Motoring: Bentley Mulsanne

THE Mulsanne is the ultimate Bentley, a grand touring limousine that takes its name from a small community in central France, part of the Le Mans 24 Hour race which Bentley has won six times.

It is the first Bentley flagship car to be created solely "in house" at Crewe since the formidable 8-litre model in 1930. Just 100 of those were made.

Annual production of the Mulsanne will be around 800. Deliveries start in September. The standard car costs 220,000 and it is sold out until the middle of 2011. The car I tried was 260,000. The "extras" included the 21-inch wheels in place of 20s, adaptive cruise control (but no speed limiter), a rear view camera, a six disc DVD player, a television, metal Bentley winged badges on the door ledges and fascia, a 2,200-watt, 20-speaker Naim audio. "It is the most powerful in any production car," explained our riding companion, Ashley Wilkins, programme manager for this and other Bentleys.

He turned up the volume. It got very loud without distortion, but I am not sure why so much is needed in so small a space.

Bentley is the luxury brand in the Volkswagen Group. The majority of models use a VW-derived 12-cylinder, six-litre engine and various parts shipped across the Channel.

Mulsanne is bespoke English. Hundreds of millions of pounds, or euros, have been spent changing Crewe to make Mulsanne. The 6.75-litre V8, a Bentley staple for 51 years in various guises, is re-engineered to be lighter, cleaner, better. The body mix of steel and aluminium panels, was to be pressed in the English Midlands. As it happens production of most panels has been switched to unspecified overseas countries for quality and other reasons.

Aluminium is used for the front wings, bonnet and doors. The boot lid is composite, to allow the navigation aerial to be embedded.

The entire car takes some 500 hours, or nine weeks. That is around 20 or 30 times longer than needed for a normal car. Even a Bentley Continental is knocked out in 200 hours More than half the build time is on the interior, which craftsmen and women create using expensive and exquisite wood veneers and leather. It takes two days just to stitch the steering wheel rim with leather. The roof liner is leather, too.

At 220,000 for the basic Mulsanne it should be good, and it is. The outgoing Arnage was 175,000. The Mulsanne is bigger and has cost Bentley/VW a fortune in hopes and investment of time and resources. But 45,000 more than an already very good Arnage. You could have a Porsche Cayman S for that lump of money.

The V8 gives useful acceleration. It is deceptively quick, mostly in near-silence.

Wilkins says owners wanted a V8 motor rather than the (VW Group) 12-cylinder. It has greater torque at low speed. It has two turbochargers but you cannot hear them or any groovy V8 rumble from inside the car.

The company has been launching the Mulsanne to the world press at Archerfield, once a home to Lord Elgin, south-east of Edinburgh. An opulent golf course has been created in the estate.

The region's roads are good, not too busy, but speckled with grey and yellow speed cameras to reduce the number of bad accidents. Fair enough. The Mulsanne will "do" more than 180 miles an hour. In town and country it is easy to be going far too quickly – a consequence of the torque and the power and silence. That's why it needs a speed limiter.

The speedometer is on the left, the tachometer on the right. That is old fashioned and not intuitive these days. The tachometer is a waste of space in a display which Bentley wanted to keep simple. It is redlined at 4,500 rpm and after you have noticed that the car cruises at 70mph at 1,500 rpm in the eighth gear of the German ZF gearbox I am not sure why else you would look at it.

There are four suspension settings, including one you can custom-set. Even in Comfort the Mulsanne is remarkably agile. The steering is so positive and yet light. The Sport setting tightens things up and alters the throttle response. The ride is still very good. In between is a B for Bentley setting, an in-house suggested compromise. The Mulsanne weighs two and a half tons yet corners flat, like a good sports car but with amazing refinement and comfort. Most owners will drive the Mulsanne themselves.

The car is large but very easy to judge and place. For other road users it has presence, with its elegant body and imposing mesh grille and halo LED lights. It avoids the brash face of a modern Rolls-Royce. It is car for gentlemen. The R-R is for new-money entrepreneurs. Which are you?

On the road

It is: Bentley Mulsanne. Four-door saloon from Crewe.

Price: From 220,000. Deliveries around September.

Pace: 0-60mph in 5.1 seconds. Maximum 184mph.

Ecology: CO2 emissions 393g/km. Combined 16.7mpg.

Power: Twin turbo 6.75 litre V8 gives 505bhp at 4,200rpm and 752lb ft of torque from 1,750rpm.