What's all this about?
This is the new Bentley Continental GT Mulliner W12, the new range-topper in the Continental GT family. Until now, the plush Mulliner had only been powered by the same 4.0-litre V8 as found in other Continentals, but the Mulliner W12 gets the same 6.0-litre engine and underpinnings from the previous flagship, the GT Speed, making this, Bentley says, the most powerful and luxurious Continental GT yet, and available as both a coupé and convertible.
Powerful, you say?
There’s a 4% (24hp) increase in power over other versions of the W12 meaning the Mulliner develops 659hp and 900Nm of torque. That’s enough to propel it from a standstill to 60mph in 3.5 seconds, a tenth of a second faster than other W12 models.
Any external changes?
A few small tweaks, primarily a new grille featuring a mesh diamond-in-diamond pattern, something that's echoed in vents on the wings, which are replete with “Mulliner” badging. All of these are available in either bright chrome or gloss black. The 22-inch alloy wheels featuring self-levelling Bentley-badged centre caps are Mulliner-specific too.
The Continental was already luxurious...
Yes, and the Mulliner is even more so. There’s no vegan leather here with eight different three-colour combinations for the interior using Bentley’s palette of hides and threads to create complementary colour contrasts throughout the cabin. A customer can choose their own set of colours and materials from the full suite of Bentley hide colours, veneers and stitching.
As standard, the seats (with embroidered Mulliner logos) feature diamond-in-diamond quilting, as do the doors trims and rear quarter panels. It takes, Bentley says, almost 400,000 stitches to complete the quilting throughout the cabin, with each diamond containing exactly 712 individual stitches.
The centre console is finished in a milled metallic diamond pattern and is flanked either side by walnut veneer with chrome overlays. There’s a Breitling clock sitting in the centre of the console, while the passenger-side fascia is finished with a silhouette of the car’s exterior profile and the Mulliner logo.
Anything of note under the skin?
Adaptive three-chamber air suspension and Bentley Dynamic Ride help keep the car planted and the ride silky smooth. Bentley Dynamic Ride, which made its debut on the Bentayga SUV, is an electric anti-roll control system featuring electric motors within each anti-roll bar to prevent body roll. There’s electric all-wheel steering too, with up to four degrees of lock available on the rear wheels making the Mulliner that bit more agile. At low and medium speeds, the rear wheels steer in the opposite direction to those at the front while at high speeds they turn in the same direction to improve stability. An electronic limited-slip differential aids in vectoring torque across the rear axle, ensuring minimal loss of power at each wheel during hard cornering and in slippery situations.
How much?
The Mulliner W12 makes its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from June 23-26, but, so far, Bentley hasn’t confirmed pricing. Considering the price-tag of the W12 Continental GT Speed, however, expect something some way north of the £200,000 mark.
David Mullen - 21 Jun 2022
