DAVID DONDE REVIEW SPECS by David Donde • Displacement (cc): • Power (kW) at RPM: • Torque (Nm) at RPM: • Fuel Consumption: • Top Speed: the S 4995cc 373kW @ 6000pm 660nm@ 1700pm 12.6 Litres per 100km 303km/h ome cars are all about the numbers, others about the looks, yet others about their image. Not Bentley, and certainly not the V8 GT on test. It is about Aura. The car positively glows heritage, history and speed. While luxury has not always been the trademark of Bentley, speed has. From even the days before our own Barnato and his Bentley Boys in London, Bentleys were fast. From that time on, for an unprecedented time, they won. They won Le Mans, they beat a train in a famous race and they were the icons of speed. The Blower Bentley was known as the fastest truck in the world. A triumph of sheer engineering beauty and brute force. As time evolved the Bentley, the racing became subdued, but the Grand Tourer became its territory. A space successfully occupied by very few other cars. Let me put it this way; you have a trans-continental trip. No one else is bringing the luggage along, and you like to drive yourself. The true sports cars are ruled out for reasons of comfort and lack of stowage, the pocket rockets would hardly allow you to arrive in style and the Teutonic large sedans are just big cars, if luxurious. There is no sense of occasion. Sure a Rolls would get you there. Yawn. If you have the wherewithal it just has to be the Bentley. To the nitty gritty. This first and foremost feels like a Bentley should. In the full Mulsanne Spec as I tested it, it is one elegant place to be, down to the last swath of diamond stitched leather. With all of the modern conveniences elegantly integrated. And it goes; it goes like no 2.75 ton car should. 0-100 in 4.8. It can also sip frugally a claimed 10.5 l/100, if driven conservatively, but to be fair to you dear reader, full disclosure I must admit I never really tried. And it can corner. It caught me out the first time. You see it never feels like it weighs nearly 3 tons, one of the first really sharp turns had the back step out alarmingly, however the merest flick into a bit of opposite lock had things tamed predictably and intuitively with good feel and communication. Amazingly this is a driver's car. They