So after being privately previewed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance last year, Bentley CEO Wolfgang Schreiber has unfortunately confirmed the Bentley Mulsanne Convertible won’t make it to the production line.
Bentley remained very secretive about the Bentley Mulsanne Convertible Concept by not releasing any official photos of the car thus leaving us with the following sketches to imagine the car. If it had been produced, it would have inevitably targeted the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead. Schreiber believes that while some demand for a Bentley Mulsanne Convertible exists, those demands are only regional and don’t make a sufficient case to sell the car around the world.
While speaking with Car and Driver at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2013, Schreiber said “The demand for a Mulsanne convertible is just regional. So if it would come, it would be very successful in the U.S. and maybe some regions in Europe, but I think that will not be enough demand for a good business case.”
What’s more, with Bentley’s recent commitment to producing the world’s most expensive and luxurious SUV by 2016, it’s not at all surprising that development and funds are being directed towards that rather than a limited-volume Mulsanne range-topper.
If the Bentley Mulsanne Convertible ever hit the road it would have likely featured the same engine as the standard car. That would mean a 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine mated to an eight-speed ZF transmission and producing 505hp at 4,200rpm and 1020Nm of torque at 1,750rpm.
[Via Car and Driver]