Bentley Mulsanne facelift debuts – new face, more technology and a new Extended Wheelbase variant

01_Bentley Mulsanne Family

The new Bentley Mulsanne facelift has just been announced by the British luxury carmaker. Handcrafted in Crewe, England, the range has been expanded to include the Mulsanne, Mulsanne Speed and the Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase. The luxury limo, now has a redesigned face, added technology and power as well.

At the front, there’s a polished stainless steel vertical-vane grille, that’s now 80 mm wider, and is inspired by the 1930 Bentley 8 Litre, Embiricos and R-Type Continental. Behind those vertical vanes, the matrix grille is still present. It’s flanked by “floating” LED headlamps with adaptive technology.

The outer lamps have now been moved up, sitting on the same horizontal line as the main lights. There’s a new one-piece bumper, along with a new lower-vane grille section decked in chrome. It’s complemented by a pair of B-shaped vents, that have been pushed further to the corners and finished in chrome.

As mentioned, a major part of the restyling applies to the front of the car. Down the back however, the Mulsanne receives a set of new B-shaped tail lamps and a redesigned bumper. The Mulsanne and Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase sits on a set of 20-inch alloy wheels, while a set of 21-inch rims, available in three different styles, can be had.

The ride of the Mulsanne has been enhanced with new active engine mounts, suspension bushes and a revised air suspension system. According to Bentley, the latest noise absorption technology has been integrated into the car’s tyres. The advanced foam architecture has quietened the cabin by up to 4 dB.

Inside, the Mulsanne gets a soft-touch leather interior, redesigned seats, armrest and door trims. The seats come in two styles; fluted or quilted, and in 24 hide colours and single or duo-tone finish. Solid walnut cherry or oak is used on the dashboard, while a choice of 13 different veneers are available. There’s a new eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with a 60 GB SSD drive too.

There’s also an onboard 4G Wifi system fitted into the Mulsanne. In the rear, Bentley Entertainment Tablet – a pair of 10.2-inch Android devices are slotted into the back headrests of the front seats. It allows for access to Android Apps, has a total of 32 GB of on-board storage (expandable), USB ports and a front camera.

Optional items that can be specified for the Mulsanne includes a Naim for Bentley Premium Audio. Said system consists of 20 speakers, 20 channels, a 2,200 watt amplifier and Super Tweeters.

As for the Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase, the longer luxury limo sees an extension of 250 mm in length (from 3,266 mm to 3,516 mm). It provides more rear legroom, and features airline-style electronic leg-rests (that can extend outward and pivot) integrated into the base of the two rear seats. The seats are separated by a centre console that has USB ports, pen and cup holders and a glass-covered stowage area.

In addition to that, there’s a large format sunroof with an Alcantara sun blind. Electric curtains are standard, however the curtains themselves can be tailored with either a black or champagne interior lining while a deployable, folding table can also be had. Other options for the longer model include a duo-tone exterior paint and a set of 21-inch wheels.

Underneath sits a 6.75 litre twin-turbo V8 engine with cylinder deactivation and variable cam phasing paired with a familiar ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. In total the engine churns out the same 505 hp and 1,020 Nm of torque. The Mulsanne goes from 0-96 kmh/ n just 5.1 seconds and has a top speed of 296 km/h.

The Mulsanne Speed is more powerful than the other variants. The same engine has been tweaked to produce a total of 530 hp and 1,100 Nm of torque. It reaches 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and has a top speed of 305 km/h. The eight-speed gearbox has been recalibrated to provide instant delivery of power. It also gets a rifled sports exhaust and a sport suspension as well.

Outside, it receives a dark tint finish that goes on the front and rear lamps. A “Speed” badging is also fixed to this variant and it sits on 21-inch, hand-finished ‘Speed’ alloy wheels. Inside, the Mulliner Driving Specification interior, which includes diamond-quilted seats, a knurled gear lever and drilled alloy sport pedals is standard. Carbon-fibre waistrail inserts can be specified if one wishes.

Safety features on the facelifted Mulsanne includes, high beam assist with three separate modes; town, county and motorway. In addition to that, blind spot warning, and advanced automatic stability control (ASC) with collision mitigation features are all part of the package.

No prices have been announced as of yet, however the Mulsanne will be heading to the Geneva motor show.

GALLERY: Bentley Mulsanne


GALLERY: Bentley Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase

GALLERY: Bentley Mulsanne Speed

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Graham Chin

Having spent a number of years as a journalist for a local paper, a marketing executive for a popular German automotive brand and a copywriter, Graham, a true-blue Sarawakian, knew he had to take the leap back into the motoring scene - and so he did. To him, nothing’s better than cruising for hours along a scenic route, in a car that’s designed and built for that purpose.

 

Comments

  • Songlap Songlap Malaysia on Feb 24, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    This looks like a great car but I hope when it comes to Malaysia, Bentley owners don’t cheat the Government.

    Most Bentley owners in KL it seems use road tax from Sabah and Sarawak that only cost RM3000 for their 6750cc car.

    Yes, the government is being deprived or income tax from these rich Bentley buyers. Go and see most Bentleys, the road tax comes from Sabah and Sarawak and this is a legal loophole in the system. There are runners in Malaysia, mostly from the AP holders themselves, they get the road tax from Sabah and Sarawak and post it to the owner in Malaysia. Even there are runners by Bentley Malaysia also doing this.

    Go and see any Bentley in town, you can see the road tax has only RM50 written on it. This is because the runner will go to Sabah and Sarawak during the renewal and one day after that, they go back and ALSO say road tax got lost. So JPJ Sabah or Sarawk issues a copy for RM50. So when police in Semenanjung ask, they just say that it is a renewed salinan.

    In conclusion, instead of the government getting RM18,000 from the Bently owner, they only get RM3000. Who loses? It is you and me. Government won’t have funds to build schools or help the poor. Classic example of the rich getting richer (through crooked means) and the poor getting poorer.

    I hope the government and LHDN can take the necessary action to curb such abuses from the rich people in our society.

    Sadly to say, these high CC cars and Bentley owners are Government cronies who on one hand are getting billions of contracts from the Government, and the other hand, trying to cheat the Government.

    Don’t forget, these Tan Sris and Datuks have like 5 to 10 cars each. So, in total, each person cheats the LHDN by hundreds of thousands in revenue each year.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 4
    • Stfu everybody knows about the loophole even jpj people. U think if we pat the 18k its going to schools? Its going straight to najibs pocket. Nobody gives a shii because people here buy recon bentleys for the price of a new one dumbass

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 13
  • why does it look like a Chinese copycat of the prev. Mulsanne

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Tanker on Feb 24, 2016 at 9:23 pm

    Looks much less ubiquitous than the RR. Requires an exquisite taste. The RR has too much BMW under its skin.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • What a beauty – and with much substance. An automotive equivalent of Dr. Amy Mainzer.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Sam Hailat on Feb 25, 2016 at 10:20 am

    Wonder why you BR1M recipients care to comment here?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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