Bentley have announced a more powerful version of the Mulsanne, their flagship sedan. For those with slightly deeper wallets and an even deeper desire for kilometres per hour, you can put your name down for the the appropriately named Mulsanne Speed.
The car uses the same 6,75-litre twinturbo V8 as the cooking Mulsanne except its power output is up from 376 kW to 395 kW and the torque from 1 020 N.m to 1 100 N.m. This, says Bentley, will hustle the mighty 2 720 kg car to 100 km/h in 4,9 sec and have a top speed of 305 km/h. The engine is claimed to have been made 13% more efficient with regard to CO2 emissions and Bentley quote a still very thirsty combined cycle fuel economy figure of 16,8 L/100 km.
There has also been some work done to the car’s eight-speed, paddle-shifted automatic gearbox which has been recalibrated to make use of the extra torque, and there’s also a new “S” mode which keeps the engine’s revs up so that the turbochargers are always on boost. The suspension receives the once-over too with a new “Sport” mode that stiffens the standard air suspension and also adjusts the steering system for greater feedback and accuracy.
You’d have to be something of a Bentley trainspotter to note the visual differences between the normal Mulsanne and the Speed version. The Speed has some darkened elements in the grille and lights, and its 21-inch wheels feature a directional pattern, which is a first for Bentley. There is “Speed” badging on the front fenders and door sill treadplates. Inside it’s also pretty much the same as the standard Mulsanne save for special piano black veneers with carbon-fibre inlays.
The 2015 Mulsanne Speed will have its world debut at the Paris Motor Show at the beginning of October.