NM Magazine - April 2012.pdf - Naked Motoring SA

What can I say… we have done it again.
This time an S.A. first and exclusive look at
the flagship Bentley Mulsanne.
This is a car like nothing else we have
reviewed before, and at R 6 300 000 it is by
far the most expensive vehicle to have passed
through our stable.
Carrington Laughton
The Mulsanne is all about extremes, and
being built far and beyond compromise. Every surface has
been meticulously hand crafted, and every stitch in the
leather painstakingly done by hand. This is the absolute
definition of coach building at its finest.
The Mulsanne is built at Bentley factory in Crewe in the UK
and before becoming the prized possession of some
very wealthy lucky bugger passes though quality
inspections where any “defect” greater than 0.5mm
results in the car being sent back into production to
be rectified. To put this into perspective, you would
need a magnifying glass to see something half a
millimetre big! As a result when the car rolls off the
production line it is perfect and for a very good
reason… because the average life expectancy of a
Bentley is 100 years, which will exceed that of its
original owner, and that is a hell of a statement.
Behind the wheel of the Mulsanne is an incredible
place to find oneself. The car has every conceivable
luxury appointment you can dream of, and more…
but its not just the toys, its how they are laid out
and function.
The car is big, very big. So long in fact that there
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are cameras mounted on each side of the nose so that you can
see around corners when stopped at intersection, and
however gimmicky this may sound, trust me you will thank the
Bentley Gods they included this feature because it is a very
useful one.
However if you don't see the oncoming car and you pull out,
you have little to fear because beneath the massive bonnet is
an equally massive 6760cc twin turbo charged V8 which
produces 1000Nm of torque!! This is enough to get you far
from harms reach in a matter of seconds.
However despite the cars massive power figures it doesn't feel
like a race car but rather a very fast limousine, which is exactly
what it is. The power is delivered as an endless surge rather
than something that hits you in the back every time a gear
change takes place.