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Bentley’s all-new flagship grand tourer - A pet of the rich?

The new Bentley Mulsanne is a thoroughly modern statement of luxury driving and grand touring. Conceived, styled and engineered entirely at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, the Mulsanne, with its completely new and unique platform, goes into production next year in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe factory. Mulsanne was first unveiled at the Pebble Beach today, on August 16th.

Noted by: Nikola Stojanović
 

Inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentley’s crowning achievement in 1930, the 8-litre, of which a total of 100 cars were built in 1930 and 1931, today's Bentley Mulsanne is a new grand Bentley that stands as the pinnacle of British luxury motoring.

Bentley wants to associate its all-new grand tourer to marque's racing tradition, thus the name Mulsanne, shared by the famed corner on the Le Mans circuit, the scene of no fewer than six Bentley triumphs.

The car carrying Bentley’s iconic Winged B emblem sets new standards in terms of comfort, effortless performance and hand-crafted refinement. Mulsanne was designed by Dirk van Braeckel, so that it could offer the classic sporting, styling cues long-associated with Bentley - expressed in a thoroughly contemporary way.

The Bentley Mulsanne will go on sale from mid 2010. It will also be displayed at the forthcoming IAA Frankfurt Motor Show (15-27th September, 2009).

Dirk van Braeckel breaks down the all-new flagship, Bentley Mulsanne in the following video:

Nikola observes:
I like the traditional design clues all over the new Mulsanne and the graceful roof line. When I look at this Bentley GT's profile in the mirror, when its rear becomes its front, I see a typical compact MPV's silhouette at the Bentley's original back side. See it illustrated!

Ouch! I didn't mean to say that I'd wish to drive it reverse while enjoying its quite good aerodynamics. :)
By my standards, the most arguable design choices were made at the front, where the LED powered lights, radiating from the lens, remind me of cartoon-like dog character's eylashes. The only thing missing is a tongue, because the cartoon puppy mouth is already there, above the front bumper lip.