Bentley Celebrates Centenary with 100 Special Mulsannes

Next year Bentley will become a one-century-old company, and to mark its 100th anniversary on July 10, 2019, the British luxury-car maker is ready to release 100 Bentley Mulsanne W.O. Editions.

The Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner is an homage to the company’s founder Walter Owen Bentley. The last Bentley designed by W.O. was a 1930 8-Litre which came with a short wheelbase and H.J. Mulliner body sports saloon wrapped in black color. He used this car as his personal vehicle.

Now the upcoming sedan will try to bring back the 1930’s feeling by carrying a piece of the historic Bentley 8-Litre inside. An illuminated cocktail cabinet placed between the two rear seats will house a slice of the crankshaft taken from the original 8-Litre car, with an epigraph explaining how precious this part is.

Back in 1931, W.O. had to sell his car as Bentley Motors was taken over. He was then reunited with the vehicle later in his life at a Bentley Drivers’ Club celebration. In 2006, the long-missed antique machine was bought back by Bentley to be “sympathetically restored”.

The crankshaft was removed during the restoration. However, Bentley actually kept the part archived until it intended to build the Mulsanne W.O. Edition, and hence the treasure was taken out of its box and sliced into 100 individual pieces – one for each of the super-luxurious sedan built.

Other than that, the Mulsanne’s interior style also pays homage to the historic 8-Litre with a Fireglow finishing touch, as well as Beluga hide detailing, walnut veneer, and lambswool rugs. The company’s founder’s signature can be seen in the seat stitching, dashboard, and bumper badge; while the automaker’s centenary badging embellishes the self-leveling wheel caps and door threshold plates.

The Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner will go official at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 24, with the sale starting in 2019 when Bentley reaches 100 years.