Top Of The Range Bentley Leaves Little To Be Desired

ENHANCEMENTS to both its W12 engine and an advanced chassis shared with the Bentley GT Speed, the GT Mulliner W12 becomes the most powerful, fastest, most dynamic and most luxurious Continental GT yet created.

Bentley’s revised Continental GT Mulliner made its debut at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, where the company also announced that its Mulliner division is to bring the 1929 Speed Six back to life with a new ‘Continuation Series’ of 12 cars, each mechanically and aesthetically authentic to the Bentley racers that won Le Mans in 1929 and 1930.

For now, though, the imposing GT Mulliner W12 coupe sits atop Bentley’s range and is, according to the venerable car-maker, “the ultimate expression of two-door grand tourers”.

Bentley says it “takes the best of all worlds to create the ultimate Continental GT, combining the performance and dynamism of the Speed, the comfort of the recently-announced Azure and the magic touch and artistic flair of Mulliner craftsmanship”. 

The German-designed W12 TFSI engine is assembled by hand at Bentley’s factory in Crewe and is good for outputs of 485kW and 900Nm, resulting in a top speed of 335kmh and 0-100kmh in 3.6 seconds. Claimed combined fuel consumption is 13.7 litres/100km. 

Bentley Dynamic Ride and three-chamber active air suspension with adaptive damping play a key role in the balance of the car providing a sure-footed foundation to build on. 

The optional and newly-developed Carbon ceramic brakes, variable electronic stability control, all wheel steering, and an electronic limited slip differential further bolster agility and performance.

Overall grip is balanced between the front and rear wheels through a drive mode select calibrated to suit each mode’s driving scenario.

Electronic All-Wheel Steering enhances the dynamic nature of the weighty vehicle in each of the driving modes.  Specially designed 22-inch wheels are featured on the GT Mulliner that have self-levelling badges to ensure the Bentley ‘B’ remains vertical at all times.

The cabin of the Continental GT Mulliner W12 is defined by luxury and showcases a level of choice and customisation that Mulliner provides.

An attractive colour split upholstery is exclusive to the car with a combination of primary and secondary hide joined by a third colour through a flowing design line. 

Eight different three-colour combinations are proposed by Mulliner using Bentley’s palette of hides and threads to create striking yet elegant contrast throughout the cabin.

There is a choice of 88 piano wood veneers that allow further personalisation.  

On the exterior, a suite of design features separate the Continental GT Mulliner from the rest of the family; the new ‘Double Diamond’ matrix grille with matching front fender vents echoing the same silver and black design and with Mulliner branding.

The GT family now spans a range of models each with a different emphasis, to make customer choice easier. The Azure range is for those prioritising wellbeing and on-board comfort, while customers wishing to concentrate on driving pleasure can specify the new V8-powered GT S.

Going one step further, the W12-powered Speed is the pure driver’s car, delivering dynamic performance and no expense to grand touring ability.

Above all these sits the Mulliner, named for the bespoke division that will also be heading up the Speed Six continuation project.

Created to honour the achievements of the original cars and to hone Mulliner’s heritage skills, the new Speed Sixes will become the second pre-war continuation project in the world after the Blower - both created by Bentley Mulliner.

The Speed Six is regarded as one of the most important Bentleys in history, demonstrating the marque’s performance credentials and proving the concept of the Grand Tourer – a fast car that remained comfortable and luxurious, and capable of covering huge distances with ease. Every Bentley since has followed the same ethos.

The 12-car series has been designed and will be developed and built by the same team of Mulliner specialists that created the Blower Continuation. All 12 Speed Sixes are reserved by customers around the world.

The Speed Six Continuation Series was announced at the Goodwood Festival of Speed by Bentley chair and CEO Adrian Hallmark.

“After incredible levels of skill were acquired by the Mulliner team through the development of the Blower Continuation Series, and with the success of the cars with their customers, a chance to honour the Speed Six is a fantastic next step,” said Mr Hallmark.

“It’s vital that we protect, preserve and develop not just this important part of our heritage, but also the knowledge we’ve gained through working with these classic Bentleys.

“The Speed Six is one of the most important Bentleys in our 103 year history, and the 12 cars of the Continuation Series will embody the same values as W.O. Bentley’s originals, crafted by hand with the same meticulous attention both to engineering quality and to fanatical attention to detail.

“The lucky owners will be able to race their cars around the world, and truly relive the exploits of the original Bentley Boys.”

The Mulliner team will be supported by an array of artisans from a number of automotive heritage specialists across the UK, delivering recreation parts that are not only physically identical but in many cases are crafted using the same techniques used in the 1920s.