Discussion
Having driven the new Mulsannne last week, I can confidently say that the Bentley magic is still EVERYTHING it used to be.
I also drove the Flying Spur Speed on the same afternoon and, while it is undoubtedly a brilliant car, well worthy of the Bentley name, even that is not in the same class as the Mulsanne.
On paper, the FSS is the better car and it is certainly faster - seriously fast and with fantastic road-holding, too. When a Bentley can go that fast, in a straight line AND round corners, and carry three more people and in infinitely more comfort, what is the point of a Ferrari? 99% of the time on today’s roads, only a complete madman (or one with a small penis) would choose one over an FSS!
However, you only have to get behind the wheel to know why the Mulsanne is half as expensive again as the FSS. I loved my drive in the FSS, but when I climbed into the Mulsanne, I felt as though I had come home – everything was just as it ought to be!
The figures attest to the different characters of the two cars. FSS: 600 horses and 553 torques = 200 mph and 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. Mulsanne: 505 horses and 752 torques = 184 mph and 0-60 in 5.1 seconds. One is a highly focussed motor-car, right at the top of its game and proud of it. The other is relaxed, supremely confident and couldn’t give a damn!
The Mulsanne is indeed a fitting successor to the Turbo R / Arnage line – just what I had expected, I suppose: everything that my Turbo R is, but with the benefit of 20 years of development. Gone, for example, are all the creaks and crashes that I feel and hear on a poor road and the wind noise that interferes with my enjoyment of the quieter passages of a Beethoven sonata on the motorway.
The performance is, of course, vastly improved, too. But the essential character remains the same: the sense of effortless, relaxed performance that makes you question the NEED to travel any faster. You really wonder what is the point of rushing around at very high speed like a demented dervish – does it matter if you get there a couple of minutes later, when you can travel like this? Who cares if the guy in the Ferrari can beat you off the lights (which he probably can’t in the Flying Spur) – let him go! It isn’t a car that ACCELERATES, like the Flying Spur does, it GATHERS SPEED, albeit at an amazing rate.
I would say that the Mulsanne is in a class of its own, but I have never driven a Phantom (apart from the one I used town, but that was a much earlier model!). However, I suspect that a Phantom is also on the same level.
After my drive in the Mulsanne, I drove 150 miles home in my 20 year old Turbo R and this is the part those lovely people from Crewe, who so kindly allowed me free rein their wonderful cars, probably won’t like. Even if I had £150,000 to spare, the FSS could not, for me, replace the Turbo R. If I had a quarter of a million to spare, I would have been on the horns of a dilemma: the Mulsanne is truly wonderful, the most magnificent and desirable car I have ever driven and if I didn't have the Turbo R, I would buy it without hesitation. But I do, so I would have to ask myself: is it worth more than 10 times as much as my Turbo R?
If, however, I have upset the men and women from Crewe, let them take pride in the fact that this is a major compliment to the brilliant car they built 20 years ago.
I also drove the Flying Spur Speed on the same afternoon and, while it is undoubtedly a brilliant car, well worthy of the Bentley name, even that is not in the same class as the Mulsanne.
On paper, the FSS is the better car and it is certainly faster - seriously fast and with fantastic road-holding, too. When a Bentley can go that fast, in a straight line AND round corners, and carry three more people and in infinitely more comfort, what is the point of a Ferrari? 99% of the time on today’s roads, only a complete madman (or one with a small penis) would choose one over an FSS!
However, you only have to get behind the wheel to know why the Mulsanne is half as expensive again as the FSS. I loved my drive in the FSS, but when I climbed into the Mulsanne, I felt as though I had come home – everything was just as it ought to be!
The figures attest to the different characters of the two cars. FSS: 600 horses and 553 torques = 200 mph and 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. Mulsanne: 505 horses and 752 torques = 184 mph and 0-60 in 5.1 seconds. One is a highly focussed motor-car, right at the top of its game and proud of it. The other is relaxed, supremely confident and couldn’t give a damn!
The Mulsanne is indeed a fitting successor to the Turbo R / Arnage line – just what I had expected, I suppose: everything that my Turbo R is, but with the benefit of 20 years of development. Gone, for example, are all the creaks and crashes that I feel and hear on a poor road and the wind noise that interferes with my enjoyment of the quieter passages of a Beethoven sonata on the motorway.
The performance is, of course, vastly improved, too. But the essential character remains the same: the sense of effortless, relaxed performance that makes you question the NEED to travel any faster. You really wonder what is the point of rushing around at very high speed like a demented dervish – does it matter if you get there a couple of minutes later, when you can travel like this? Who cares if the guy in the Ferrari can beat you off the lights (which he probably can’t in the Flying Spur) – let him go! It isn’t a car that ACCELERATES, like the Flying Spur does, it GATHERS SPEED, albeit at an amazing rate.
I would say that the Mulsanne is in a class of its own, but I have never driven a Phantom (apart from the one I used town, but that was a much earlier model!). However, I suspect that a Phantom is also on the same level.
After my drive in the Mulsanne, I drove 150 miles home in my 20 year old Turbo R and this is the part those lovely people from Crewe, who so kindly allowed me free rein their wonderful cars, probably won’t like. Even if I had £150,000 to spare, the FSS could not, for me, replace the Turbo R. If I had a quarter of a million to spare, I would have been on the horns of a dilemma: the Mulsanne is truly wonderful, the most magnificent and desirable car I have ever driven and if I didn't have the Turbo R, I would buy it without hesitation. But I do, so I would have to ask myself: is it worth more than 10 times as much as my Turbo R?
If, however, I have upset the men and women from Crewe, let them take pride in the fact that this is a major compliment to the brilliant car they built 20 years ago.
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