Bentley Mulsanne Speed

V8 £252,000 £302,870 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged 8-speed automatic 537PS @ 4,000rpm 1,100Nm 190mph Acceleration (0-62mph): 4.9sec 12.1mpg 28mpg 18.8mpg 342g/km

enough – and really, it should – Sport tightens everything up another notch but, in doing so, you can often find yourself sacrificing the composed elegance that separates the Mulsanne from its more walletfriendly peers if you attempt to push it ever-closer to its limits.

The Mulsanne Speed is not, perhaps, quite the car that you imagine it to be. It’s impossible to fault the imperious build, the classy materials or the rare sense of occasion that greets you every time you climb aboard but, while its capabilities as a refined, ultra-luxurious limousine are beyond reproach, this is a car that is simply begging to be driven.