Bentley Mulsanne Picture Thread

[HighestOfHigh]

[The Artist]

I belive this is one of those half ass releases..with limited info..
Limited pictures..and no interior..

Argghh I HATE IT

[HighestOfHigh]

[Andreas1984]

The front lights are quite ugly. Apart from that the car is absolutely nice. I'm curious to see interior pictures.
Regards

Andreas

[HighestOfHigh]

[Merc1]

Love it, car is a winner.........

M

[XXXJAG]

I'm sorry, but this is terrible. And here's why...

Front-on, the fog lamps make the Mulsanne look as though it is crying (a reflection of how I feel about this design). For Volkswagen to create a resemblance with the Continental (considered below), the Mulsanne had to have circular headlights, but there is no justification for the fog lamps to be positioned where they are - it's messy and a lazy design. “Well, we can’t copy the Phantom, so let’s move them out to there. Oh, look, it’s 5pm – time to go home.” Perhaps those fog light tears are supposed to draw your focus down and away from the bonnet, where the conflict between the circular headlights and the trapezoidal bonnet creases is palpable. Circles and trapezoids? Who could possibly think that was a good idea?

From the front 3/4 view, the folly of the front headlights and driving lights is compounded by the horror of the front bumper - it's like a bottom lip that extends too far. This view also calls into question the haunches over the rear wheels, which is in conflict with the straight waistline that extends from the bonnet and beyond the B-Pillar.

From the side, the Mulsanne has the same profile as the Continental Flying Spur (which was a commercially-driven four-door Continental). And this reveals another problem - the car's waistline is too high and the roof too low. From a Bentley, you should be able to survey your domain, not be hidden away or excluded from the outside world. To look outside from the Mulsanne will be like trying to peer through a letterbox. Bentley owners should never be reduced to that – that’s what the servants are for.

And then there’s the rear 3/4 view. Please, lock up your children. Now. They've taken the rear of the Flying Spur, fattened the haunches, raked the rear windscreen and made the boot squarer. Yet this description does not capture the abomination that has resulted. Quite simply, it is hideous – it’s like a sprinter is about to start a race with a giant packet of cigarettes wedged down the back of their shorts. You wouldn't see it on an athletics track, and you shouldn't see it here. There isn't even an extended rear bumper for the end of the extended boot to descend into or take refuge - that wedged packet just ends halfway between two pieces of chrome, one of which is on the packet itself.

Let's be quite honest about what happened here - Volkswagen bought the Bentley brand to make and sell prestige vehicles. But rather than retain and embrace the styling that made Bentleys elegant and imposing, they've taken the design language from the Continental and tried to infuse it into the Arnage, the last bastion of British Bentley. And to try and pass this off as a true Bentley, Volkswagen has used a name from Bentley's rich history: Mulsanne. But in doing so, they have merely abused the name and the Bentley brand. They may as well have called it the Flying Arnage Spur.

If Volkswagen wanted to be a custodian of the Bentley tradition and heritage, they would not have done this. What they should have done was to start their own luxury brand, as Toyota did with Lexus, Nissan with Infiniti and Honda with Acura. This car will not appeal to people who understand and love the Bentley brand - it will appeal to people with money rather than sense and no concept of heritage. David Beckham has probably pre-ordered three of them.

Auf wiedersehen, Bentley.

[Wunderkind]

XXXJAG,

All very valid points.

I think the disappointment with the Mulsanne is that it does not break any new grounds in its design language (both the exterior and interior). It looks and feels dated. The designers must have run out of ideas.

The interior looks just like the Arnage with a few new items. The door panels look cheap. The chrome plated buttons in the lower dashboard look like an after thought (and we'll probably see them again in some VW soon). But it's good to see it has a proper gear lever. It doesn't have any WOW factor like the Phantom's. The Mulsanne is more in line with the RR Ghost.

I have the most difficulties with the rear of the car's exterior. The C-pillar, the coke bottle curvy waistline, and the rear door 45-degree shut-line look incoherent. Looks like a toned down Dodge Charger.....................I now have grave fears for the next Brooklands.

[V12RR]

I couldn't agree more! I beleive Dirk van Braeckel has seriously made a mockery of Bentley as a brand with his new Mulsanne.

The car looks stupid and nothing like an elegant work of art with effortless power coupled with style and grace such as a Series II Black Label Arnage.

Bentley drivers would feel foolish in such a silly looking jalopy – it looks like a cross between a Continental Flying Super Speed and a Toyota that has gone horribly wrong!

I find it extraordinary that someone from Skoda would be let anywhere near Bentley – it’s a tragedy.

[Merc1]

Wow!

M