It's been ten years since Bentley won at Le Mans with the Speed 8, and 90 since they first tried their luck, only to score fourth in 1923 as the only British contender and come back the next year for the win. Naturally, this calls for special edition Continentals and Mulsannes for North America.

Online configurators can not only be great timewasters, but give us a glimpse of how desperate a brand can be for its customers. Why else would Bentley let you stamp obscenities on the door sill of a Mulsanne?

Our man in France J.F. Musial trudged out to the Mulsanne Straight in the wee hours of the morning just to snag this video of the cars running around the track at night. The sound. Oh Lord. The sound.

Bentley hasn't confirmed it, but a return of the Bentley Turbo R could be two years away. The Mulsanne-based coupe would get a 600-hp version of the top Bentley's 6.75-liter V8. That, and about an acre of polished Burr oak.

Bentley's 6¾ liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine has been completely re-engineered for the upcoming $285,000 Mulsanne and is even built by hand at the luxury brand's Crewe, UK plant. Here's how.

For a car that costs $285,000 it's a bit strange how many cues the Bentley Mulsanne shares with the 300C. The difference? The Chrysler's V8 doesn't produce 752 lb-ft of torque at 1800 RPM.

The most surprising thing about the Bentley Mulsanne, other than the look on its face, is the choice of motivation. Rather than a Volkswagen W12 it uses an updated version of the classic Rolls Royce 6¾-litre V8.

It turns out the 2010 Grand Bentley is actually the Bentley Mulsanne, a $300,000 homage to the Bentleys of yore that just premiered at the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance. Tough market to drop a big, expensive Bentley in, eh?

The biggest, baddest, meanest Porsche ever made turns 40 today. Happy birthday, Porsche 917.