Bentley Mulsanne

Bentley Mulsanne at a glance

The name honours the long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe, where cars reach their highest speeds at Le Mans. Other models of the brand are listed on our Bentley brand page.

Generations

Mulsanne I (1980-1992): the Rolls-Royce twin

The first Mulsanne was launched alongside the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit and Silver Spur and was in essence the Bentley version of those cars, with its own grille and badges. It became the basis for every Bentley until the Arnage arrived in 1998. The engine was the carburetted 6.75-litre V8 with aluminium cylinder heads from the Silver Shadow II and Bentley T2. From 1986, Bosch fuel injection replaced the two SU carburettors on all versions. Every Mulsanne had a three-speed automatic gearbox.

The Mulsanne Turbo, shown at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show, added a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger that raised power by about 50%. It was replaced by the Turbo R in 1985. The Mulsanne S of 1987 had no turbo but borrowed many details from the Turbo R, including firmer suspension; from 1989 it had four round headlamps instead of the rectangular units.

Of the 2,019 cars, 1,889 had the standard 3,061 mm wheelbase, 128 the long 3,162 mm wheelbase, and two were limousines. Kerb weight was about 2,245 kg for the Mulsanne and 2,291 kg for the Turbo. BMW once tested its experimental "Goldfisch" V16 engine in a Mulsanne, but that car was never sold. Older Bentleys of this era are covered in our classic cars section.

Mulsanne II (2010-2020): a Bentley from the ground up

The second Mulsanne replaced the Arnage as Bentley's flagship. It made its debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August 2009; production at Crewe ran from March 2010 to 25 June 2020. Dirk van Braeckel designed the exterior and Robin Page the interior. The body combines high-strength steel and aluminium.

Under the bonnet sat a heavily revised version of the old pushrod L-series V8: 6,752 cc, two turbochargers and an eight-speed ZF automatic with paddles.

The Speed reaches 60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.8 seconds, 0.3 seconds faster than the standard car, and has a sport mode and twin rifled tailpipes. Both versions emit 350 g/km of CO2.

At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show Bentley added the Extended Wheelbase, with 250 mm more rear legroom, and the Mulliner Grand Limousine, a full metre longer than the standard car with seating for four in the rear. Limited editions included the Diamond Jubilee (60 cars), the Birkin (22) and the W.O. Edition (100); the final 30 cars were the 6.75 Edition by Mulliner.

Dimensions and boot (2010-2020)

Running costs and prices

Official CO2 emissions are 350 g/km, and ADAC lists Super Plus petrol as the required fuel. ADAC lists the last German list prices as EUR 303,212 for the Mulsanne, EUR 330,463 for the Mulsanne Speed and EUR 358,547 for the Extended Wheelbase (versions sold until May 2020). Running costs for a used car are dominated by servicing and depreciation; our cost of ownership calculator can help estimate them.

Production and sales

According to the year-by-year table on Wikipedia, Bentley built 7,929 second-generation Mulsannes; the same article also gives "approximately 7,900" and, elsewhere, 7,300. The best years were 2011 (1,146 cars), 2012 (1,169) and 2013 (1,117); production fell to 443 cars in 2019 and 127 in 2020.

Safety

We found no Euro NCAP rating for either generation. The first Mulsanne predates Euro NCAP, which published its first results in 1997.

Reliability and known issues

Our sources contain no systematic reliability data for either Mulsanne. With fewer than 10,000 cars built over both generations, any purchase should be preceded by an inspection from a Bentley specialist and a check of the service history.

Rivals

The Rolls-Royce Phantom and Ghost were the natural rivals in the 2010s. Since 2020 the third-generation Flying Spur has taken over as Bentley's flagship; Bentley has said no direct Mulsanne replacement is planned.

Photo gallery