Bentley has updated its flagship sedan, the Mulsanne, with a few styling changes and some new tech. There's nothing to get excited about when it comes to the engine, but the Mulsanne does get an extended wheelbase version.
The Mulsanne represents the pinnacle of Bentley craftsmanship and it requires 400 hours to be assembled and painted. All by hand. It takes 12 hours just to get the car polished, so you can get a sense of the amount of dedication that goes into making such a vehicle. Bentley has a reputation to protect and the Mulsanne has to be perfect in every way.
1. Exterior design &Features
Most of the changes brought on by the facelift are restricted to the front end, which gets revised fenders, hood, lights, bumper and stainless-steel grille. To further distinguish itself from the rest of the Bentley range, the updated flagship Mulsanne drops the mesh grille in favor of a flat, vertical one, inspired by (really) old models like the 8 Litre, Embiricos, and R-Type Continental. LED headlights flank the grille, while the outer lamps integrate concealed washers. The vents on either side of the lower bumper have been pushed out further towards the corners.
The side view reveals new, discreet B-shaped vents behind the wheel arches. As standard, the Mulsanne comes with 20-inch wheels. 21-inch ones are available at extra cost and standard on the Mulsanne Speed.
At the rear, there are redesigned LED taillamps incorporating a "B" design element, and a wider bumper. A huge selection of over 50 colors, as well as two-tone paint, is offered for the exterior.
2. Interior design, features and passenger space
The Mulsanne's interior features the classic near-vertical dash covered in burl veneer, a characteristic of all British luxury automobiles. Well, actually just Bentley and Rolls-Royce, because Jaguar has dropped that design. There are 13 available wood trim choices and every single bit of interior surface is covered either in wood, leather, stainless steel or wool. In case you're wondering, it takes about 150 hours for workers in Crewe, UK to handcraft the cabin of the Mulsanne.
The 14-way front and 8-way rear power seats have been redesigned, with two new styles available, Fluted or Quilted. Buyers get an overwhelming choice of 24 colors for the leather upholstery, either single or two-tone. Bentley being Bentley, the seats come standard with heating, ventilating and massaging functions. All four of them. Come on, you didn't really expect the rear middle seat to have the same comfort or features? In fact, we don't expect a Bentley ever to carry three back there, regardless of that third seatbelt. Luxury automobiles focus on four passengers, not five.
Speaking of which, rear passengers get their own illuminated fold-down vanity mirrors. And for the ultimate second row comfort, the Mulsanne now comes with an extended wheelbase variant. Rear-seat occupants get an additional 9.8 inches of legroom, their own separate sunroof, their own separate controls for the quad-zone climate control, electric curtains, and optional folding tables. More importantly, the Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase does away with the pointless rear middle seat, instead providing a console finished in veneer, metal, glass and leather, with features like USB ports, pen holders, cup holders and a glass-covered storage area. Oh, and the extended wheelbase version also comes with airline-style electronic leg rests, which are integrated into the bases of the rear seats.
Bentley resisted the temptation of converting the instrument panel to all-digital, keeping the analog speedo and tach from the outgoing model, with a large TFT display between them. An interesting feature of the Mulsanne is that the fuel and engine temp gauges are on the center console, not on the instrument panel. The new infotainment system features an 8-inch touch-screen. But unfortunately, Bentley hasn't modernized the controls on the center console and it still looks like the cockpit of an Apollo spaceship. The Mulsanne can be specced with a Naim audio system, boasting 20 speakers and a 2,200-watt digital amplifier.
3. Gadgets
The Mulsanne is basically an office on wheels, so gadgets and tech features abound. We'll skip over the regular stuff like voice control, Bluetooth, TV tuner, etc.
The car offers up to 60 GB of multimedia storage via a solid-state drive. It also comes standard with an integrated wi-fi hotspot, which is great, since rear passengers will need it to take full advantage of the two 10.2-inch, 32-GB Bentley Entertainment Tablets integrated into the backs of the front seats. Although they feature a custom interface, they are powered by Android, so you get access to all the apps available on any smartphone. The best thing about them? They're detachable, so you can take them with you when you leave the car, and they will work just like any other tablet. You can also stream music from the tablet through the Mulsanne's speakers, or you can send navigation destinations from the tablet to the car.
But tablets are mostly meant for fun, not for work, right? Well, fret not: the Mulsanne offers electrically-deployed iPad picnic tables. These workstations feature a charging function and Mac keyboards, so you can just dock your iPad and start typing that email to the Board of Directors. There's also an optional iPod dock in the center console.
4.Performance
The facelifted Mulsanne uses the same 6.75-liter V8 from the outgoing model, with an output of 505 horsepower and a maximum torque of 752 lb-ft, at 1,750 rpm. 60 mph comes in 5.1 seconds, which isn't bad at all, considering the car weighs almost 6,000 lb. Top speed is 184 mph. Although the V8 is the same engine that Bentleys and Rolls-Royces have been using for over half a century, constant updates have kept it relevant for modern vehicles. With technologies like cylinder deactivation and variable cam phasing, the 2017 Mulsanne has a fuel consumption of 11 MPG city and 18 highway.
On the Mulsanne Speed, the V8 puts out 530 horsepower and 811 lb-ft of torque, helping the car reach 60 in 4.9 seconds. Top speed is 190 mph. Both the Mulsanne and the Mulsanne Speed use an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission, but on the performance model it's recalibrated to make the best use of the extra oomph of the engine. The Mulsanne Speed also gets a recalibrated version of the air suspension system.
Using a dial next to the gear selector, you can switch the Drive Dynamics Control system between Bentley (default), Sport, Comfort, and Custom.
5.Safety
The Mulsanne is a modern luxury car, so, naturally, it comes with high-end safety features. Here are a few of them: adaptive cruise control with stop & go function, rear view camera, front cross-traffic camera, collision mitigation, and blind spot monitor. The high beam assist system is one of the most sophisticated ones around. Not only does it switch from high to low beam when oncoming traffic is detected, but it also changes the shape of the light beam. Depending on the speed of the vehicle, the system operates in three different modes: Town, Country, and Motorway.
6. Conclusion
The car is named for the Mulsanne Straight at the Le Mans track, where Bentleys have won six times over the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. However, the Bentley Mulsanne, even in its performance variant, the Mulsanne Speed, is no racer. But it is a magnificent, powerful beast
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