Luxury carmaker Bentley is celebrating 100-years and to mark the occasion the company has come up with the new Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner which is inspired by the design codes of the famous Bentley 8 Litre, launched in 1930.
The Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner will be available across the three Mulsanne models (Mulsanne, Mulsanne Speed and Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase) with features including a sophisticated interior trimmed with leather, not to mention a refrigerated bottle cooler and an illuminated cocktail cabinet.
In his quest to build the most luxurious car on the planet, Walter Owen Bentley, with the help of coachbuilder HJ Mulliner, launched the 8 Litre in 1930, his last model before financial problems arose—it was the Great Depression after all—followed by the sale of the company to Rolls-Royce. The car was notably equipped with a 7983-cc inline six-cylinder engine, powerful enough to push the 8 Litre to 160 km/h. The second unit produced—numbered GK 706—was W.O.’s personal car which, sadly, he had to sell in 1931.
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In 2006, now under the control of the Volkswagen Group, Bentley bought Walter Owen’s 8 Litre back, and during its restoration, the crankshaft was replaced, among other things, carefully conserving the original one.
While the Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner is presented in an Onyx shade, customers can select the bodywork colour of their choice. Note too that the car’s lower bumper features a discreet W.O. Bentley badge while other badging celebrates the firm’s centenary.
Just 100 of these limited-edition vehicles will be made, each featuring a piece of the crankshaft from W.O. Bentley’s own personal 8 Liter model. Deliveries of this exceptional vehicle are expected to commence in 2019. The Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner also marks Bentley’s 100th anniversary. Walter Owen Bentley founded the company that carries his name in 1919, in a bid to “build a fast car, a good car, the best in its class.”