• Impressive, effortless performance
• Maximum speed of more than 180mph
• Twin-turbo V8 offers near silence

Urgent without being aggressive, Bentley’s flagship model drives like few other machines on the road. This is a car that takes everything in its stride. The engine in the Mulsanne is a titanic 6.75-litre V8, which with the assistance of a pair of turbochargers generates 510hp.

That’s enough to allow the Mulsanne to reach a top speed of 184mph. However, what you really notice is the torque; a prodigious 1,020Nm at just 1,750rpm. This means the two-and-a-half tonne hulk is capable of dispatching the 0-62mph sprint in 5.3 seconds, yet when you press the throttle pedal into the luxurious carpet it never feels like it’s breaking a sweat.

It just pushes effortlessly on, flicking almost seamlessly through the eight gears in the semi-automatic gearbox. Should the driver want to change gear themselves, there’s a pair of paddles mounted behind the steering wheel that’ll allow them to do just that.

Handling

• There’s no disguising its bulk
• …but it handles well, considering
• Steering as accurate but lacking in feel

The bespoke chassis on the Mulsanne has many clever features which allow the car to handle like a much lighter vehicle. Although it weighs 2,585kg it feels composed and stable through corners, with its direct and beautifully measured steering making carving a path through B-roads a joy. The air suspension and steering can be adjusted via a switch adjacent to the gear lever, and four drive modes are available.

Comfort, Sport and Bentley are standard settings, while the fourth option allows the driver to set the car up for their specific driving style and requirements. Furthermore, the suspension adjusts the car’s ride-height for specific circumstances: at lower speeds the car sits higher, but when things get faster it hunkers down onto the road, improving stability thanks to the car’s more favourable aerodynamic profile.

There’s no denying the Mulsanne’s dimensions though. This is a huge car and you really notice its size when manoeuvring at slower speeds, such as when parking or driving on tight country lanes.