New Continental GT Mulliner is Bentley’s pinnacle grand tourer

Fresh on the heels of the new Bentley Continental GT S range that has a sportier bent, the company has announced the new Continental GT Mulliner, the pinnacle model of the Continental range.

The two-door coupé benefits from an enhanced 6.0l W12 engine and shares an advanced chassis with the GT Speed. It can also be had in 4.0l V8 and open-top GTC guise.

Bentley says the new GT Mulliner W12 takes the best of all worlds and becomes the most powerful, fastest, most dynamic and most luxurious Continental GT yet created.

It has a suite of exclusive exterior design features such as the new Double Diamond matrix grille. Mulliner branding is found on the front fender vents, welcome lamps beneath, illuminated outer door sills specific design mirror caps in either satin silver or black with  Mulliner-specific 22-inch wheels that feature self-levelling badges.

On the inside is a wide level of choice and customisation. A colour split exclusive to the car, with a new combination of eight different three-colour combinations proposed by Mulliner. There is a choice of 88 piano wood veneers, diamond-in-diamond quilting to the seats while door trims and rear quarter panels are made up of almost 400,000 stitches with each diamond containing 712 individual stitches.  

Mechanically the handcrafted GT Mulliner W12 engine now develops 485kW, previously 467kW and 900Nm. This punch results in a 0-100km/h sprint in 3.5 secs and top speed of 335km/h.

Electronic all-wheel steering using up to 4° of steering lock on the rear wheels enhances the dynamic driving of the Continental GT Mulliner W12 in each of the driving modes, namely Comfort where overall grip is balanced between the front and rear wheels, and sport mode, which has more of a rear-biased torque split.

Bentley Dynamic Ride and three-chamber active air suspension with adaptive damping also plays a role in the balance and agility of the car, as does variable electronic stability control and an electronic limited slip differential and optional carbon ceramic brakes.

The 48V active anti-roll control system pioneered on the Bentayga is tuned even further. Electric motors within each anti-roll bar resist body roll by counteracting the cornering forces and keep the body level.

With the new GT Mulliner the GT family now spans a range of models each with a different emphasis. The Azure range is for those prioritising wellbeing and on-board comfort, while those customers wishing to concentrate on driving pleasure can specify the new V8-powered GT S. The W12-powered Speed is the pure driver’s car while the new GT Mulliner sits above all as the Bentley flagship.

The range is expected in SA in six months time but Bentley SA is already taking orders at the following prices:

GT V8 Mulliner — R5,600,000

GTC V8 Mulliner — R6,000,000

GT W12 Mulliner — R6,175,000

GTC W12 Mulliner — R6,800,000