End of an era: Final Bentley Mulsanne rolls off factory floor

Five months ago, Bentley announced that they will officially be ending production of the Mulsanne with a special edition model called the 'Mulsanne 6.75 Edition by Mulliner'. Revived back in 2010, the enduring nameplate always came with Bentley's signature 6.75-liter V8 which has been in production since 1959. Like the Mulsanne, the long-lived V8 will also be consigned to the history books.

Now, the Crewe-based luxury marque has revealed the last Mulsanne built – marking the nameplate's end of production. This vehicle is one of only 30 examples made and comes with a unique paint finish that consists of Rose Gold over Tungsten. It is set to be delivered to the U.S. and is powered by, you guessed it, a 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8 that churns out 537 PS and 1,100 Nm of torque.

With the Mulsanne set to be discontinued, the Flying Spur will now take its place as the brand's flagship luxury sedan. Throughout the Mulsanne's decade-long life, the sedan saw a plethora of updates, changes, and new model variants. In 2012, the Mulsanne received its first upgrade with the Driving Specification model. With it, the Mulsanne was given extras like 21-inch alloy wheels, Bentley Flying 'B' wing vents, diamond-quilted leather upholstery, and a tilt-opening glass sunroof.

It was then followed by the Mulsanne Speed which was revealed in 2015. Serving as the most powerful model, its 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8 cranked out nearly 540 PS and over 1,000 Nm of torque. Then in 2016, the car first received its first facelift. The entire front end of the car received a noticeable makeover on the headlights, taillights, bumpers, and even the hood. This translated to a more modern and cohesive-looking Mulsanne said, Bentley.

Finally, there's the Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase which offers more cabin space, particularly to those seated at the back. With an extra 250mm of wheelbase (3266mm to 3516), the luxury sedan has probably the most opulent (and spacious cabin) of the lot.

Throughout its 10-year run, Bentley is proud to say that over 700 people have invested nearly 3 million hours crafting the Mulsanne. Each car also has 42,000,000 million spot welds, and over 90,000 hours have been put into polishing cars before being sent to customers.

“The Mulsanne is the culmination of all that we at Bentley have learned during our first 100 years in producing the finest luxury cars in the world. As the flagship of our model range for over a decade, the Mulsanne has firmly solidified its place in the history of Bentley as nothing less than a true icon. I am immensely proud of the hundreds of designers, engineers, and craftspeople that brought the Mulsanne to life over the last ten years. Now, as we begin Bentley’s journey to define the future of sustainable luxury mobility through our Beyond100 strategy, the role of Bentley flagship is passed to the new Flying Spur,” said Adrian Hallmark, Chairman, and CEO of Bentley Motors.

With the Flying Spur now serving as the automaker's latest flagship model, what does this mean for Bentley itself? Well, the automaker is looking to build more vehicles that are aimed towards sustainable mobility. That means, more hybrid and electric models are coming Bentley's way. The demise of the Mulsanne means Bentley can refocus some of its resources and skills to building and designing more eco-friendly cars in the not-so-distant feature.

While fans of the Mulsanne may find that it disheartening that Bentley had to kill off their flagship sedan in order to build newer cars in the future, Bentley is looking towards the long run in order to advance further. Bentley also had to remove 1,000 employees in order to achieve the planned changes it is working on

As the saying goes; you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs.