At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Bentley’s Mulliner coachbuilding division is showcasing a stretched version of the new Mulsanne sedan called the Mulsanne Grand Limousine.
Mulliner took a regular Mulsanne and lengthened it by 3.3 feet (one meter) and made it three inches taller to give passengers more headroom. They can hold face-to-face conversations thanks to two pairs of seats that face each other. An electrochromic “smart glass” partition that can be turned transparent or opaque with the touch of a button between the driver and those in the back was designed to give well-healed travelers privacy.
Under a handmade wood-veneered roof bow and surrounded by leather and even more wood, Mulsanne Grand Limousine passengers can dock and charge their iPads, use the veneered fold-out tables, drink an adult beverage chilled in the on-board bottle cooler from frosted glass and crystal flutes, or give instructions to the chauffeur through the intercom system.
The Bentley press release below doesn’t state the horsepower and torque figures of the two-tone Silver Frost and Moroccan Blue Mulsanne limo, but it does say it’s been “fitted with a fully engineered powertrain, transmission and a re-engineered chassis and suspension.” Expect numbers north of the regular Mulsanne’s 505 bhp and 752 lb-ft of torque – and someone on Youtube to pit this big Bentley against the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman S600.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
