No. Made : 495
Engine : 8 cylinder 90 degree V configuration
Transmission : Rear wheel drive, 3 speed automatic with uprated torque converter
Chassis : 5 seater 4 door saloon, steel monocoque, separate sub frames front and rear, independent front suspension with coil springs
Dimensions : Wheelbase 120.5 or 124.5 inches
Performance : Max speed 135 mph (217 km/h)
Outwardly only a radiator painted in the car's body colour
and discreet badges at the back and on
the front wings behind the wheel arches gave a hint of
the engine's outstanding potential.
The familiar V8 engine had been equipped eith a turbo-charger.
The system consisted of a
Garrett AiResearch turbo-charger driven by the exhaust
gasses from both exhaust manifolds
which supplied a Solex carburettor in a plenum chamber.
The result was a 50 per cent increase
in power.
Because of the weight of the car and the limitation of
any tyre available, a limit had to be set for the
Mulsanne Turbo's top speed.
At 135 mph any further increase in speed was prevented
by the simultaneous operation of an
ignition cut-out and an air relief valve or wastegate
which dumped pressure in the turbocharger.
The Bentley Mulsanne Turbo became a much sought after
car, even to the criminal fraternity.
In Germany the attraction exerted by the Mulsanne Turbo
succeeded in elevating it to a position
in the stolen car statistics that made it the model of
which the highest proportion had been stolen.
This, of course, was a statistical anomaly brought about
by the extreme rarity of the model.