At the heart of every great car lies a great engine. So when creating the all-new Bentley Mulsanne, our engineers were presented with a unique opportunity: To design an all-new powertrain that would deliver the effortless performance expected of a grand Bentley, whilst retaining huge amounts of power in reserve.Personal Shot
While other powertrain configurations were considered by the Mulsanne engineers early on in the project, it became clear that the massive torque trademark of every grand Bentley could be best achieved with a V8 engine. And though the base configuration is similar to the engineering design classic first built in Crewe fifty years ago, the Mulsanne V8 has been completely redesigned to integrate the latest technologies.
The result? A remarkable 6 ¾-litre, 90-degree V8 engine, an all-new 505bhp engineering marvel that generates 1020Nm of torque. All the major building blocks of the engine are new and have been designed to optimise performance. They also contribute towards meeting three key objectives: maximising torque, refinement and efficiency. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the introduction of two new electro-mechanical control systems: cam phasing and variable displacement. The pioneering use of these two technologies in combination allows the Mulsanne’s engine management system not only to actively adjust the V8’s breathing, but to effectively throttle back four of the cylinders entirely, independently of the others, when not required.
This ability to finely control the engine’s fuel-air intake and timing allows for the maximum availability of huge amounts of torque. At the same time, it ensures that the engine operates in as economical and refined a manner as possible when more relaxed motoring is the order of the day. Variable displacement also has a significant effect on the new engine’s fuel consumption thanks to its ability to idle four of the eight cylinders when cruising. This, in conjunction with the new eight-speed automatic transmission with quick-shift, reduces CO2 emissions and offers a potential 15 per cent saving in fuel compared to the previous V8.
Garage View
Bentley Mulsanne Website: http://mulsanne.bentleymotors.com/uk/Car/Technical
picture source: LowYat.net
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