Nowadays, every Bentley car has a turbocharged version, but this was not always the case. The first forced-induction powertrain made it below the hood of a Mulsanne Turbo exactly four decades ago (see video). To mark the milestone, the company arranged for a turbo parade at the ongoing Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The parade was attended by all kinds of vehicles the marque made from 1991 until 2022, including such gems as the Continental GT Mulliner, Turbo R, Continental Supersports, and Continental R Mulliner Final Series.
The company reminded that the Mulsanne Turbo was originally greenlit into production to try and raise the automaker’s profits while attracting more customers. The Chief Engineer of the company back at he time believed the stock 6.75-liter V8 engine desperately needed a turbo boost: its non-turbo implementation was rather inefficient at just 204 PS (201 hp / 150 kW). Once boosted, the block was happy to churn out 305 PS (300 hp / 225 kW).