With the new Mulsanne still catching the eye of luxury automobile lovers, more than half a year since it was first presented, British carmaker Bentley decided to give us an insight into the redeveloped 6¾l, twin-turbocharged V8 engine that powers it.
The unit, a variant of the same powerplant featured on the original Mulsanne, Turbo R or S2 Continental, features two new control systems, namely cam phasing and variable displacement, which help the unit get a 15 percent improvement in emissions and fuel consumption.
This, however, does not affect the performances of the engine, as it develops two staggering figures: 505 bhp and 1020Nm (752lb ft) of torque at a notch over idle: 1,750 rpm. These figures, aided by the new eight-speed automatic transmission help the V8 propel the Mulsanne from naught to sixty in 5.1 seconds.
The new V8 is entirely new, including pistons, connecting rods and forged crankshaft. In all, Bentley says, over 300 new or significantly re-engineered components have been created for the Mulsanne engine.
“Our new V8 takes nearly 30 hours to build and we never release an engine to our colleagues in the main build hall until we are literally prepared to put our name to it,” Phil Cooper, Bentley’s senior production manager says.
The Mulsanne will be launched this summer and will offer 114 paint colors, 21 carpet colors, nine wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides. Infotainment and comfort is insured with the help of cruise control, rain sensing windscreen wipers, sentinel headlamp functions, 8-inch high-resolution color screen, central rotary controller for access to menus, 60GB hard disc drive with integrated satellite navigation system.
The unit, a variant of the same powerplant featured on the original Mulsanne, Turbo R or S2 Continental, features two new control systems, namely cam phasing and variable displacement, which help the unit get a 15 percent improvement in emissions and fuel consumption.
This, however, does not affect the performances of the engine, as it develops two staggering figures: 505 bhp and 1020Nm (752lb ft) of torque at a notch over idle: 1,750 rpm. These figures, aided by the new eight-speed automatic transmission help the V8 propel the Mulsanne from naught to sixty in 5.1 seconds.
The new V8 is entirely new, including pistons, connecting rods and forged crankshaft. In all, Bentley says, over 300 new or significantly re-engineered components have been created for the Mulsanne engine.
“Our new V8 takes nearly 30 hours to build and we never release an engine to our colleagues in the main build hall until we are literally prepared to put our name to it,” Phil Cooper, Bentley’s senior production manager says.
The Mulsanne will be launched this summer and will offer 114 paint colors, 21 carpet colors, nine wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides. Infotainment and comfort is insured with the help of cruise control, rain sensing windscreen wipers, sentinel headlamp functions, 8-inch high-resolution color screen, central rotary controller for access to menus, 60GB hard disc drive with integrated satellite navigation system.