Bentley Mulsanne

The last purely Bentley flagship

The Mulsanne launched in 2010 as the first production vehicle designed independently by Bentley since the 1930s, and it carried the L-series 6.75-litre V8 to the end of a remarkable run: by the time production stopped in 2020, it was the longest-serving V8 in the world. The engine was lighter than ever, with cylinder deactivation and variable cam timing, and the catalogue records 505 bhp and 1020 Nm of torque, a run to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds and a 296 km/h maximum, sent to the rear wheels through a ZF eight-speed torque-converter automatic. At 5.6 metres long and around 2.6 tonnes, with an extended-wheelbase version stretching to 5.8 metres, the Mulsanne was aimed at owners who drive themselves rather than being driven.

We have not driven this model for this article. This desk-researched ownership guide relies on Bentley's official heritage page for the 2010 Mulsanne launch car, the PistonHeads Mulsanne used buying guide and the DVSA vehicle recall service. The PistonHeads guide covers the Mulsanne range across its decade in production, so its observations are inspection prompts for the individual example, not predictions that every Mulsanne will behave the same way.

The engine and its character

Each L-series engine was hand-built, with a plaque recording the builder's name, and the design is old enough to remember pushrods: a single camshaft and sixteen valves, boosted by two Mitsubishi turbochargers. The red line is just 4,500 rpm, with peak power arriving at 4,200, so the last 1,700 revolutions are essentially decoration. The character is defined by torque: 752 lb ft from 1,750 rpm, which PistonHeads memorably described as being tied to a boulder fired by a trebuchet, delivered through a gearbox that changes gear as if moving through oil. PistonHeads found no common problems and no recalls, describing reliability as excellent despite fewer robots in the build, and quoted an independent specialist service structure recorded in the buying section below. Ownership data is thin because owners' clubs are members-only and Volkswagen-era buyers do not always stay in the fold, so a buyer leans on the individual car's file rather than community folklore. The boot offers 443 litres of leather-lined space, more useful than the limousine silhouette suggests.

Chassis and the ride

Adaptive air suspension offers four modes, with the factory-recommended setting sitting between Comfort and Sport and informally labelled B for Bentley. The calibration is deliberately sharper than a Rolls-Royce Ghost's, which produced the old line that one buys a Rolls for the gentleman and a Bentley for the bounder. Partially foam-filled Dunlop tyres are eerily silent, and active engine mounts isolate the cabin. On broken surfaces the compromise inherent in a very heavy, air-suspended car is hard to disguise, but on smooth roads the ride is velvet. The body mixes pressed steel with aluminium wings and soft-close doors, the rear C-panels are hand-formed, and the polished stainless brightwork includes organ stop vent controls that operate microswitches, a detail that captures the car's blend of theatre and engineering.

Cabin and equipment

Over half the total build time went into the cabins. Traditionally cured leathers in twenty-four hide varieties, bespoke glass switchgear with no Volkswagen parts permitted, quad-zone climate control and wool overmats define the ambience. Options ran to rear-seat entertainment screens at around 16,000 pounds and a refrigerated bottle cooler with cut-crystal flutes near 8,500 pounds, option prices quoted here only as historical context, with a twenty-speaker Naim system of over two thousand watts as the flagship audio choice. Bentley sold more Mulsannes than Rolls-Royce sold Phantoms, and the late Queen owned two. Early cars suffered poor Bluetooth and radio, and replacement ignition keys cost around 2,000 pounds a pack. The Mulliner Driving Specification arrived in 2012 with lightweight 21-inch wheels, titanium fasteners and diamond quilting, while the 2014 Speed raised output to 530 bhp and 811 lb ft and claimed the title of the world's fastest limousine. The 2016 update added the extended-wheelbase version, with ten inches of extra rear legroom, airline-style rear seats and a second sunroof, alongside a substantial facelift that brought LED headlights, B-signature tail lights, a squarer grille and all-new body panels ahead of the windscreen. The 2019 W.O. Bentley by Mulliner centenary edition, one hundred cars worldwide, finished the run with a slice of W.O. Bentley's own eight-litre camshaft set into the rear console drinks cabinet.

Running costs and buying

Independent specialist servicing is the value story: PistonHeads quoted around 530 pounds for a year-one service and majors running from 800 to about 1,200 pounds, figures quoted here only as historical context from the source guide. Used, early Mulsannes dipped under 50,000 pounds against a 2010 list near 225,000, the 70,000 to 100,000 bracket was the guide's good-choice band, and late low-mileage 6.75 Edition cars asked over 200,000. The buying logic is consistent: find a car with a marque-specialist file, verify the air suspension cycles correctly through its modes, test every cabin electronic, and let the torque do the rest.

We have not driven this model for this article. No present valuation, investment assurance or universal failure rate is offered. The Mulsanne's value as an ownership proposition is that it offers the most traditional expression of the modern Bentley idea: a hand-built flagship with a sixty-year-old engine architecture refined to its final form, wrapped in craftsmanship that took more than half the factory's hours. Buy on service history and suspension health, and the last of the line rewards the patient buyer.