Bentley has opened the information tap very briefly to reveal that the Mulsanne flagship will cost £220,000 when it officially goes on sale during Summer 2010. That's only the starting point though, giving customers access to the 114 paint options, 21 carpet colours, 24 leather types and nine wood veneers. If those are all a bit common, a fully bespoke service will be offered too.
The £220k price tag compares favourably with the £270k of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, although the new 'baby Roller', officially called the Ghost, starts at a shade under £200k. Still, Bentley claims to have given over 1,000 seriously interested customers a tour of the Crewe plant where the Mulsanne will be knocked together, and genuine interest in the car has 'exceeded' expected production for 2010. Bentley stopped short of saying the car has actually sold out until a certain date, however.
Production begins early next year and more information will undoubtedly follow before and during the process. We're told that the car will be Bluetooth and iPod compatible and that buyers can specify a NAIM stereo that's rated as the most powerful on a production car - 2,200 watts blasting from 20 speaker cones. Pah! We've seen Corsas with twice that.
Mark Nichol - 2 Dec 2009