Bentley drops Mulsanne; Flying Spur to become flagship sedan

Bentley will soon have one less model in its lineup but a new flagship when production of the low-volume Mulsanne large sedan ends this spring.

The British ultraluxury brand said Tuesday that the redesigned Flying Spur sedan will take over as the flagship model going forward. The Bentayga SUV and Continental GT coupe and convertible now round out the portfolio.

It's the latest sign that consumers worldwide continue to migrate from traditional passenger cars, no matter the price, prestige or pedigree.

"This decision has been taken at a time when we are experiencing significant customer demand across our other existing model lines," Chris Craft, Bentley's board member for sales, marketing and aftersales, said in a statement. "As such, we will be redeploying all of our manufacturing colleagues who currently work on the Mulsanne to other areas of the business."

Bentley sold 11,006 vehicles globally in 2019, an increase of 5 percent.

As a sendoff for the Mulsanne, Bentley created a special edition, the 6.75 Edition by Mulliner. It comes with unique design details inside and out, including an engine number plaque signed by Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark. Bentley will build just 30 units.

With a length of 219.5 inches and a wheelbase of 128.6 inches, the Mulsanne has a commanding presence, with a bigger footprint than the redesigned 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, which has a length of 210.7 inches and a wheelbase of 120.9 inches. Under the hood of the Mulsanne is a 6.75-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine.

Bentley used the Mulsanne name widely in the 1980s and the nameplate in its current form went on sale in 2010.