VIDEO: Bentley Mulsanne #1 auctioned at Pebble Beach for $500,000
2010 Bentley Mulsanne - Click above to watch the video after the jump
After marking its highly anticipated debut at Pebble Beach, it was straight off to the auction block for the all-new Bentley Mulsanne, where Bentley CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen and Richard Charlesworth, head of the Bentley Heritage Collection, joined auctioneers Gooding & Company in selling off chassis #1 to the highest bidder.
The Mulsanne is touted as the first Bentley designed and produced entirely at the company's Crewe headquarters in England since the legendary 1920's-era 8-liter Bentley, and to mark the occasion, Gooding wheeled W.O. Bentley's own personal ride, the second 8-liter chassis ever made, onto the stage before bidding began. Gooding opened the bids for Mulsanne #1 at $500,000, but after receiving no bids at that price, bidding quickly stepped down to $300k, only to climb back up to the half-million mark where it sold to an undisclosed collector over the phone.
Proceeds from the auction are earmarked towards the Phil Hill Foundation, the official charitable organization of the Concours, and you can watch the bidding (and hear oh-so-British auctioneering) unfold in the video after the jump.
Gallery: Monterey 2009: 2010 Bentley Mulsanne
[Source: YouTube]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
vespid82 11:42AM (8/18/2009)
And looking goofy as all hell.
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slicecom 11:44AM (8/18/2009)
I just threw up in my mouth a little.
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Venom 12:07PM (8/18/2009)
My sentiments exactly.
Other Man 11:46AM (8/18/2009)
So are we still unaware of what engine and platform it is?
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Mike7 11:55AM (8/18/2009)
Those details won't be released until the Frankfurt motor show in September. It's expected to be an aluminum space frame like the Audi A8, but it's not clear if it's based on the new A8 itself, being FWD based with AWD or modified for RWD. The car was out on display, could no one have crouched down and looked?
summazooma 1:41PM (8/18/2009)
Stuart McCullough, Bentley board member in charge of sales and marketing, was reported as saying in Automotive News that the Mulsanne engine utilizes the same dimensions as the Arnage V8, which is a 6.75L which went with Bentley at the split from Rolls (along with the Crewe factory).
The press release, embedded in the AB post, in fact, says:
• Our ambition was to set new levels of comfort, acceleration and refined enjoyment – positioned at the very pinnacle of the luxury sector. That meant completely redesigning the famous 6.75L V8 and replacing every significant part to improve acceleration, performance throughout the range and fuel efficiency and emissions. It is a state-of-the-art engine with advanced technical features which are ground-breaking for the company and the ultra-luxury sector.
• The result is an engine that the offers the effortless wave of torque for which Bentley is renowned....power and performance whenever the driver demands it.
I almost remember reading an article in, I believe, Autocar, in which the Chief Engineer admitted to a bias against the seemingly-archaic 6.75L OHV V8 when he started but now having developed a true appreciation for the prototypically-Bentley power delivery. In fact, he suggested that the engine had a lot of life left in it for the future.
Mike7 11:50AM (8/18/2009)
"The Mulsanne is touted as the first Bentley designed and produced entirely at the company's Crewe headquarters in England since the legendary 1920's-era 8-liter Bentley..."
They mentioned that and how it is a thoroughly British design, or something like that, when they rolled it out for the first time at Pebble Beach. Well I thought about that. The designer, Dirk van Braeckel is a Belgian, not British. The chief engineer, Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn is German, not British. The CEO of the company, Franz-Josef Paefgen is German also, not British. Where's the British?
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dal20402 11:59AM (8/18/2009)
I don't understand all these haters on the design.
The only remotely new element is the headlamp treatment, and I think it looks very British and mega-luxury. The car is elegant for something its size.
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homunculus 12:02PM (8/18/2009)
the wheels need to be replaced. too much chrome. otherwise, it looks about a million pounds.
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thedude,dude 12:05PM (8/18/2009)
my impression
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/1586/bentdoggy.jpg
entire design for me is a big let down.
maybe its me, maybe I am too old and stodgy at 36.
this and the new XJ, both do not translate for me.
my problem with this: For me the Bentley is a owner/driver sedan that exudes a cool no-nonsense power and understated elegance and luxury. Not as flashy as the Rolls however it was more about old money. New money buys a Rolls to stand out, not a Bentley.
Design wise: this is way to flashy, more like a hyped 300C than a continued evolution.
Both the Turbo Rs, through to the Arnage had the upright greenhouse and purposeful stance, this is a cross-eyed hack job with stupid grin that belongs in a child movie called "Cars"
Gone is the freight-train determination of the old fascia and upright bull-dog fighting rear haunch
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ugg.tryptophan 1:35PM (8/18/2009)
agree with your opinion on the Mulsanne, but the XJ is gorgeous
bgkeen 12:17PM (8/18/2009)
As someone said before, this car is very similar to the Phantom in terms of how it is being received. The consensus is very split. The majority of readers on here hate it, but the majority of readers on German car zone love it. It continues like this for different websites. I personally think it looks awkward in pictures, but have a feeling it will look gorgeous in person.
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Iridium 12:26PM (8/18/2009)
The front end is just terrible. Almost like all designers have forgotten how do do a good front end. Take recent Acuras as an example.
The rest of the car is frumpy. The rear deck is fairly elegant but overall the design is a huge letdown. I was hoping for a grand design similar to Bentleys from the golden age. Instead it looks like something designed by Geeley.
The car looks horrible in straight shots, only looking good in 3/4 shots. Which again reinforces that designers today don't ever check designs in orthographic views. I don't think anyone who worked on the design studied composition in college. The front end proportions and headlights lack good composition. All of the lines slope down from the center line giving the car a sad expression.
I also wonder why the press renderings feature a hood badge and the actual car has a flying B ornament. The badge looks a lot better, the flying B is too small for the size of the hood.
These things can be overlooked if this was a budget car but as an ultralux car the design faults can't be ignored. What makes matters worse is that the Bentley Continental is a design masterpiece and it has been followed by this.
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Zeph 12:27PM (8/18/2009)
Stylewise this car will grow on people. It's distinctive, imposing and yet still elegant.
Technologically it's (probably) the same old con. Old technology hyped up with luxury so people don't realise that oil based is the wrong choice in today's world. I hope they prove me wrong and at least make it flexfuel... but who am I kidding, this is an elitist contraption after all.
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Farmboy 12:40PM (8/18/2009)
Okay....I am sorry. I absolutely love Bentley. What the hell is that?!?! Looks really bad with that front end. I am sobbing over the fail of this front end.
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moretz2450 12:46PM (8/18/2009)
This new Mulsanne kinda reminds me of a 1999 Packard prototype that was featured here on autoblog!
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/05/ebay-find-of-the-day-1999-packard-twelve-concept-car/
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Art 12:49PM (8/18/2009)
100% of list...thats not half bad.
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bfgusa 12:55PM (8/18/2009)
...somehow I got used to the RR Phantom front end so maybe in two years from now, I'll get used to that one too.
Still it is very dissappointing. I was expecting better. That front end ruins the whole car. It is so massive. No inspiration here. I guess all the British creativity is now with Jaguar.
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GlobalDia 1:18PM (8/18/2009)
and STILL no pics of the interior?????
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Level 1:15PM (8/18/2009)
I like the car, it has lots of shapes going for it...yes the front headlights look kinda weird but def nothing out there like it and the way they sculptured the body I haven't even seen this car and it feels like it's built like a tank...great impression....
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