Designing a grand car that looks powerful, yet agile is no easy task. Yet this is precisely what has been achieved with the Bentley Mulsanne. Like a powerful athlete that is also a swift and graceful runner, it captures a unique fusion of power, elegance and sporting style.

The entire body is sculpted to create rich design contrasts. It appears to be solid, as if sculpted from a single block, yet simultaneously graceful and elegant. Solid yet sleek. Classic yet modern. The design is made to accommodate customized materials, not to reduce their usage. For example, the hand brazing of different thicknesses of steel is required to create that exclusive, seamless, flush-fit feeling. Imagine, for example, that it takes a full 45 minutes to braze one lengthy section of metal behind the rear doors.

By taking these extra steps, Bentley craftspeople can create a sleek work of art that further accentuates those classic British Bentley proportions: Sweeping lines flow into sporting, powerful haunches, hinting at capability in reserve. Difficult? Yes. Impossible. No

Move up closer to the Bentley Mulsanne and you’ll recognize a familiar face, yet something is different. The large round LED headlamps are set closer to the grille while the running lights are staggered, echoing the configuration favored on our 8 Litre car of 1930. “To achieve this look, we spent a lot of time studying iconic Bentley’s over time the Bentley 8 Litre, Flying Spur of the 1950s, Brooklands, Azure and Arnage were all touch points,” says Chief Exterior Designer Raul Pires. “We wanted a more sporting and distinctive Bentley look.”