We say cheerio to Bentley’s Mulsanne
One of the last Bentley Mulsanne sedans gets the final touches at Crewe. Photo: Bentley Media
After 11 years in production, the flagship luxury sedan for the British brand has ended with a release of an ultra-exclusive Bentley Mulsanne 6.75 Edition.
The limited-production run-out special at Bentley’s home in Crewe, Cheshire had been delayed due to the ongoing factory shutdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak, but Crewe was able to reopen on 11 May with social-distancing measures in place.
The 6.75 Edition was created by Bentley's coachbuilding division, Mulliner, and marks the end of a decade production run for the Mulsanne, of which more than 7300 examples were built.
It's also the final machine to feature Bentley's 6.75-litre V8 engine, the longest-serving V8 in continuous production.
Just 30 examples of the Mulsanne 6.75 Edition, described by the firm as a “fitting send-off for a masterpiece of British automotive engineering and craftsmanship”, have been built.
The penultimate example in gold and grey (above) is destined for the US. Photo: Bentley Media
The penultimate example – finished in a combination of gold and grey – is destined for the US, but the final example remains under wraps, its destination "a closely guarded secret".
With no immediate plans to replace the model, sales and marketing boss Chris Craft has confirmed the company will be "redeploying all of our manufacturing colleagues who currently work on the Mulsanne to other areas of the business". The Flying Spur will become Bentley's flagship, with confirmation of a hybrid variant arriving by 2023.
In the past 11 years, over 700 people have invested nearly three million hours crafting Bentley’s ultra-luxury sedan. Producing the Mulsanne bodies required approximately 42 million spot welds, and creating the sumptuous leather interiors took more than a million hours alone. Nearly 90,000 hours have been spent polishing cars, before a total of over four million individual quality checkpoints.
The final Bentley Mulsanne’s leave the Crewe plant. Photo: Bentley Media
