Bentley Mulsanne pricing announced (UK/U.S)

Bentley's flagship Mulsanne begins production at the Crewe plant next Spring 2010. First deliveries of the Mulsanne will happen in Summer 2010 in the UK, while U.S deliveries will begin in fall. The Mulsanne has a £220,000 price-tag and that’s before you start adding in your options. For the U.S, the MSRP of $285,000 excludes taxes and delivery charges. Over 1,000 potential customers from the Europe and the U.S have been given a live preview of the car.

Said to be the most luxurious Bentley ever built, the Mulsanne puts its occupants in the very cusp of luxury motoring. Buyers will be offered a choice of 114 paint colours or a unique colour of their own making, 21 carpet colours, 24 interior leather hides tanned using a decade-old process and a total of 9 wood veneers. It takes about 9 weeks to complete one Mulsanne from scratch.

Though classic in its general approach, the uber-limo will also get very modern features such as Bluetooth connectivity, SIM card reader, iPod connection, 3G MMI system and what Bentley says is the world's most powerful sound system installed in a production car – a 20 channel 2,200w mobile music station.

Power is supplied by a lightweight 6.75 litre twin-turbo V8 producing 500bhp and 1,000Nm (740 lb-ft) of torque. It comes with a cylinder de-activation and variable cam phasing feature to help cut fuel consumption and C02 emissions.