Bentley Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner
“Exquisite craftsmanship celebrating 100 years of extraordinary”
In 1919 Walter Owen (W.O.) Bentley created a company with a simple objective: to build “a fast car, a good car, the best in its class”.
Heardquatered in Crewe in the north-west of England where every Bentley automobile has been built since 1946, Bentley Motors demonstrates the beauty of bespoke with the very special limited edition Mulsanne W.O. Edition.
Limited to only 100 cars – the Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner celebrates and marks a century of the British luxury automakers reincarnation on 10 July 1919.
Paying homage to the founding father of the company W.O. Bentley’s 1930 design, it incorporates a genuine piece of Bentley history embodied in a bespoke illuminated Mulliner cocktail cabinet (exquisitely finished with W.O.’s signature) in every car.
1 of 100 slices expertly cut from the original crankshaft taken from W.O. Bentley’s personal 8 Litre car decades ago.
The last model he designed for Bentley Motors back in 1930, a triumph in engineering considered to be he’s finest Grand Tourer, coach built by H.J. Mulliner & Co.
Bentley 8 Litre
The largest and most luxurious Bentley of its time, it featured a 7,983cc straight six, which was the most powerful engine of any car available in Britain and offered remarkable performance.
Originally registered GK 706, W.O.’s was the second 8 Litre off the production line and became his personal transport until he was then forced to sell his beloved car in 1931. It was bought back by Bentley Motors in 2006, undergoing a sympathetic restoration, including replacing the original crankshaft.
W.O.’s 8 Litre has since become a symbolic ‘company car’ for each successive Bentley CEO, and is now a focal point in the Bentley Motors Lineage Exhibition at the company headquarters.
100 Years
As Bentley approaches its centenary in 2019, Mulliner designers reflected on the last 99 years of an extraordinary British automotive story to imagine the new Mulsanne W.O. Edition. In doing so, they have created a truly unique collector’s item.
Debuted in August 2018 at the Monterey Car Week, the Mulsanne W.O. Edition is a piece of history taking inspiration from the ‘golden age’ of British Motoring.
Exterior
The Bentley Mulsanne W.O. Edition can be specified on any of the three-model Mulsanne range dependent on customer specification. A discreet W.O. Bentley signature badge displayed on the lower bumper and special centenary badging adorning the self-levelling wheel centres on the elegant Beluga black wheels and door treadplates, the Mulsanne W.O. Edition further enhances its formidable road presence with Onyx paintwork (although customers can specify other colours from Bentley’s extensive pallet), chrome bonnet strip and graceful Flying B Mascot atop the optional chrome radiator shell and grille.
Interior
Luxury with no bounds – The interior boasts a range of exquisite features inspired by luxury living in the 1930s. A colour split interior cut from luxurious Fireglow Heritage Hide is complemented further by Beluga hide detailing and blind stitching, dark stain Burr Walnut veneer extending to the minor gauge panel, steering wheel rim and other areas – truly reflecting the patina of vintage cars.
Key to this is the hand crafted Mulliner illuminated cocktail cabinet. A marquetry scene on the unit depicts the geometric front matrix grille and headlight of the Bentley 8 Litre revealing a display window, inside which a piece of the crankshaft from W.O. Bentley’s very own 8 Litre car is showcased with inscription detailing the significance of the Bentley artefact just below the machined metal display case.
The rear lounge is finished with Fireglow lambswool rugs, glass tumblers, privacy curtains to the doors, and a premium rear seat entertainment system.
