Just Arrived

Bentley Mulsanne - FSD 822

Chassis:  CH

Fresh off the trailer — and arriving with just enough unevenness in its voice to keep things interesting — comes this 1985 Bentley Mulsanne.

Not the Turbo. Not the shouty one.

This is the earlier, more restrained version — the sort of car that doesn’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone. Introduced as Bentley’s answer to a slightly more driver-focused Rolls-Royce, the Mulsanne quietly set the tone for what Bentley would become: understated, capable, and just a little bit more purposeful than its badge might suggest.

This one wears black.

Proper black. The kind that suits the shape so well it’s hard to imagine it any other way. It gives the car a certain presence — not loud, not flashy, just quietly authoritative. From a distance, it presents well. The panels are straight, the lines remain crisp, and a good portion of the paint still holds a deep, convincing shine.

Up close, the truth emerges — as it always does.

The arches are beginning to bubble, the paint would benefit from some attention in places, and it’s clear this isn’t a car that’s spent the last decade under a silk cover. But equally, it hasn’t fallen apart. It’s honest. Usable. The sort of cosmetic to-do list that depends entirely on how perfect you need it to be.

Mechanically, it’s… not quite giving its full performance.

It runs, but not on all cylinders — quite literally. There’s a misfire in the mix somewhere, and until we get it into the workshop for a proper look, it’s keeping its secrets to itself. Nothing dramatic, nothing catastrophic, but certainly not resolved.

Inside, it’s magnolia leather — aged in the way these cars tend to when left to their own devices a little too long. There’s drying, some cracking in the usual places, but nothing beyond what you’d expect. The wood veneer follows a similar script: presentable at a glance, though the lacquer has started to lose its composure in areas.

And yet, step back, and it works.

It still feels like a Bentley. The cabin still carries that sense of occasion, even if it’s slightly softened around the edges.

Now, here’s where this one differs slightly from the usual script.

At this point, we’d usually be wheeling it straight into the workshop to decide its fate — dismantle it, or sort through the faults and move it on as something worth saving.

But this one feels like it deserves the benefit of the doubt.

We’ve got high hopes for it. There’s enough here — in the way it presents, the way it holds itself — to suggest it could make a very solid rolling restoration with the right attention. The sort of car that doesn’t need rescuing from the ground up, just understood and improved in the right places.

It will get its turn. We’ll go through it properly, figure out what we can put right in-house, and build a clearer picture of what’s left for the next owner.

But for now, it sits exactly as it arrived.

Which means if someone wants to step in early — before we’ve made those decisions, before the work begins — that option is very much on the table.

For further details, please contact:
Email: andy@flyingspares.co.uk
Direct Dial: +44 1455 299903