In John Gardner’s Role of Honour (1984), Bond buys a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo in British racing green with a magnolia interior. It is a fitting choice for the period: the Bentley Mulsanne Turbo was the car that brought turbocharging to the marque and revived its sporting reputation. It is also, in our view, one of the better-judged Bond cars outside the films.
In the books
Catalogue notes record Bond purchasing the car in Role of Honour, which is one of John Gardner’s continuation novels written after Ian Fleming’s death. The Bond wiki lists the Turbo in a second Gardner novel too, though the search result is cut off and we have not confirmed the title. The colour combination, green outside and magnolia within, is the detail that survives in the summaries.
The details
The turbo. The Mulsanne launched in 1980; the Turbo arrived in 1982 and stayed in the range until 1985. It used the 6.75-litre Bentley V8 with a turbocharger and a three-speed automatic gearbox. One account puts the gain at roughly 50 per cent more power than the standard car.
The press verdict. Contemporary magazines headlined it the “Return of the Blower Bentley”, a reference to the supercharged 4½ Litres of the 1920s and 30s. That fits Bond, whose own Blower is a recurring thread in Fleming’s books.
Successor. The Mulsanne Turbo was succeeded by the Turbo R, so if you cannot find a Mulsanne Turbo in the right condition, that is the neighbouring car to look at.
Owning it now
The Mulsanne Turbo is out of production, so it is a second-hand buy, and our button runs an eBay search for it. Car and Classic lists Bentleys of the period, including a 1994 Turbo R, if you want to see what is available and in what condition.
The green-and-magnolia combination is the one we would hold out for. It is a restrained, very British pairing, closer to a country house than a showroom, and it ages well. A car like this rewards a full service history and a specialist check of the turbocharger and the hydraulics before you commit.
Do not confuse it with the later Mulsanne that Bentley made from 2009 to 2020. That is a different car with a different engine, and it appears on Bentley’s own heritage pages as the flagship of the 2010s.
Specifications
| Model | Bentley Mulsanne Turbo, produced 1982 to 1985 |
|---|---|
| Engine | 6.75-litre V8, turbocharged |
| Gearbox | Three-speed automatic |
| Colour in the novel | British racing green, magnolia interior |
| Novel | Role of Honour by John Gardner (1984) |
| Price | Second-hand only; see the eBay search |
Bentley’s own history pages for the later car are at Bentley History and Heritage.
Questions
Which Bentley does Bond buy in Role of Honour?
A Bentley Mulsanne Turbo in British racing green with a magnolia interior, according to the catalogue evidence.
Is the Mulsanne Turbo in any Bond film?
Not as far as the evidence we have shows. It is a car from John Gardner’s novels.
When was the Mulsanne Turbo made?
Sources give 1982 to 1985. The Turbo R followed it.
Is it the same as the modern Bentley Mulsanne?
No. Bentley’s Mulsanne of 2010 to 2020 is a different model; the Turbo is the 1980s car.
For the other Bentleys in the novels, see our vehicles collection, or browse the films and the Bond actors.
