SIX AND THREE QUARTERS

When the 30-off run of ‘6.75 Edition by Mulliner’ Mulsannes left the Crewe works earlier this year, it marked the end of the powerplant which had powered the Crewe-built cars continuously since the late 1950s. As a result, it gained the record of being the longest-lived production V8 engine in the world.

Sometimes assumed erroneously to be a copy of an American V8, the L-Series as it’s more properly known was an in-house Rolls-Royce design with all the meticulous attention to detail that implies. Those familiar with the engine say it’s a lovely unit to work on, because it’s so well made yet remains very simple and if you can rebuild a Rover V8, you could probably work on the L-Series.

The engine started life in 1959 with a capacity of 6230cc, its ‘L410’ designation derived from the 4.1-inch bores and in 1970 was stroked to 6750cc. The big news came in 1982 though when a Garrett turbo was added to the recipe to create the Mulsanne Turbo which was developed into the Turbo R.

When the BMW-engined Silver Seraph and Arnage appeared in 1998, the V8 engine disappeared from the firm’s saloon models but only briefly before customer demand – and the worry that arch-rival BMW would cease supplies of its own V8 – resulted in its resurrection under Volkswagen ownership of Bentley. With a makeover including twin turbochargers, the old stager powered the revamped Arnage Red Label but industry pundits all assumed the L-Series would be pensioned off when the Arnage was discontinued in 2009.

Amazingly, its replacement, the Mulsanne which appeared in 2010 used not a Volkswagen W12 like the Continental GT but the L-Series V8, now rated at a hefty 512bhp and an outrageous 752lb.ft torque. Incredibly, the unit was destined to live on for another decade, the end eventually being brought by ever-tightening emissions regulations.

For many people, the V8 is synonymous with both Rolls-Royce and Bentley and we chart the cars which