autoevolution
 

2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed Is The New Flagship

As far as the person behind the wheels is concerned, there’s a huge distance between Bentley’s Flying Spur and their Mulsanne. While the four-door Continental keeps the driver engaged, the Mulsanne likes to detach its chauffeur from the experience. The wide majority of customers are pleased by that. Nonetheless, Crewe has now come up with a model that apparently caters to the needs of those who aren’t. Ladies and gentlemen drivers, meet the Mulsanne Speed.
2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed 13 photos
Photo: Bentley
2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed 6.75 V8 engine2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed dashboard2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed interior: rear2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed interior2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed directional wheels2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed: Flying B emblem2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed driving2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed front2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed
The Speed moniker at the end of the car’s designation is a first for the automaker’s flagship saloon, which also makes the car the new... flagship of the Bentley line-up.

Not surprisingly, the Mulsanne Speed has more than just one superlative up its cufflink sleeve - aside from reigning over Bentley’s range, the model also makes for the torque-iest sedan in the world, as well as providing us with the most powerful incarnation of the Bentley 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8. Come to think of it, the Big B’s six and three quarters V8 must be the most longevive performance engine still on the market. The unit came to the world back in the late 50s and, at the time, its output was about a third of what it can deliver nowadays.

The engine now delivers 530 hp, 25 horses more than the standard unit. However, while the power puts it among the best in the luxury sedan worlds, there’s no Hellcat that could ever come close to its torque level. Ready or not, the Mulsanne Speed comes with 811 lb-ft (1,100 Nm) of it and the one behind the wheel can indulge in such pleasures starting from 1,750 rpm.

Carmakers usually limit the torque to around lbs (1,000 Nm), simply because transmissions generally don’t like to deal with more than that. Nonetheless, the engineers have massaged the ZF-supplied 8-speed automatic on the Mulsanne Speed to deal with a bit of extra twist.

As a result, the British luxury sedan can play the 0 to 60 mph game in 4.8 seconds, 0.3 seconds quicker than the standard Mulsanne. And while most vehicles on our planet usually need an extra 0.2 seconds for the 0-100 km/h sprint, the Mulsanne Speed halves that, dealing with the run in 4.9 seconds.

Unlike most, if not all, of its competitors, which have electronically-limited top speed values, this Bentley isn’t shy when it comes to velocity. By that, we mean a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h). For the sake of comparison, we'll mention the standard Mulsanne can climb up to 184 mph (296 km/h).

The extra muscle has been built thanks to a combustion system redesign, which included the combustion chambers and ratio, inlet ports, fuel injectors, spark plugs. The variable valve timing and the twin-turbo control were also fiddled with.

And to make sure you’re always riding the torque wave you can use the new S driving mode, which always keeps the V8 above 2,000 rpm. Yes, this means those turbos are constantly paying attention to the tiniest twitch of your toes.

Bentley engineers have also made the 6.75 V8 greener, boosting efficiency by 13 percent compared to the 2014 Mulsanne. While the tycoons riding in the back aren’t too worried about this, they’ll be happy to know the extra efficiency means the fuel range has been expanded by 50 miles (80 km).

Returning to the chauffeur, the connection to the road is improved in the Mulsanne Speed, as the adjustable air suspension and the steering have been tweaked. Speaking of the car touching the road, the vehicle rides on 21-inch rims with a directional design, a first for Bentley.

For the Speed, the Mulliner Driving Specification is on the house, while a host of exterior and interior fine tweaks were also announced.

Now that we’ve recovered from the 811 lb-ft (1,100 Nm) news, we have to mention the standard Mulsanne also gets a series of updates for the 2015 model year, 13 percent efficiency boost included.

Until the 2015 Mulsanne range greets us in person at the Paris Motor Show next month, or the first units get delivered (winter), you can check out the press release below for the complete specification.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
press release
About the author: Andrei Tutu
Andrei Tutu profile photo

In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories