Bentley has always been the British luxury brand associated with more sport than opulence, at least compared to its Rolls-Royce siblings. That being said, we’re still not talking about Porsche-grade performance, but the Bentley was clearly geared towards an owner who would rather drive than be driven. The car shown here, a 1990 Bentley Mulsanne S, shows under 40,000 original miles with a striking black over red leather interior. The Bentley, listed here on craigslist for $25,000, still represents tremendous value in the collector car marketplace if the example has been maintained – and this one appears to have been looked after.
Personally, I have never driven one of these fine automobiles, but a Turbo R sedan is high on my list of vehicles to someday experience. The experience of driving one of these cars has been described in various ways, but almost every owner references the blend of muffled engine noise and solid, swift performance. One of my favorite web forum descriptions is “…it’s a bit like a thunderstorm happening fifty miles away,” which seems spot-on for a luxury sedan like this. Bentley engineered these cars to be the benchmark of luxury sedans, but it seems to me that a BMW 7-Series or Mercedes-Benz S-Class shopper didn’t necessarily cross-shop with the lineup from Crewe.
If you’re buying one of these Bentleys new in the showroom in 1990, chances are there’s a level of not only wealth in your life that enables such a purchase but also a lifestyle that demands it. You could likely drive through some upper middle class neighborhoods in the early 90s and see an E32-chassis BMW 7-Series in a driveway. But a Bentley? That was reserved for a different class of consumer. Everything about the Bentley stands apart, from the smells of the leather, the acres of genuine burled wood trim, the thick carpeting, the switchgear on the dash – all of it was distinctively different from the Germans. While the BMW and Mercedes felt the same, nothing felt like the Bentley (except for a Rolls-Royce!)
The Mulsanne is powered by a naturally-aspirated 6.75L V8, a stoic engine that won’t push you back in your seat but it will move with unflinching pace. 215 horsepower and a prodigious amount of torque – 398 lb.-ft. of it – will get you down the road just fine. The 3-speed automatic is slow and lazy, more or less, so don’t expect a particularly lively experience. However, that’s not what Bentley ownership is about, and it’s also why so many of these cars likely remain in tidy shape even when they have some miles on the clock. This one looks like a solid example for the money, but I might try and cut the price slightly given it takes the right kind of buyer to keep up with the notoriously expensive parts and maintenance. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Rocco B. for the find.
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