The document discusses the extensive time, effort and craftsmanship that goes into creating each Bentley Mulsanne sedan. Some key points: - It takes over 300 hours and involvement from many craftspeople to complete all the leatherwork, woodwork, metalwork and assembly of just one Mulsanne interior. - Materials like leather and wood are carefully selected and treated, with processes like stitching the leather steering wheel taking days of work. - The driving experience is described as incredibly smooth, luxurious and "like floating on a cloud".

1. Breaking news at calgaryherald.com Friday, September 10, 2010 F5
Driving.ca
t e s t d r i v e : 2 0 1 1 b e n t l e y m u l s a n n e s e d a n
■ Before building the cabin
for its new Mulsanne flag-
ship grand tourer, British
automaker Bentley spent
about four years reviewing
the interiors of hundreds of
previous models to identify
classic signature features
that have defined Bentleys
from the 1920s to the pres-
ent day.
■ Bentley customers even
wanted a certain smell for
their cars. Responding to
their demands, the auto-
maker has reintroduced a
complex, traditional tanning
process to create a rich,
mature leather aroma that
is supposed to evoke that of
vintage Bentleys.
■ Bentley customers can
choose from more than
24 colours for the leather
upholstery in their cars.
■ To increase its lifespan
and to make sure the leath-
er upholstery continues to
look new, sun creams, skin
lotions and even a chemical
formula for human perspi-
ration are applied to the
leather hide to ensure no
staining or fading.
■ The durability of a hide is
tested more than 20,000
times by a team of people
of varying height and
weight (rather than the
robots used by other manu-
facturers) to provide the
most authentic, real-world
assessment possible.
■ It takes about two days
of painstaking work to hand
sew the leather onto the
Mulsanne’s steering wheel.
It takes even longer if a
customer requests cross-
stitching.
■ Bentley has the largest
wood shop in the luxury car
industry.
■ It takes about five weeks
of work and waiting for
Bentley woodworkers to
take raw wood and turn it
into the wood veneer trim
that decorates the cabin.
Each piece of veneer is
carefully stored in a special
humidity-controlled cham-
ber and then applied onto a
solid walnut base, a process
that takes two weeks to
complete. Veneers are then
polished to a perfect mirror
finish.
■ Any piece of stainless
steel brightwork for the
Mulsanne undergoes a
10-hour finishing process
to achieve a near-perfect
shine.
■ It takes more than 170
hours to complete just one
interior of a new Mulsanne.
■ It takes about 125 hours
to create the body of a pre-
production Mulsanne.
■ In total, more than 300
new or significantly re-engi-
neered components have
been created for the
Mulsanne’s new engine.
Building the 6.75-litre V-8
engine takes about 30 hours.
■ Mulsanne customers
get to choose from more
than 115 colours for the
exterior paint job, although
the company offers custom
paint jobs and will mix a
bespoke colour if the buyer
so desires.
■ Base price of the Bentley
Mulsanne, including
delivery and green levy, is
$352, 545. Add the pre-
mium package for another
$24,030, which includes a
rear-view camera.
■ The Mulsanne, in keeping
with Bentley’s posh reputa-
tion, made its world debut
at the prestigious Pebble
Beach Concours d’Elegance
in California last year.
■ At this unveiling, a Bentley
eight-litre that debuted
at the 1930 London Motor
Show was shown alongside
the Mulsanne. The eight-
litre was W.O. Bentley’s
personal car for two years.
— Postmedia News
Creating
theBentley
Mulsanne
Flagship
sedan offers
ultimate ride
Dave Makichuk
Calgary Herald
When I realized I
would be trusted
to sit behind the
wheel of the new Bentley
Mulsanne four-door sedan,
the thought suddenly oc-
curred to take a quick straw
poll in the newsroom. The
esteemed Bentley name,
like that of Rolls-Royce, is
world renowned for a tradi-
tion of excellence in auto-
mobiles that stretches back
to 1919 — but what did the
name conjure up in today’s
new-age, and somewhat
greener-in-its approach,
guilt-laden auto world?
“What,” I asked both
young and old, “comes to
mind when I say the word
Bentley?”
One said, “Sir Winston
Churchill and expensive
cigars,” another responded,
“posh, extravagant, a badge
of success,” while someone
else blurted out, “old money.”
“Butlers,” said another.
I had to admit, some of the
same images came to mind
for me as well — that of a
luxurious, ultraexpensive,
dare I say stodgy brand,
steeped in tradition and
meant only for the well-
heeled — those with strato-
spheric Swiss bank accounts.
Breeding issues aside, I
jumped at the chance to
test drive a Bentley — the
flagship Mulsanne, no less.
Named after Mulsanne
corner at the legendary Le
Mans 24 hour race, an event
where Bentley earned its
chops and saw success on
six occasions.
Mercifully, on this sum-
mer day in August the
countryside south of
Calgary was bathed in
warm temperatures and a
cloudless blue sky — not
quite Tunbridge Wells, but
a more-than suitable canvas
for my Bentley initiation.
Not a hailstone in sight, ei-
ther, I hoped.
At first glance, the
Mulsanne is an imposing
car. The sensuous design of
this gleaming beast elicits
a jaw-dropping “wow” fac-
tor. The stance is aggres-
sive, sleek and elegant. The
grille unmistakably Bentley,
“floating” elliptical LED tail
lights echo the shape of the
exhaust tailpipes, giving the
rear end a classy, flowing
look.
The fit and finish every-
where, needless to say, is
remarkable.
Dressed in an immaculate
medium gold which the
Crewe, England-based car-
maker calls “Gazelle,” the
Mulsanne tester sported the
premium package, which
included Bentley’s famed
“flying B” hood ornament
(a $3,630 option), nudg-
ing the MSRP to roughly
$370,000 Cdn.
Bentley offers more than
115 colour choices, by the
way, but will custom-match
any colour to the
customer’s whim.
Open the driver’s
door, and your eyes
are treated to one
of the most over-
the-top, extravagant
interiors ever built
into an automobile.
Welcome to
Bentley world!
I tried not to like
it, I really did, as
I slipped onto the
exquisite leather
seats, finding myself
surrounded by pre-
mium-quality wood
veneers ringing the
interior, and a dash-
board clearly de-
signed by the gods
themselves. Bentley
gods, of course.
I forgot to close
the door completely
— no worries, the Bentley
automatically sensed my
error, and closed it by itself.
It gently clicked into place,
as if an invisible butler had
done it. A neat feature, I
thought.
Once ensconced in the
Mulsanne environment —
and that’s what it is, an envi-
ronment which coddles and
insulates — one relaxes and
becomes entirely comfort-
able with the mix old and
new — old Bentley design
touches, in the air vents,
gauges and removable sil-
ver ashtrays, along with an
overwhelming selection of
high-tech features.
Indeed, it would probably
take days, if not weeks to
learn all the features and
what they’re capable of.
Suffice to say, the Mulsanne
is loaded — enough to make
any king or queen feel regal.
In fact, the Mulsanne seems
to have the power to
transform Jethro
Bodine into George
Hamilton, just by
placing one’s keester
in its confines. My-
self included.
Push the start but-
ton on the console,
and the 505-horse-
power, 6 3/4-litre
twin-turbocharged
V-8 begins to sing,
barely intruding
into the solace of the
cabin. An eight-inch
Infotainment display
smoothly pops out of
the veneered dash,
offering a 3-D bird’s-
eye view on a map of
Calgary. A rotary con-
troller offers access to
a multitude of system
menus, including
phone, radio, media,
tone, information and car
systems. All major systems
and operations can also be
directed by voice control.
And yes, it’s also fully
Bluetooth-, iPod- and MP3-
compatible, sporting a little
drawer where one can place
and plug in their favourite
musical device. The multi-
media system boasts a 60 GB
hard disc, as well as a state-
of-the-art 14-speaker Naim
audio system and the world’s
most powerful production
in-car amplifier at 2,200
watts. Enough to best Carn-
egie Hall, you might say.
Near the seat-adjustment
buttons is yet another button
— push that, and suddenly,
it’s as if a pleasant masseuse
is gently working out those
nasty kinks in your back.
Yes, each seat comes with its
own internal back massager.
Feeling way too Bentley-
fied— and generally un-
worthy — I instinctively
shut it off, fearing I’d get
too spoiled. Then again, the
stress of the newspaper biz
being what it is, perhaps I’d
just leave that on.
Launching the Mulsanne
onto the streets of Calgary
was not unlike launching
the Queen Mary 2. This is
one, big honking sedan —
about 5,700 lbs. worth in
fact — yet it was nimble as a
ballerina. Steering response
was, well, impeccable, and
ride can only be likened to
floating on a cloud.
Put simply, the Mulsanne
is a driver’s car, and it’s easy
and fun to drive.
Drivers (or their chauf-
feurs) have four choices
when it comes to ride —
Sport, Comfort, Bentley (an
optimum blend of Sport
and Comfort) and also
Custom, which allows you
to fashion your own setup.
Take a hard corner in
Comfort, and you just
might experience some
sway. Switch it to Sport, and
that will tighten things up
nicely. This is not a car to
push to the limit, ala Top
Gear, but instead a rather
well endowed daily driver.
Bumps and potholes on
country roads? In Comfort
mode, they barely exist. The
Mulsanne cruises as if nearly
oblivious to road conditions,
yet not entirely detached.
One still feels the road.
In part, the secret to that
Cloud 9 ride is a new air
suspension system with
Continuous Damping
Control (CDC), which cre-
ates a refined and comfy
ride at low speeds, yet can
reduce the car’s ride height
automatically at high speeds
to reduce lift and improve
aerodynamic stability.
The powerful twin-turbo
V-8 is also nicely matched
to a ZF 8-Speed automatic
transmission that shifts beau-
tifully — and the power is
always there when you need
it. Top speed is 184 m.p.h.
(296 km/h), but who needs
to get there in a hurry. In this
car, you want to take your
time and enjoy every minute.
Incidentally, that ride
is just as regal in the back
seat, where passengers have
ample legroom, access to
remote controls for the
multimedia display, and also
extensive seat-position con-
trols. Side mirrors are also
just the right size, and visibil-
ity in all quadrants is superb.
So, why the steep price-
tag? Keep in mind, every
Mulsanne is hand-built us-
ing the finest materials to
each buyer’s order — other
than a demo, they likely
won’t be sitting around in
showrooms.
It takes approximately
600 man-hours to build just
one, as compared to about
25-30 hours to build the av-
erage car.
Each steering wheel, for
example, can take 15 hours
to hand stitch. A wood ve-
neer takes five weeks to turn
from a rough root ball into a
full set of mirror-matched,
fine-polished leaves. The
exquisite interior, about
170-man hours in total.
No surprise then that
some Bentley craftsmen
and women boast 40 years
of specialty experience.
And as for those pre-con-
ceived, cliched images?
Well, let’s just say the
Bentley Mulsanne rep-
resents a unique driving
experience — pleasing as
a rare jewel, inspiring and
beauteous as a masterpiece
in the Louvre, and, fun to be
with, like a loyal Airedale.
To be savoured and en-
joyed, by a lucky few.
And yes, it’s not everyone’s
cup of tea, nor should it be.
Right, Sir Winston?
B e n t l e y ’ s M u l s a n n e
pure motoring magic
Photos, Dave Makichuk, Calgary Herald
The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne is a masterful combination
of design, luxury and driving conveniences.
The
Mulsanne
seems to
have the
power to
transform
Jethro
Bodine into
George
Hamilton,
just by
placing
one’s
keester in
its confines
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