2011 BENTLEY MULSANNE

2011 Bentley Mulsanne is rolling closer to the showroom. Bentley Motors has revealed model details and production plans for this successor to the vaunted Arnage sedan, as well as a price. The first Mulsanne is expected to roll down the assembly line this spring, and by the fall the car will begin arriving in American showrooms. The price: a cool $285,000, but for that sum, buyers will take possession of a stunningly advanced, outrageously sumptuous package.

Beneath the Mulsanne’s vast hood resides a 6.75-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine producing 505 horsepower and a titanic 752 foot-pounds of torque at only 1,800 rpm. Perhaps no vehicle on the planet offers the Mulsanne’s degree of personalization. To wit, buyers can choose from among 114 colors of paint, a palette that includes special Bentley “heritage colors,” satin and pearlescent finishes, and a selection of two-tone combinations. Equally dazzling, the interior (which requires 170 worker hours to craft) offers 24 colors of hide, nine wood veneers, and 21 colors of carpeting, with a 20-speaker, 2,200-watt Naim audio system (the most powerful ever fitted to a production vehicle) providing the soundtrack.

- Jason