Speaking with Car and Driver at last week’s Frankfurt auto show, Bentley CEO Wolfgang Schreiber revealed that the Mulsanne convertible concept shown privately at last year’s Pebble Beach concours will not be produced. (The above sketch was the only glimpse given to mere mortals.) Rumblings initially suggested that the VW Group’s zootiest subsidiary would move forward with the model, but Schreiber says that a lack of demand for such a product has scuttled those plans. “We will not do that car,” he said.
“The demand for a Mulsanne convertible is just regional,” Schreiber said. “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.” Bentley sold 1169 Mulsannes in 2012, so pouring money into engineering and certifying a model that likely wouldn’t top more than a couple of hundred sales annually doesn’t make much sense.
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If the lack-of-demand explanation is not to your liking, perhaps consider that Bentley is placing a significant amount of its R&D dollars behind its forthcoming SUV. While Bentley does have the financial backing of the VW Group, the brand can’t support two significant simultaneous investments, and the SUV will post far larger sales numbers than would a droptop Mulsanne. So, sorry, fresh-air-loving potentates—perhaps you’d like a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé instead?
Source: CarAndDriver
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