Queen’s Bentley Mulsanne heads home to Crewe
The final Mulsanne made has fulfilled its Royal duties; now it's time for the heritage fleet
By Matt Bird / Friday, 24 November 2023 / Loading comments
A peek at the final Bentley Mulsanne ever made would be newsworthy in itself. That the last one handbuilt at Crewe also served as transport for Queen Elizabeth II makes it a very significant Bentley indeed. Now retired from Royal duties, it’s going to assume a place on Bentley’s increasingly significant 45-car heritage fleet.
The late Queen was very fond of a Bentley; you might remember another of Her Majesty’s Mulsannes for sale on PH a couple of years back. This one essentially mirrors the colour combination of the old one, because why mess with a great spec? It’s solid Barnato Green with chrome brightwork, then Twine and Cumbrian Green inside plus Burr Walnut veneers. Extended Wheelbase, too – obvs.
Predictably enough, this isn’t your average dark green Mulsanne EWB, however lovely that is on its own. Modifications for its special duty included the removal of the front centre armrest to make way for a tray to carry the Queen’s handbag (!), rear privacy curtains and the UK’s coat of arms inlaid in the door waistrails. Quite some way to travel. Then there’s the more official stuff: lights, sirens and a bullhorn, with switches hidden ‘beneath a walnut-veneered door behind the gearlever’. But of course.
This final Mulsanne will occupy a spot in Bentley’s Heritage Collection alongside the second one ever built and a later Speed. (And yes, we will try to get a go as soon as possible.) Sadly there aren’t any Mulsannes currently for sale in an even vaguely similar spec, though there are definitely a few of interest around (more than 7,000 were made). It’s possible to buy a Speed for the price of an M2, or indeed an Extended Wheelbase for maximum opulence – that’ll cost rather more, however…
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