Bentley bids farewell to the Mulsanne

To the plaintive echoes of God Save the Queen (we imagine) the last Bentley Mulsanne has rolled off the production line.

Assembled by hand for over a decade at the Crewe factory, over 7300 flagship Mulsannes were produced, with the last customer car going to a fortunate North American buyer. Finished in Rose Gold over Tungsten this Mulsanne Speed 6.75 Edition by Mulliner is a suitably splendid finale for the flagship land yacht.

Bentley says that over the course of its production more than 700 people have spent almost three million hours hand crafting the Mulsanne—900,000 hours were spent polishing bodywork and a million hours stitching the leather interiors.

First introduced at Pebble Beach in 2009 the Mulsanne was a unique blend of technology and tradition. Technology came with a modern chassis, while tradition was taken car of by coachbuilding and the carry-over of the V-8 engine. Mulliner Driving Specification, Extended Wheelbase and Speed versions would be introduced later on to enhance the appeal of the biggest Bentley.

This sad day also marks the demise of the brand’s 6.75-liter V-8 which in one form or another has provided sterling service for 61 years. That made it the longest-serving V-8 in continuous production. At its pinnacle this mighty motor produced 537 hp in the appropriately-named Speed. It has “earned its retirement,” says Bentley Member of the Board for Manufacturing, Peter Bosch.

Flagship duties will now be handed over to the Flying Spur. Bentley Mulsanne we doff our caps to you.