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THERE is something about driving a smart car that ought to be savoured. That's why I couldn't understand why my erstwhile Al Hilal colleague David Beckett was hopping between lanes in a race up the highway to Hamala.
Perhaps he was just pleased to get close to home (the Arabian Knight scribe and magazine sales executive lives with his young family by the sea) but when it came to my time to slip behind the steering wheel cooling down the pace seemed to be the natural thing to do.
In any case, I wanted the experience to last as long as possible.
As we headed back towards the Ahmed Zayani & Sons showroom in Zinj you could not fail to notice the admiring glances at this ultra-exclusive, hand-built saloon that sells only to the truly rich.
At the slow speed I was travelling you would normally expect to receive a barrage of car horn blasts ... but who would dare honk at a Bentley?
Despite Mr Beckett earlier testing his rally driving skills I still managed to enjoy being a rear seat passenger, closing my eyes as I pressed the button to set in motion 10-minutes of magical back massaging.
The other half really does know how to live.
The marque's founder, W.O. Bentley, apparently wanted to create a car at the pinnacle of motoring - something large, fast, refined and comfortable.
This philosophy, its executives say, resonates deeply at Bentley and has, over time, created a legacy that embodies all of these characteristics: record-breaking feats, daring exploits and a host of exquisitely handcrafted and beautifully engineered cars.
Now, more than 90 years later, the all-new flagship Bentley Mulsanne embodies W.O. Bentley's passion. It is a powerful and elegant driver's car like nothing else on the road.
The name is derived from Bentley's historical racing pedigree, which included five victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans - the Mulsanne Straight being the stretch of the Le Mans racing circuit where cars reach their highest speeds.
Bentley brought back the Mulsanne name, and motoring industry analysts' suggested the new super saloon was something of a test of owner Volkswagen's intentions for the grand old marque. And, according to the critics, it has certainly passed muster.
Andrew English, motoring correspondent of the UK's upmarket Telegraph gave the vehicle a 'five out of five' rating. His verdict: 'Elegant, restrained and super fast, Bentley's first unique saloon for 80 years is worthy of the name'.
"There's an authenticity to the feel and sight of the detailing that puts rivals in the shade, your fingers tell the story. And, some of the details are simply delightful, such as the continuous wood taffrail running round the sides of the cabin," he added.
It takes 12 weeks or 480 man hours to build a Mulsanne, which is a mixture of steel, carbon-fibre and aluminium panels, plus, as mentioned, a fair amount of solid wood, which are glued, welded and hand-brazed together in Crewe, England.
The Bentley 63/4-litre V8 engine delivers 505bhp at a low 4,200rpm and a rippling 752lb ft of torque at 1,750rpm, which gives the 2.6-tonne car a top speed of 184mph, 0-60mph acceleration in 5.1secs and fuel consumption of 10.7mpg.
A rear-wheel drive vehicle, it features an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox with electronic shift interface, sport mode and steering wheel-mounted paddle shift.
Another test driver Sam Smith was equally full of praise, exclaiming: "And so, like everyone else, we are left with a bunch of cliches: The Mulsanne is a living room. A boat. It's a small aircraft, or maybe a beamy steamship.
"It's an intangible representation of everything that is good and bad about Great Britain, and if you don't like it, you are either too poor or too ordinary or both. No matter. This is the best four-door that Bentley has to offer, and for the crowd that cares, it is exactly what they need."
The Bentley team knows it has a winner on its hands, despite a global economic downturn there remains a buoyant market for luxury goods, particularly if they are new and of limited availability.
It is expected that around 14 will be snapped up by enthusiasts in Bahrain in the next 12 months.
Trevor Gay, on tour with the vehicle as part of his role as VIP & special sales manager, Asia and the Middle East, said: "This is the finest car we have ever built.
"It does everything you want it to do - it's about elegance and comfort at its best."
Bentley is likely to build around 650 to 700 of this particular model in the coming year. It takes five months from the initial specification requirements from the customer to completion.
The Flying B driver can be quite particular too. Mr Gay remembers one customer asking for her car's colour to match her nail polish. When he asked to take the bottle back with him she was aghast. Instead, she painted one of his nails so that he could show his colleagues.
Another requested the colour of an orchid and sent him a petal in the post.
But, if you're paying on average around BD175,000 for the privilege, you are probably entitled to be choosy.
For further details contact Ahmed Zayani & Sons on 17238822.
