Probably the first thing that impresses about the Mulsanne is the quality and fit of the interior. It is simply superb. Everything you touch is solid, reassuring and polished, from the heavily chromed organ-stop pulls for the AC vents to the exquisitely hand-stitched leather that wraps the steering wheel. What looks like wood, is wood, beautifully mirror-matched across both sides of the car. The carpets are thick lambswool, the seats as comfortable as your favourite armchair, though few indeed are the armchairs that can give your back such a skilful massage. Indeed, the Mulsanne is one of the few cars where spending time in the back is almost as much fun as being behind the wheel.
Almost. Because the Mulsanne is a magnificent car to drive. Despite its substantial size, it offers a dramatic turn of speed that is entirely unexpected in something so large, but entirely in keeping with the Bentley tradition of building beautiful, fast cars.
Fast it certainly is, with a twin-turbo 6.75-litre V8 under the bonnet producing 505bhp and an astonishing 1,020Nm of torque. This means you can romp to 100kph in a frankly unfeasible 5.3 seconds, and run on to almost 300kph.
In the metal, the car has real presence, and although the design is entirely contemporary, it retains enough of the Bentley DNA to be instantly recognisable for what it is. In fact, the Mulsanne is the first entirely new ground-up design from the company in nearly 70 years, and it is a very assured and accomplished piece of work indeed. Some of the complex curves in the panels required the development of a new method of metalworking, called superforming, in order to achieve the level of precision required. The result is one of those subtle shapes that you can look at for hours, and always find something new to enjoy.
A beautiful car, a luxurious car, an extremely fast car — the thoroughly modern Mulsanne is every inch a classic Bentley, and thoroughly deserves to be crowned Grand Saloon of the Year.
