"It takes 400 hours to build just one Mulsanne; the interior alone requires over 170 hours."
There is no true way to pay homage to past Bentleys.
When the design and engineering teams were given the task to execute the new
car, the brief was simple: design and build the most supreme of Bentleys, a car
that W.H O Bentley himself would be proud of and a car that represents the peak
of British luxury motoring. The Mulsanne is the convergence of the most
dramatically and intricately designed Bentley ever, where no compromise was the
real incentive.
The Drive
The backdrop to our test drive was the area
surrounding the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, all the way to the English border.
No other mode of transport would have offered the comfort, serenity and luxury
the Mulsanne did. No other would have had so many cow hides, tree stumps and
finely crafted metals so lovingly put together with the greatest care,
attention and above all detail.
The Mulsanne may look like a limousine but it
doesn’t drive like one. There is an underlying firmness to the suspension even
in its softest setting that brings outstanding levels of body control at the
usual cost of some compromise to hit isolation.
If you want to drive a car that copes with difficult
roads with more style and accuracy than any 2.6 tonne, 4-seat saloon has a
right to, look no further. The Mulsanne is not agile - nothing this heavy,
sitting on that wheelbase, ever could be - but it is quick to respond, precise
and unrestrained. The word fun is not exaggerated at all!
How nice it was when I sat in the rear seats and
though of writing a cheque! In fact, if you’re to be denied the wheel, it’s
probably a better place to pass the time than as a front seat passenger.
Criticism is small. I saw in fact some little blind
spot at the end of C-pillar and notable noise sound, but overall the cabin’s
touch design is clean and will ease drivers and passengers to buy one.
New-fangled Engine
The softness of the heavily revised 505bhp
twin-turbo 6.75 liter V8 is a fundamental characteristic for a genuine Bentley
driving experience. Quality sensors in the engine recognize air and petrol
quality and automatically switch into a different mode with adjusted blast-off
points. And that’s not the only piece of scam this engine has up its sleeve.
Up to speeds of 120 kph on light throttle loads, the
ECU shuts off four of the eight cylinders in a bid to save fuel - Bentley declares
economy improvements of around 15% over the outgoing Arnage. The key here is to
make the shut-down and start-up process unnoticeable from inside the cabin, and
that’s exactly what it achieves throughout the test run. The ZF-developed 8-speed
automatic gearbox sails through its evaluation, proving to be fast and super-smooth.
An advanced air suspension system provides the car’s
pillow ride and benefits from three settings that allow the driver to tailor
the Mulsanne’s behavior - Sport, Comfort and B. B stands for the mode
recommended by Bentley, the ideal conciliation between handling and comfort.
New Design Philosophy
The design of the new Bentley Mulsanne is a unique
fusion of sportiness, coach-built elegance and solidity. Echoing the Bentley
S-Type of the 1950’s, the Mulsanne features a bold frontal design dominated by
the traditional Bentley matrix grille and highly prominent, classic round inner
headlamps with chrome surrounds, flanked by two smaller outboard lamp clusters,
all featuring the latest in lighting technology. The iconic 'Flying B'
retractable radiator mascot is available as an option.
The long bonnet, short front overhang and long rear
overhang help to convey a sense of power and movement, reinforced by muscular
haunches and sharply sculptured lines which flow gracefully from the front
wings to the rear.
Extravagant Interior
The latest in-car technologies are discreetly placed
within the Bentley Mulsanne's sumptuous interior, including a multimedia system
with 40 GB hard disc drives satellite navigation, audio and video, personal
data, telephone and Bluetooth connectivity. The upper dashboard houses an
8-inch multimedia screen, positioned modestly behind an electrically operated
facing door, while below sits a stylish, leather-lined MP3-player stowage
drawer.
A state-of-the-art 14-speaker audio system with
Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and 6-CD auto-changer is provided as standard
while the Naim for Bentley premium audio system may be specified as an option.
This forging of two British luxury brands provides customers with the world's
most powerful 2200 Watt in-car amplifier, eight dedicated DSP modes and 20
custom-made speakers, delivering a supreme sound quality.
A personalized keyless entry system allows multiple
pre-programmed configurations and automatically sets radio stations, phone
book, seat (including ventilation and massage modes, both front and rear),
steering column and seatbelt settings and even the electrically operated
rear-seat blinds for side and rear windows.
Armed with this invaluable resource, the Bentley
Mulsanne's design team set itself highly challenging targets for key interior
characteristics such as material design, smell, color harmony and handcrafting.
The result is a handcrafted interior that fully reflects traditional Bentley
values, executed to the highest possible standards, where customers may tailor
their cars to their individual specification.
The use of wood and leather hides has increased
significantly to create an even more refined and luxurious cabin. The entire
cabin is encased within a “ring of wood” waist rail with an unbroken panel of
wood enriching the Bentley Mulsanne's dashboard.
Verdict
Following a whole day behind the wheel of the
2011 Bentley Mulsanne, it's pretty clear that no one will miss the Arnage. It's
also somewhat clear that the Mulsanne is still a classic Bentley: robust, dominant,
well-built and deluxe in every manner likely. With quite an expensive price, Bentley
needs to find customers who want more than just distinctiveness. They want a definite
kind of style, hand-crafted detailing and enough torque to make split-second
passes on country roads. For them, the Mulsanne will be an effortless sell!
No comments:
Post a Comment