Review of the new Bentley Mulsanne range

This is the Bentley Mulsanne, a vehicle conceived from the very outset to take its rightful place amongst the finest motorcars that money can buy. The amount of work and the meticulous attention to detail that make a car like this possible could bore the layman to tears but the end result is about as far removed from the mundane as it's possible to get. Bentley's flagship was created to impress the kind of people with the cash to afford it but the rest of us risk being dumbfounded by the world of handcrafted opulence to which it belongs.

The Mulsanne is the replacement for the Arnage, a model that served as the ultimate Bentley luxury saloon for twelve years. It's not the first Bentley to take its name from the formidable Mulsanne corner on the Circuit de la Sarthe, the setting for the manufacturer's six triumphs in the Le Mans 24 Hours race. The previous Mulsanne was launched in 1980 and like the Arnage, was built in partnership with Rolls Royce but by superseding the Arnage, this model finally severs the links between the modern Bentley and the Rolls Royce era. Under Volkswagen Group stewardship, Bentley is moving forward and the BMW-owned Rolls-Royce has moved from partner to fiercest rival.

The product of a clean sheet design with very few parts shared by other Bentley models, the Mulsanne aims to combine modern Bentley technology with the marque's traditional prestige. Even the venerable 6.75-litre pushrod V8 engine features 450 components that are heavily revised or replaced. Despite having its origins in the late 1950s, this powerplant is more than capable of crushing younger upstarts. The latest version delivers 505bhp and an incredible 1,020Nm of torque from 1,750rpm with the aid of twin turbochargers. It's enough to get the Mulsanne off the line and through 60mph in 5.1s. From there 100mph is just 6.5s away and then there's a 184mph top speed to be explored.

"Perching at the pinnacle of the automotive world isn't an easy task but Bentley has been there for a while and seems to have got the hang of it"

Ensuring that this supercar performance is delivered in conjunction with peerless comfort and refinement is the Mulsanne's electronically-controlled air-suspension system. This constantly monitors and adjusts damping levels within parameters set by the Drive Dynamics Control. Through DDC, owners can select Bentley, Sport or Comfort models to tailor the suspension and steering set-up to their requirements. A fourth Custom mode allows for an even greater level of personalisation.

Power is sent to the rear wheels through an 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox that comes complete with wheel-mounted paddle shifters so Jeeves can enjoy himself if the opportunity arises. Fittingly for a car named after one of the biggest tests of braking performance in motorsport, the Mulsanne as a monstrous set of anchors. The Twin-booster braking system has 400mm and 370mm ventilated iron discs on the front and rear respectively.

The design of the exterior incorporates a raft of classic Bentley design cues. The round headlamps have been a staple of the firm throughout its history and each is joined by additional smaller light on its outside. With this quad-lamp look, the matrix grille and the option of a retractable Flying B radiator mascot, it's a front end that was inspired by the Bentley S-Type of the 1950s. The car is 5,575mm long in standard guise and very close to two meters wide if you factor in the wing mirrors borrowed from the Continental GT Supersports. It's a vast piece of machinery that has its imperious road presence amplified by a set of 20" alloy wheels that many buyers will upgrade to 21" items.

Each Mulsanne takes 400 man hours to build with 170 of those devoted to hand crafting the car's incredible cabin. Bentley set out to meld traditional materials of the highest quality with the latest in-vehicle technologies. Wood veneers, leather hides and hand finished stainless steel are pretty much the only materials on show, making the 'soft-touch' plastics of lesser luxury saloons seem distinctly middle class. Most Mulsanne owners will spend their time in the rear of the car while an employee does the driving and there's not shortage of space to get comfortable in back there either.

The technological specification of the car is as lavish as the materials used. A 60 gigabyte multimedia system is fitted as standard to control the satellite navigation, the telephone and the 14-speaker stereo, the information displayed on an 8" colour screen that emerges from behind a veneered door in the dash. The keyless entry system allows different drivers to preset their driving position settings, radio stations and phone contacts book so all are immediately available when they pull on the door handle.

The options list might be even more remarkable than the car itself. There is a vast range of wood veneers, a virtually unlimited selection of leather hides and over 100 available paint finishes for the exterior. Beyond that, Bentley has personalisation options which allow for embroidery of the headrests and plaques added on the treadplates which identify the owner. Entertainment wise, there are TV tuners and DVD players for the rear seat occupants and 20-speaker a premium audio system developed by Naim.

If there's an upside to the asking price and the significant sums that a 505bhp 2,600kg Bentley will cost to run, it's that the car is built to last several lifetimes. Bentley built around 100 Mulsanne prototypes which were systematically run over immense mileages in the full range of climatic conditions and tested to destruction. The aim was to perfect the car's design and construction for optimum, performance, refinement, reliability and quality. For the record, combined cycle economy is 16.7mpg and CO2 emissions are 393g/km.

Perching at the pinnacle of the automotive world isn't an easy task but Bentley has been there for a while and seems to have got the hang of it. Its latest Mulsanne is designed, developed and hand-crafted to be one of the best cars that there is and looks set to realise that goal. Only a select few will have the means to own one but they really will be getting a king size helping of car for their money. The rest of us can marvel at the luxury that unfurls as we press our noses to its tinted windows.