Our Kind of Express Train: Bentley Announces Mulsanne Speed “Blue Train” Edition

Taking a page out of Bugatti's handbook by creating limited-run models that pay homage to past legends, Bentley has introduced the new "Blue Train" version of its lovely flagship Mulsanne Speed at this week's Techno-Classica motor show in Essen, Germany. Created in partnership with Bentley's Mulliner coach-building division, the Blue Train celebrates the sleek 1930 Bentley Speed Six coupe that famously outran the so-called "Blue Train" Calais-Mediterranée Express from Cannes to Calais some 85 years ago, even getting back to London four minutes before the train reached the English Channel.

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A grand total of four of Mulsanne Speed Blue Train models will be built—in celebration of that four-minute we-beat-your-ass figure—the first two of which will be rendered in solid Beluga black, the other two in whatever color the customers want. All four will ride on 21-inch black wheels with polished centers and wears a chrome grille surround with a black, square-mesh insert evocative of the original Blue Train. A Bentley Driver's Club badge is fixed low in the grille, while the retractable Flying B is engraved with the words "Blue Train 85 Years." Inside, the Blue Train features Burnt Oak and Camel hides (from neither burnt oaks nor camels, by the way), and occupants will also encounter lots of  Blue Train kitsch, such door stitch patterns that mimic the original car, sill plates and headrests donning said car's silhouette, and rendering of the car in the burr walnut passenger-side wood veneer that's pretty damn amazing.

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Bentley says that the first Blue Train Limited Edition will also feature a unique picnic set, trimmed with the same two-tone leathers as the interior of the car. Inside, one will find Robbe & Berking silver cutlery, Haviland Limoges porcelain, Linley crystal champagne flutes, and an Angora picnic rug. Mulliner had a hand in crafting the leather cutlery holders as well as the leather rug holder with more Blue Train embroidery. Bentley told us that the second, third, and fourth model could also be ordered with the set. And as for the price? A cool 357,795 Euros, which would be about $383,941 at today's exchange rates, if it were available here. Which it's not; this one's for European customers only, Bentley says.

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• First Drive Review: 2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed
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• Bentley Wants to Build 12-Cylinder Engines Forever and Ever, Amen
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• Bentley Mulsanne Speed Reviews, Pricing, News, Photos, and More
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With a top speed of 190 mph, the standard Mulsanne Speed (which costs $338,325 in the U.S.) can cruise at the same pace as many of the high-speed trains in Europe, although it can't go as long between fill-ups. Can you say re-match?

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