder do it is so that there is a balance between actual craft and repeatability. Continue Reading