Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday was a perfect occasion for Bentley to launch a new bespoke edition of its Mulsanne luxury sedan at the Beijing Auto Show. Named the Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee, it was developed by the Mulliner division and will be made in just 60 examples, one for every year of Her Majesty’s reign.
Picking Beijing for the car’s launch was an easy choice for Bentley as China is the brand’s largest market in the world, having overtaken the US. The British luxury carmaker has sold 1,664 units in the first quarter of 2012 in the country.
This equals to a staggering 84.66 percent increase over the same period of 2011 – and it’s more impressive if you consider that last year’s deliveries totaled 1,839 cars.
The Diamond Jubilee Edition Mulsanne sports unique paint and hide colors in various combinations the Union Jack colors, i.e. red, white and blue and two distinctive Bentley ‘B’ badges on each ‘D’ pillar, along with an extensive list of equipment and the obligatory “Diamond Jubilee” embroidered in gold thread.
“The respect and genuine interest shown towards so many aspects of British life and most especially the Royal Family has made China a unique experience for our marque, as well as many other UK businesses”, said Bentley’s Director of Royal and VIP Relations Richard Charlesworth.
No changes were made to the mechanical parts, which means that the Mulliner Diamond Jubilee Edition is powered by the twin-turbocharged 6.75-liter V8 that churns out 505HP and 1,020Nm (752 lb-ft) of torque at just 1,750 rpm. It’s more than enough to propel the uber-luxury sedan from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 5.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 296 km/h (184 mph).
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