Bentley Corniche Reviews

Bespoke British manufacturer Bentley has announced that it will be present at the 2011 Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne. The company will use the occasion to publicly display, for the first time in Australasia, the exquisite new Continental GT. In addition, Bentley will show the flagship Mulsanne – a car that truly represents the Bentley brand. Each Mulsanne takes nine weeks to build in a new manufacturing facility in Crewe, England, where traditional coachbuilding skills developed over six decades are fused with the latest in technology. Making its Australasian debut, the GT is somewhat of a coup for the Australian International Motor Show. The new vehicle features the latest evolution of Bentley’s acclaimed six-litre 12-cylinder engine. With its ‘W’ configuration it is the most compact 12-cylinder engine in the world. Continuing the technological theme of the show, the latest version of the power unit is an impressive piece of engineering. Maximum power has increased to 423kW and torque up to 700Nm – seeing the GT effortlessly reach 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds and topping out at 318km/h. However, that is just part of the story. Bentley’s advanced new FlexFuel technology allows the all-wheel drive coupé to run seamlessly on petrol, bioethanol (E85) or a combination of the two. The drivetrain has been enhanced further by the introduction of the new six-speed Quickshift transmission which has reduced gear change times by 50 per cent. The stunning Mulsanne sedan will ensure that the GT doesn’t get all the attention on the Bentley stand. The Mulsanne is Bentley’s flagship and the numbers are almost as impressive as its inherent presence: an all-new 6.75-litre V8, 377kW of power, a mammoth 1020Nm of torque, eight-speed automatic transmission, 2.5 tonnes of luxury (yet a 0–100km/h time of just 5.1s), top speed of 296km/h, and a $662,000 (excl on road costs) retail price. Russ Tyrie, Australian International Motor Show event director, is understandably excited to welcome Bentley back to the show. “Bentley vehicles definitely have a ‘wow’ factor to them,” said Mr Tyrie. “The undeniable class, the design and style, the heritage – people just know that there is something special about a Bentley. “To have the Australasian public debut of a car like the new GT is very special for us – and I’m sure the Mulsanne will also be a crowd-pleaser.” The Australian International Motor Show opens at 6pm on Friday 1 July and runs through until Sunday 10 July at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Chinese buyers helped Bentley survive the downturn, which hit top-tier marques especially hard. Bentleys are large, which suits Chinese luxury tastes. Its bestseller there, by far, is the Flying Spur sedan.The Flying Spur is the four-door variant of the Continental GT, the coupe that was the first car Bentley made after it split from Rolls-Royce to become part of the Volkswagen group.The Continental GT defined the reborn Bentley. It was exactly the sort of eye-catching shape Bentley needed to put it back on the radar.Eight years later the second-generation GT has arrived to carry the banner into the next decade.DESIGNBentley desperately needs to boost sales but decided on a gentle evolution of the GT rather than a radical overhaul.So there are subtle changes to make it look racier and more upmarket. It's wider than before and the waistline -- the lower edge of the windows -- has been raised. Some of the panels are now aluminium, which helps to shed about 60kg. It also means Bentley can use a shaping technique called superforming to avoid seams around the headlights, give crisper lines along the sides and more pronounced haunches.TECHNOLOGYUnderneath, the suspension has been retuned while under the bonnet, the W-shaped 6.0-litre turbocharged 12-cylinder engine has got 11kW more power and 50Nm more torque. The all-wheel drive system now distributes drive with a 60 per cent bias to the rear instead of an even split, so that the dynamics more closely resemble a traditional sportscar.Inside, Bentley has liberated some rear leg-room by redesigning the seats and relocating the seatbelts. The central control screen is larger and its software has received the latest upgrade.DRIVINGTHE previous Continental GT was a lovely car that epitomised the grand-tourer idea. This is a romantic notion, to me at least, that suggests effortless meandering among the cultural landmarks of Europe like an Evelyn Waugh character, a wad of inherited money in my back pocket.Unhappily, that's not my lot and neither would it be for most GT owners. But the GT was a pleasant way to drive to work when you're a time-poor merchant bank exec. As a statement of weighty prosperity and power, the GT felt exactly like a Bentley should.A design this good deserves to live beyond a single model cycle, especially at the top of the market. Some brands tinker with the same shape for decades without doing much; Porsche's 911 is exhibit A. There are sound reasons for Bentley to do the same. Inspired by famous models from its past, the face of the GT set Bentley on a design course that is still being followed.Count the retained looks as a plus, but it's still doubtful whether Bentley has done enough with this upgrade.Some changes play on our subconscious awareness of quality, giving the overall result a more polished feel. These include the way the headlights now sit in individual cut-outs, instead of the cheaper construction method used before. But other makers such as Morgan and Aston Martin already do this on cars that cost much less.Some improvements, such as the new control screen in the centre console, aim to make it more modern. This system has been inherited from the Volkswagen group, then tweaked for the GT. But it's neither cutting-edge nor especially easy to use, and certainly not up there with the best. You don't come away thinking, “Oh, I wish my iPhone worked like that.'' It's worthwhile addressing these issues, but they're not a huge leap forward.This is true of the engineering as well. The engine can run on ethanol up to E85 but has yet to gain direct injection, which improves fuel economy and power at the same time. This should arrive in a 4.0-litre V8, reportedly being developed with Audi, and due in the GT later this year.This 12-cylinder, driving through an automatic transmission with six speeds as before, gains a little power and remains a muscular slurper. There's good torque from low revs for effortless progress, although snap acceleration is hampered somewhat by the GT's substantial mass. The weight shed in this upgrade is tiny compared with the car's mass and affects fuel consumption barely a jot. As you would expect, it feels solidly planted on the road and rides with heavyweight assurance. Despite the heft, there's some delicacy to the chassis, with body roll and pitch sweetly damped. It was, and remains, an enjoyable drive.For anyone willing to spend $400,000 to $500,000 on a car, choices have multiplied since the GT arrived in 2003. Bentley says this vindicates its original strategy. But it also suggests that a minimalist approach to this upgrade may not be enough. If you didn't like the look of the original GT, the second generation won't change your mind.BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GTEngine: 6.0-litre turbocharged petrol 12-cylinderPower/torque: 423kW at 6000rpm and 700Nm at 1700rpmTransmissions: Six-speed automatic, all-wheel drivePrice: From $405,000 plus on-road costs

Bentley, which uses up to 12-cylinder engines in its 2-tonne-plus top-end saloons, says the fuel slashes its CO2 footprint by up to 70 per cent. The luxury carmaker in 2008 started making its cars compatible with E85 (85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol - or any variation in between) as a means of reducing emissions and meeting proposed European exhaust gas regulations. Bentley engineering director Dr Ulrich Eichhorn says even though E85 wasn't available in all markets, customers showed immense interest in towing a green line. "In markets where ethanol is available, we see high interest by customers,'' he says. "We estimate that from well to wheel - the lifecycle of the energy process - a Bentley running on sustainable E85 will have a whole of life CO2 reduction of more than 70 per cent. "It makes a rational reason why a buyer would buy a Bentley. It promotes an environmental message. "We know of one customer who traded in an almost-new Flying Spur model and bought the latest Flying Spur with the E85-compatible engine. "He did it for three reasons - environment, the fact that in Britain it saves him about $30 because of a lower tax; and his neighbour has a Prius and he is delighted that he can smuggly match its CO2 footprint. They may not be reasons chosen by most owners, but they make sense for him and there's a clear benefit to the environment.'' Bentley is facing a choice of going it alone with the proposed - and not yet legislated - 120g/km CO2 threshold of European delivery cars. It takes effect in January 2012 with a graduated introduction trough to 2015. "We can either join with Volkswagen and take advantage of the lower emission level of the group's fleet, or go it alone. It's being discussed. Personally, I think it makes more sense to stay within the Volkswagen Group's fleet.'' Bentley last month proved the worth of its E85 commitment by settling a world ice speed record on the frozen Baltic Sea off the coast of Finland. Former rally champion Juha Kankkunen sent a Bentley Continental GT at 330.69km/h over a 14km graded section of the 700mm-thick ice. The fuel used, says Eichhorn, was derived from waste straw.

The luxury automaker is planning to roll out 100 special-edition models to commemorate Juha Kankkunen's recent record-breaking ice-speed run. With only a roll-cage, Pirelli winter tires, a rear parachute, and a few minor aerodynamic changes added to the Bentley, world rally champion Kankkunen got behind the wheel and sped his way through the slippery terrain to achieve a world ice speed record. Bentley will show the new Supersports 'Ice Speed Record' convertible as well as Juha's record-breaking car on the Bentley stand at the Geneva Show.

While most people associate James Bond with Aston Martins, the original Ian Fleming books had the British master spy driving a Bentley.  In a new book commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications, author Jeffrey Deaver has returned 007 to his rightful place in a Bentley in the pages of Carte Blanche.Deaver, author of the Bone Collector, selected the Bentley Continental GT in his book to be published on May 26, a few days before the anniversary of Fleming's birthday.The book is partly set in Dubai, where Deaver recently drove a Continental GT.  "It is an inspirational and awe-inspiring city and makes a perfect Bond location, especially for a novel that pushes our hero to new extremes," he says.Despite Bond driving a Bentley in Fleming's books, his first car in a movie was a Sunbeam Alpine in the 1962 film, Dr No.  He didn't drive a Bentley until the second Bond flick, From Russia With Love, in 1963 in which the licensed-to-kill agent drove a Bentley Mark IV.It wasn't until the third Bond movie, Goldfinger, in 1964, that Bond drove the famous Aston Martin DB5, the quintessential Bond car.  There were also Bentleys in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and Moonraker (1979).Other car companies have used Bond films to promote and even launch new models.  Highlights are the amphibious Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me and the launch of the BMW Z3 Roadster in GoldenEye.Agent 007 carsVehicles starring in James Bond films:1962, Dr No: Sunbeam Alpine, Chevrolet Bel Air convertible1963, From Russia With Love: Bentley Mark IV1964, Goldfinger: Aston Martin DB5, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes 190 coupe, Lincoln Continental, Ford Mustang convertible, Rolls-Royce Phantom III1965, Thunderball: Aston Martin DB5, Ford Mustang convertible, BSA Lightning 650cc motorcycle, gyrocopter1967, You Only Live Twice: Toyota 2000 GT, BMW 2000 CS1969, On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Aston Martin DBS, Mercury Cougar, Bentley Mark II Continental, Rolls-Royce Corniche1971, Diamonds are Forever: 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1, Triumph Stag, moonbuggy1973, Live And Let Die: Glastron speedboat, double-decker London bus, Chevrolet Impala convertible, Mini Moke1974, The Man With The Golden Gun: AMC Hornet and Matador, Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow1977, The Spy Who Loved Me: Lotus Esprit, Wetbike concept, Ford Cortina 2.3 Ghia, Mini Moke1979, Moonraker: Bentley Mark IV, Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II1981, For Your Eyes Only: Citroen 2CV, Lotus Esprit Turbo, Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II1983, Octopussy: Mercedes-Benz 250 SE, BMW 5 Series, Alfa Romeo GTV1985, A View To A Kill: Renault taxi, Ford LTD, Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, Chevrolet Corvette C4, Jeep Cherokee (XJ)1987, The Living Daylights: Aston Martin DBS and V8 Vantage, Audi 200 Quattro1989, Licence To Kill: Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Kenworth petrol tanker1995, GoldenEye: BMW Z3 roadster, Aston Martin DB5, Russian tank, Ferrari 3551997, Tomorrow Never Dies: Aston Martin DB5, BMW 750iL, BMW R1200C motorcycle1999, The World is not Enough: BMW Z8, Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow2002, Die Another Day: Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar XKR, pink Ford Thunderbird convertible2006: Casino Royale: Aston Martin DBS and DB5, Jaguar E Type Roadster, Fiat Panda 4x4, Ford Transit, Ford Mondeo2008: Quantum of Solace: Aston Martin DBS V12, Alfa Romeo 159 and 156, Audi A6, Ford Ka & Edge, Jaguar XJ8, Volvo S40T5, Volkswagen Type 1.

It's fast, it's flash, and it's finally here.  Bentley have unveiled their new GT coupe at the Paris Motor Show. The W12 engine produces more power (575 PS / 567 bhp / 423 kW) and torque (700 Nm / 516 lb ft) as well as sharper acceleration times throughout the range. There's also increased storage space, an additional 46 mm of legroom for back-seat passengers and a state-of-the-art 30 GB infotainment system supported by touchscreen technology.Deliveries to customers will start in the first quarter of 2011.

The V8 will have 40 per cent lower CO2 emissions than the 384g/km of the W12, but both engines will be capable of running on 85 per cent ethanol.  Bentley has committed to having E85 compatibility in all its cars by 2012 with the first being the Supersports launched here last December. While performance details are not yet available for the V8, the 12-cylinder, twin-turbocharged powertrain will have 12kW more power with 423kW and 700Nm of torque. It will be mated to a new Quickshift transmission which enables double downshifts. Bentley claims this combination of engine and transmission drops the 0-100km/h time from 4.6 to 4.4 seconds.  Australia's Bentley spokesman, Ian Churchill, says they will be taking orders for the new four-seater coupe later this year with a local launch in the second quarter of next year. "The W12 engine is available at launch with the V8 derivative to be communicated late 2011," he says.  "Both will ultimately be available to the Australian market. "The key point to note with these two engine configurations is our overall commitment to producing engaging vehicles for the market while still making clear our intention to embrace a combination of flex-fuel and engine improvements to reduce Bentley's environment impact."Pricing will be announced soon, he says. "In terms of sales we expect strong interest from owners of the current Continental coupe, of which we have sold 23,000 since launch in 2003," Churchill says.  "The blend of supercar performance with everyday practicality has meant the new GT is attracting many new clients to the Bentley stable." The car will also feature "super formed" aluminium front wings and boot lid that allow for a more sculpted body.  Super forming heats the aluminium panels to nearly 500 degrees Celsius before shaping them by air pressure. By using a single sheet of aluminium, no seams or welding are required. The process was first used on the Mulsanne and it allows a weight reduction in the coupe of 65kg.  The exterior now features jewelled headlamps with LED daytime-running lights, a more upright matrix radiator grille and new double horseshoe rear profile first shown on the flagship Bentley Mulsanne. Inside is a new sweeping dashboard and instrument panel finished in premium, soft-touch leather hides, cobra-design seats, more rear cabin space and a new touchscreen, 30GB infotainment system with satellite navigation.

The special 'Arabia' models from Bentley show how well the luxury badge has done in the Middle East while other brands were suffering sales drops.  The oil-rich market has doubled its slice of Bentley purchases in the last five years and now buys 10 per cent of the marque's global sales, despite the recent global financial crisis.In recognition of that the VW-owned British breed has been busy at its Crewe headquarters, designing and developing two unique Continental models with a range of features specific to the Middle East market.Imaginatively named the Continental Flying Spur Arabia and the Continental Flying Spur Speed Arabia, the high-performance luxury four-door saloon - which starts at just under $400,000 if you bought one here - has additional features to create what the company says is "the ultimate in distinguished, elegant driving developed for the Arabic  market.''Both cars are further distinguished by some subtle exterior and interior Arabia motifs. These include an exterior front fender badge, tread plate and ashtray lid badge all bearing the Arabia signature.In any other part of the world - and many other brands - it might well be called a "bling'' edition, but Bentley isn't treading on the toes of "Pimp My Ride.''  The already-ample features list has been bolstered with ventilated "fluted'' seats that now cool as well as heat - the latter not really a must-have for the Middle East - as well as the option of active cruise control, a rear-view camera, iPod connectivity for the rear DVD system, phone handsets front and rear and carbon ceramic brakes (which need the Speed's 20in wheels, optional on the Flying Spur, for space).Even the fuel cap has been blinged up in bright chrome with the famous B badge.  Bentley's Middle East and Asia regional director Geoff Dowding says the new models for Arabic customers is recognition of their growing importance to the marque."Bentley has a long and proud tradition of being able to design, engineer and personalise our cars to the individual styling and driving tastes of our customers and these special-edition Bentleys showcase these skills for the Middle East Market,'' he says.The Arabia editions don't get any extra urge, but the standard six-litre twin-turbo W12 has an elegant sufficiency of propulsion for the 2440kg machine, thanks to 412kW and 650Nm being delivered to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic.That's enough for the Flying Spur Arabia to reach a top speed of 312 km/h and a 0-100 km/h sprint time of just 5.2 seconds.  The Speed Arabia has 449kW and 750Nm at its driver's disposal, dropping the 0-100 km/h sprint to 4.8 seconds and upping the top speed of 322km/h.

These are the fantasies of vehicle designers that we usually only get to see at international motor shows. Now Detroit's finest motoring graphic artists are sending their finest works of motoring art around the world in a travelling exhibition that will hit Brisbane from this month. Called Industrial Desire, the exhibition will feature models, drawings and film footage, Detroit's gothic beauty and iconic futuristic cars. With less than a few thousand car designers globally, it counts as one of the world's most competitive and secretive careers. Show curator Leon Fitzpatrick, an Australian-born industrial designer who studied in Detroit, has picked the exhibition pieces from Detroit's College for Creative Studies, an international centre of excellence in transportation design. "What we need out there are cars that ignite a sense of wonder, rather than the rolling appliances they have become," he says. "These models show there's no reason why cars can't be exciting, aesthetically pleasing and thoughtful all at the same time." The show, which runs from June 10 to August 28 at Artisan Gallery in Fortitude Valley, features 10 quarter-scale models of fantastic concept vehicles including futuristic SUVs, muscle cars and cutting edge ecofriendly city cars. They are supported by original sketches and renderings, multimedia video, sketches, rendering and digital 3-D modelling. "With the automotive industry on the verge of a massive shift it is timely to look at the creativity and optimism of the next generation of car designers," Fitzpatrick says. "Industrial Desire is a powerful, informative and inspirational experience for people of all ages, merging craft and design in a new and innovative way." Another Australian link in the exhibition is Imre Molnar, Dean at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, who trained at the National Art School of Sydney in Australia and worked with the Australian Design Council. He has been a featured lecturer on strategic design management for businesses around the globe, including Nokia, NCR, Volkswagen, BMW, the Ford Motor Company and JETRO (Japanese External Trade Organisation), and at government symposia.

A HUGE new Bentley has just gone on sale with an enormous engine, splendid luxury appointments and a stratospheric price. Unfortunately, the world is in the throes of an economic crisis that means the market for elite motor cars has gone into a tailspin. Bentley goes bust.That was 80 years ago and the car was known simply as the 8 Litre. Only 100 were made before the financial meltdown brought the receivers in.Walter Owen Bentley's private example, lovingly restored, has been brought along for the launch of the Mulsanne, a huge new Bentley with an enormous engine, splendid luxury appointments and, of course, a stratospheric price. The two are linked by their distinctive approach to luxury motoring and a certain symmetry in global events.More than that, the Mulsanne represents the first time since the 8 Litre that Bentley has designed and built a flagship for itself. All the other big Bentleys for eight decades were Rolls-Royces first, Bentleys second. Sometimes Rolls, which acquired its rival in 1931 after the company failed, didn't even change all the labels.The timing parallels may be ominous, but Bentley has approached the Mulsanne with no fear of the latest global financial crisis. ``We do believe there will always be exclusive people looking for exclusive products,'' Bentley chairman Franz-Josef Paefgen says. ``That is the way human beings are.''Always now, not then, presumably. What's clear is that with such a unique opportunity to reassert its identity at the super-luxury end of the market, it has not held back.The Mulsanne replaces the Arnage, which began life 12 years ago as twin to the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, when the companies were still together. The Seraph was pensioned off and BMW, which owns Rolls, replaced it with a new car. Bentley, owned by Volkswagen, kept the Arnage going until last year and, thanks to the changes made along the way, it earned a place in the hearts of its customers. A relic of another era, it felt special despite its flaws.The Mulsanne is much more ambitious than an updating of the Arnage, though.”We hope this car brings back the values of the old vintage times when Bentleys were not only big cars -- because W.O. Bentley was a railway engineer by education -- but also very exclusive, very comfortable and unique,'' Paefgen says.The result owes very little in terms of parts to the Arnage. It's longer, at nearly 5.6m, and built on new underpinnings to be as solid as they come. Mostly steel, it tips the scales at 2.6 tonnes and feels indestructible. Bentleys are not meant to be light; part of the appeal is their heft.Even better are its long, flowing lines with an absence of seams and a double headlight face inspired by the Bentley S-Type from the 1950s. It's built, largely by hand, where Bentley has made its home since World War II, at Crewe in northeast England.A mixture of old and new runs right through this car, from its body construction and its engine design to its lavish interior. It has up-to-the-minute electronics but uses an engine that dates back a half century. It has insisted on traditional tanning techniques, but the 17 hides needed for each car are cut by computer. It has hand-finished steel body panels but uses aluminium superforming, an aerospace technique, to produce the complex front wings.A visit to the factory reveals how it comes together. In the body shop, the main steel panels are joined in the same way as any car, but to achieve the floating rear window effect, in which the pane is surrounded by seamless metal, takes hours of hand finishing.Work on the interior is especially labour intensive. The Mulsanne takes the woodwork on cars to a new level even for Bentley, which is no slouch when it comes to cabinet making. The veneered solid timber waist-rails could have come from a dinner table. Stainless steel, knurled for grip on the controls, is used for details from the coat hooks to the sill covers.One surprise was the absence of the Breitling clock that's fitted to the Continental GT, the other model developed since Volkswagen took over. A Winged B-badged timepiece matches the other black dials, though.There's an almost complete absence of plastic and the buttons look like glass. A measure of Bentley's priorities came with the knowledge that it increased the carpet quality in the cabin, adding 5kg in the process.The iPod age has not been neglected, with a special drawer for a player while Bentley overcame problems such as introducing keyless entry on solid metal door handles, a combination that doesn't usually work.That turns out to be a neat reflective trick. However, Bentley disdains some of the latest technology, such as lane departure warning systems, because Paefgen thinks they are not yet good enough. Adaptive cruise control makes the cut, but fully automatic driving is the next worthwhile step.One key decision concerned the engine: retain a turbocharged V8, in the sentimental capacity of 6.75-litres, or move to a V12, which is generally regarded as the ultimate? Bentley did more than commit to a V8. It has returned to the 50-year-old architecture of the previous unit, with its single camshaft and pushrod-activated two valves a cylinder.Sound like a dinosaur? It doesn't from behind the wheel. Bentley upgraded and replaced almost every item. The result is an ancient template with some hi-tech features added, including cylinder deactivation, which switches to run on four cylinders when cruising, a first at this level.The company claims much improved smoothness at idle compared with the Arnage, better refinement and more torque at a lower threshold. “If you're looking for a low-revving, high-torque engine there's no reason you should not take a pushrod engine; you don't need four valves or overhead camshafts or all that,'' Paefgen says.He compares the engine character to the old-fashioned Detroit iron of American muscle cars. It's a reserved British concept of muscle that disdains showing off. I could have done with a bit more V8 vocalness when demands are made.There's no complaint about the effortless performance, though. The torque this engine develops, a steam-train-sized 1020Nm, arrives at 1750rpm, then the Bentley gathers pace as if it's going downhill. It can reach 100km/h in 5.3 seconds and red-lines at 4500rpm, which you won't see often unless you're planning on reaching its maximum speed of 296km/h.The cylinder deactivation is virtually impossible to pick and there's an eight-speed automatic with shift paddles behind the wheel, which are pointless but a delight to touch.It took a while before I could take my eyes off the burr-oak interior in the test car, but it was worth it to gaze over acres of Windsor Blue bonnet, elegantly spined and topped with a flying B mascot. This is not a car you hustle. The effortlessness of the engine is a good match for the handling, which is best enjoyed by going with the flow.It carries terrific backroad pace through the Scottish border country chosen for the event with little input from the driver. Despite its size and light steering, it's not difficult to place on the road. This is luxury driving with chairman-of-the-board style involvment.The test car was fitted with 21-inch wheels and they may have been responsible for a bit more tyre noise than I expected, with some road imperfections finding their way through the steering wheel as well. Even Bentley thinks its Rolls rival has the edge in low-speed refinement, although it says the differences diminish as speed rises.Bentley has hit the target with this car, which feels every bit as thorough a reinvention of its flagship as its rival, Rolls-Royce, achieved with the Phantom. If you can afford one, you almost certainly own more than one car. Buy the Phantom to glide you to Glyndebourne, perhaps, but the Mulsanne for the tour to Monaco. Assuming, of course, you can afford to ignore the trifling matter of a troubled world economy.BENTLEY MULSANNE - $695,000 on the roadVehicle: Large luxury sedanEngine: 6.8-litre turbocharged V8Outputs: 377kW at 4200rpm and 1020Nm at 1750rpmTransmission: Eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive