Bentley Fan Club

2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

2011-02-28T23:53:00.000-08:00

Four-time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen recently set an insane ice-speed record of 205.48 mph on the frozen Baltic Sea off the Finnish coast. The car, a Bentley Continental Supersports convertible, was driven on standard tires, and Bentley officials hasten to claim that its environmental impact was minimized by the use of E85 bio-ethanol fuel, so there’s that.

Setting a speed record on ice in a convertible makes perfect sense, so why not release a whole passel of droptops to commemorate the event? That’s exactly what Bentley is doing to celebrate this amusing footnote in automotive history, announcing a 100-unit run of Ice Speed Record (ISR) editions of the Continental Supersports convertible. They’re based on the original Conti architecture; while the second-generation Continental GT coupe has been released, the convertibles and Flying Spur sedan still have gen-one underpinnings for now.

The ISR’s most notable alterations come in the name of performance. Tweaks to the intake system and intercooler help whip up 11 more horsepower than a standard Supersports convertible, and the ISR’s 631 hp make it the most powerful Bentley ever. Maximum torque is unchanged at 590 lb-ft. The six-speed automatic is still of the conventional torque-converter variety and channels the ISR’s power to all four wheels, but it has been optimized for rapid shifts.

2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

2012 Bentley Continental GT Details Leaked

2011-02-01T22:56:00.000-08:00


2012 Bentley Continental GT

If you’re considering buying a 2012 Bentley Continental GT when they hit the market, here’s the first question you need to answer: did you want that with one turbo or with two? If you’re buying it for image and to increase your odds with the opposite sex, one turbo is probably good enough. If you’re buying it because of Bentley’s racing heritage, and because you need something more practical than your Ferrari 458 Italia, I’d strongly encourage you to check the “twin turbo” option box. One thing you won’t find on this year’s build sheet is the 6.0 liter W-12 engine option; Bentley has decided that they, too, need to build more fuel efficient cars in order to meet increasingly tight DOT and EU emission regulations.

2012 Bentley Continental GT


2012 Bentley Continental GT

2011 Bentley Continental GT Facelift

2011-01-03T08:08:00.001-08:00

2011 Bentley Continental GT Facelift

The Paris International Motor Show held last month had on display the refreshed and re-powered 2011 Bentley Continental GT. Now we have some latest images of the car which has been released by the British maker of the car. The photo shoot must have taken place somewhere in the Middle East going by the license plate and the surroundings that can be seen.
The original luxury sports coupe car of 2003 has undergone a massive face lift and makeup as is evident from the images. It is also evident that the inspiration for this make up has come from the new Mulsanne flagship. The design is much crispier especially so at the front with the new grille and gemstone headlights, while the signature styling cues have been retained.

Bentley GT Speed Elegance Edition makes a strong style statement

2011-01-03T08:07:00.001-08:00

Bentley GT Speed Elegance Edition

Finally the brand new tuned version of Bentley Continental GT Speed is out. Anderson Germany is the company behind it and they have certainly given a 110 percent for the much awaited car. The car has been christened the Elegance Edition which will include various package upgrades and styling accessories.
The exterior additions consist of carbon fiber bonnet with additional air intakes. A brand new boot lid, also made from carbon fiber has been added to the car. The same light weight material has also been used on the new front and rear bumpers, equipped with new chrome grilles up front with LED daytime running lights and side skirts. All of these upgrades define the stylish nature of the car. The model will hit the markets with only a 150 cars on sale.

2011 Bentley Mulsanne

2011-01-02T20:31:00.002-08:00

2011 Bentley Mulsanne

The test Mulsanne Bentley provided took a tour of Downriver that included Dunkin' Donuts on Telegraph Road in Taylor, McDonald’s on Gibraltar Road in Brownstown Township, the Dollar Tree on Allen Road in Brownstown Township and the Gibraltar Trade Center in Taylor.

Report Card

Overall: ****
Exterior : Exquisite — classic lines and form. Stretching more than 18 feet, the Mulsanne looks beautiful.
Interior: Unbelievable. Homes do not come this nice; wrapped in more leather than a cow.
Performance: Fantastic. Lots of power and a ride that feels like you’re on a cloud.
Pros: Everything about this giant sedan is fantastic. It’s exclusive, beautiful and caters to the driver and passenger.
Cons: Requires congressional bailout package to afford payments.
**** Excellent *** Good ** Fair * Poor

Gold Hummer Bentley-style

2011-01-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

Gold Hummer Bentley

The year 2011 has just started and our Overkill category is back with its first topic of the year. Subject? This unique Gold Hummer influenced by Bentley and Maybach!
The SUV got a proper Gold colour treatment and some look-a-like Bentley bumpers, front grill and headlights. Even the logo on the front, back, and within the interior has been ’stolen’ from the British car maker. The massive shiny rims complete the exterior looks.
On the inside you will spot the headliner, which resembles the roof used in a Maybach and the ‘unique’ dashboard colour trim. The scarce space in the back is occupied by a massive audio system.

2011 Bentley Mulsanne sets standard for luxury performance

2011-01-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

When I think of Bentley, the first image that comes to mind is Rich Uncle Pennybags, the original Monopoly Man.

Then I think of Planters' Mr. Peanut, because anyone who owns a Bentley undoubtedly views the car's finer details through a monocle. Bentleys and monocles go together like ham and Dijon.

But I am a little disconnected from Bentley, in part, because until I had the all-new flagship, the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne, delivered to my house, I had never driven a sedan of this caliber and stature. I had read about these handcrafted cars, had seen them dropping off stars at movie premieres on TV, but now I held its heavy key fob in my Downriver mitt.

Look out, Eureka Road, there's a new car in town, and I'll finally be able to buy those carpet remnants and used guns at the Gibraltar Trade Center and stuff them into the gloriously large trunk — 15.6 cubic feet of space

Bentley Continental Flying Star

2010-07-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

Bentley Continental Flying Star

Bentley Continental Flying Star
Bentley Continental Flying Star
Bentley Continental Flying Star
Bentley Continental Flying Star

2010 Wheelsandmore Bentley Continental Ultrasports 702

2010-07-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Bentley Continental Ultrasports
Bentley Continental Ultrasports

Bentley Continental Ultrasports

Bentley Continental Ultrasports 702

2010-07-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

Wheelsandmore, german individual tuner for sports- and supersportscars, has revealed their custom modifications on the Bentley Continental Supersports.

With serial power about 630 hp the Bentley Continental Supersports already is the most powerful and fastest sportscoupe ever built by Bentley. But Wheelsandmore thought of much more and developed an ecu upgrade, combined with a handmade, stainless steel exhaust system. With special sportcatalysts, the ecu upgrade and within a remote controlled valve flap system, they increased the power up to 702 bhp and 650 lb-ft of torque.

Bentley Continental Flying Photos

2010-07-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

It takes an avid and passionate collector, with a taste for special coach building, to be at the basis of a project like the Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring. Exactly such a person contacted Touring Superleggera in early 2008.

An interesting initial creative process emerged involving parameters for design, proportions, vehicle concepts and - last but not least- feasibility and technical factors.

Bentley Conti GT Supersports

2010-06-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

THINK open-top Bentley and the mighty 4.5-litre Blower model of the Twenties might spring to mind. Packing enormous attitude with a vast supercharger poking out of the front, it’s one of the company’s all-time great cars.

Fast forward to 2010, and there’s a pretender to that crown – the Supersports Convertible. Claimed to be the world’s fastest-ever four-seat drop-top, it’s also the quickest open-air car in the firm’s history, thanks to its twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W12 which it shares with its hard-top sibling.

It produces 621bhp and 800Nm of torque but crucially, in these environmentally conscious days, the Supersports runs on petrol or E85 bioethanol. It still returns a 0-60mph dash of 3.9 seconds, and is in that rarefied club of cars topping 200mph, no matter which fuel you put in the tank. While both the Coupé and Convertible are positioned as the marque’s ‘extreme’ performers, Bentley is now keen to stress the more sociable nature of its drop-top which – unlike the two-seater Coupé – has seating for four and a triple-quilted electricallyoperated hood for refinement.

There’s no denying the Supersports Convertible has the wow factor in spades.

With 20-inch Smoked Steel wheels shod in Pirelli Ultra-High Performance tyres, flared wings to accommodate the two-inch wider rear track, a bluff nose and low-slung aggressive lines, there is a real hint of menace, too.

In place of the usual plump Bentley armchairs are race-style, carbon fibre seats that look positively skeletal, but are actually supportive and comfortable and help the car lose 45kg, while the wheels are 10kg lighter. Massive carbon-ceramic brakes strip away another 20kg, reducing weight overall by 98kg compared to the GTC Speed Convertible.

On the move, the effects of this diet are obvious, making the 2,395kg Bentley more nimble and responsive than its GTC Speed counterpart. The steering is more taut and direct, even if more feedback wouldn’t hurt.

2010 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed

2010-06-22T00:50:00.001-07:00

Any company that names its performance models "Speed" is just fine by us, especially when it's not just marketing hype. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed is quite a mouthful, but in this case it's an entirely accurate description. With its 6.0-liter, twin-turbo W-12 engine tuned to deliver 48 more horses and 74 additional lb.-ft. than the regular Continental Flying Spur (it also gets retuned suspension and sticky Pirelli P Zero tires on 20-in. rims), the CFS Speed is a car that will hit a genuine 200 mph on the autobahn while barely breaking a sweat.

Yes, the Bentley's sheer, um, speed is astonishing. And there's nothing wrong with its acceleration, either. The 0-60 mph sprint is dispatched in just 4.2 sec., and the quarter-mile in 12.9 sec. at 106.7 mph. Pretty impressive for a sedan weighing a stout 5482 lb. Part of the reason is the herculean W-12 under that stubby hood. Nailing the gas is like opening the floodgates of the Hoover dam; you surf an irresistible surge of thrust as the CFS lunges for the far horizon. But the Bentley's all-wheel-drive system -- unique among super-luxury sedans -- also makes sure every last one of the CFS Speed's 600 horses and 553 lb.-ft. of torque gets to the pavement.
2010 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed Left Side
Click to view Gallery
But what's really impressive about this car is its chassis. Like their counterparts at Porsche, Bentley's chassis engineers seem determined to build a car that defies the laws of physics. The CFS Speed grips and steers and punches through turns almost like a sport sedan. True, it works its front tires very hard, and the AWD layout robs the steering of some clarity, but after an exhilaratingly fast run along a canyon road you get out of the CFS Speed shaking your head and grinning like a loon at the sheer implausibility of what you've just done. No car this big, this heavy, this luxurious should be this good in the twisties.

Setting the CFS Speed's suspension in comfort or normal modes caramel-coats the road impacts from the sports-oriented tires without diluting the precision of their responses. Sport mode makes the ride noticeably busier, and generates some noise through the steering during hard cornering, but keeps the body nicely tied down. The big Bentley tracks like a bullet train on the freeway, even in gusty crosswinds, regardless of the suspension setting.

2010 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed

2010-06-22T00:50:00.000-07:00

Bentley Mulsanne Sold Out

2010-06-19T20:05:00.001-07:00

It seems that the Bentley Mulsanne has been a hit state-side. Bentley have apparently sold out all 200 2010 build slots as well as those for both 2011 and 2012. In fact, it is being reported that the British company have received over 800 orders for the new luxury saloon.

And before anyone asks, an increase in production is not as practical as it sounds. Each Mulsanne is hand-crafted with over 170 man hours going into the entire process. 26 hours for the engine build and 86 hours for the painting are two of the most time consuming processes.

Just to remind you of the vital statistics: the Mulsanne will feature a new 6¾ litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine, hand-assembled and fully tested by Bentley’s technicians. 0-100km/h (62mph) will be possible in 5.3 seconds thanks to 505bhp and 752lb-ft of maximum torque.

Bentley Mulsanne Sold Out Until 2012

2010-06-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

The global economy might just be recovering from financial turmoil, but Bentley doesn’t look to be faring too badly. In fact, right now production has begun on the Arnage’s successor (not replacement, says Bentley) that was introduced last year.

The company had said a lot of interest was gotten on the Mulsanne, and it looks like they were right. Bentley had planned for a production run of about 200 units per year, and over 800 orders were received, putting the car’s sold out date into 2012.

This is an impressive feat by any measure, especially considering the Mulsanne is more of a Phantom competitor than the Arnage. To keep up with demand, Bentley announced that they will be increasing capacity in order to keep up with the demand.

For a car like the Mulsanne that takes 400 hours (or around 16 days) to build, 200 of which are for hand-built parts, increasing production isn’t an easy task. The overall process works out to be 15% longer than building the Arnage.

Bentley with a remarkable history sells for £670,500

2010-06-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

This 4½ Litre Tourer sold alongside 'the final genuine works MGB in existence' in Surrey, UK

The 1931 Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Open Tourer

The most anticipated sale emerged as the clear winner in Historics at Brooklands' classic cars auction, earlier this week (June 2).

A 1931 Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Open Tourer - the 16th-to-last of its kind ever built (see our previous report, June 1) - was the day's biggest sale, with a back story as impressive as its magnificent bodywork and engineering.

Built some years after the marque began in 1927, this example boasts many of the improvements added throughout the car's production.

During this time and against expectations, the 4 1/2 Litre's racing siblings superseded the 6 Litre as Bentley's "great white hope" at prestigious events like Le Mans.

This supercharged road version has a remarkable life story - including 'vanishing from the radar for a few years' and car later reappearing in London during the Blitz in 1940-41.

First Drive Review: 2011 Bentley Mulsanne

2010-05-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

In one light, the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne is just another expensive car. But refocus that light slightly, and its launch becomes a rare occurrence indeed.

It is the first car designed from the ground up solely as a Bentley since the 8-Litre of 1928, and it is meant to represent all that Bentley stands for. It succeeds the 2009 Arnage, which went out of production last October, as the marque's largest sedan.

The Mulsanne was first revealed last year at the Pebble Beach Concours d"Elegance in August, and first customer deliveries will start this fall. The Mulsanne is built and trimed at the traditional Bentley factory in Crewe, which was renovated for the new luxury sedan.

The new 2011 Mulsanne is a fast, luxurious, four-door sedan that hides a fair amount of modern technology inconspicuously within a classic recipe. In the words of Stuart McCullough, Bentley's board member for sales and marketing, the 2011 Mulsanne is "a big, heavy car, and unashamedly so."

It provides drivers with a "stately, dominant feeling," and it is meant to rule the category of ultra-luxurious four-door sedans. But it does so quietly, in a slightly understated way. As the Brits would say, the Mulsanne isn't flash. It's just big, and handcrafted.

That makes it entirely different in spirit and presentation from such new entries as the Porsche Panamera and Aston-Martin Rapide.

Bentley have been building cars like this since the 1920s, and existing Arnage owners were quite clear that they wanted a Bentley that maintained the traditional values- a huge low-revving V-8 engine providing a "wave of torque" in a hand-built four-door car with an interior crafted of woods, leathers, and metals-and were willing to pay for it.

The U.S. price starts at $285,000, plus a $2,595 delivery fee--and options will add up quickly.

Bentley Mulsanne sold out

2010-05-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

The Bentley customers have booked all the Mulsanne units to be built by 2012. The British company considers increasing the production to meet the demand.

The Brits from Bentley announced that all Mulsanne units which will be produced by 2012 have been booked by customers. By 2012, the Crewe manufacturer has committed to build 800 Bentley Mulsanne units to meet orders made before. Although officials have announced that Bentley take into account the increase in production, it will not be achieved easily.

As you know, Bentley Mulsanne is painted in 86 hours and the assembling takes 170 hours. The painting of all 800 units that will be produced by 2012 will take about 68,800 hours and their assembly will take 136,000 hours. Increasing the number of employees is not an option for those of Bentley than small areas because of their training lasts very long, and each employee needs a time until it is ready for production line.

2010 Bentley Continental Ultrasports : Wheelsandmore

2010-05-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

2011 Bentley Mulsanne First Drive

2010-05-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

It didn't seem like a dangerous maneuver at first: a simple pass on a two-lane road in a car with an engine putting out 752 pound-feet of torque. Piece of cake, right? Yeah, well, even with its aluminum body panels this new 2011 Bentley Mulsanne still weighs 5,700 pounds, which is only slightly less than the sizable truck bearing down on us from the opposite direction.

No backing off, though; this isn't a Rolls-Royce. We keep our foot in it and the eight-speed transmission drops another gear or two. The Mulsanne doesn't exactly leap forward and doesn't make much noise either, but according to the speedometer we are indeed moving quite a bit faster.

We clear the little penalty box that was slowing us up and snap the Mulsanne back into our own lane before the opposing truck gets a new, $285,000 hood ornament. The Bentley tucks back in nicely before settling down onto its air-spring suspension as if it just rounded a gentle curve.

Bentley Mulsanne Is Revealed

2010-04-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Bentley Mulsanne, probably, does not need any advertising, for this reason the first promotional clip doesn’t try to convince customers, but it presents the development of the latest Bentley model.

After several months of waiting, the British manufacturer, Bentley, took care to keep us in suspense with an interesting series of teasers, now is the moment for the official reveal of the new model Bentley Mulsanne. Although at first glance you would be tempted to think that this was simply an Arnage with a more powerful facelift, officials were careful to point out clearly that the new Mulsanne is not a substitute for the above mentioned model.

They even wanted to emphasize that not even one piece remained unchanged compared with those mounted on what was until now, the flagship of the Bentley. The new Mulsanne is inspired directly from the 8 liters models from the period before the entry of Rolls-Royce property, when Bentley models were considered the most luxurious in the world.

From there were the optical blocks configuration, which have brought a few modern changes, such as the LED circle beam that borders the central headlights. From the side you can admire the huge rear pillar throughout his megalomania, and, the rear lights to remind us of the Continental series.

2011 Bentley Supersports Convertible

2010-04-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

Nick Kurczewski for The New York Times 2011 Bentley Supersports Convertible.

Introduced last Thursday: 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

Is it real? Yes. The Supersports Convertible made its global debut during the Geneva auto show in March. New York represents this luxury car’s first appearance in the United States.

What they said: This is Bentley’s “fastest, most potent convertible ever,” according to a company news release.

What they didn’t say: The niche market for ecologically themed supercars is gaining momentum, based on recent auto shows. Ferrari and Porsche unveiled exotic, high-performance hybrids at the Geneva Motor Show, but not Bentley. It may be time.

New 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

2010-04-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible
So there you are, driving home to your expansive, yet somehow fitting, estate on 10 Mammon Lane, and you think to yourself, “Self, I need a new car
. A ride that says ‘Look at how filthy rich I am!’ What kind of car is that?”

The answer is easy: The new for 2011 Bentley Continental
Supersports Convertible

The newest addition to the Continental model range features a very healthy 621-horsepower, from a twin-turbocharged W12 engine that is capable of running on both gasoline and E85 bioethanol, making it both powerful and environmentally conscious. Not to mention helping with the overall snootiness factor, and your own sense of self worth.

Price? Starting from a mere $280,400, the new four-seat Supersports Convertible arrives at Bentley retailers this summer. Its interior “signifies a dramatic re-interpretation of Bentley luxury. Satin-finished carbon fiber, Alcantara and ‘Soft Grip’ leather create a unique ambiance with a distinctly sporting and contemporary style.”

New York Auto Show: 2011 Bentley Supersports Convertible

2010-04-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

2011 Bentley Supersports Convertible
Yes. The Supersports Convertible made its global debut during the Geneva auto show in March. New York represents this luxury car’s first appearance in the United States.

What they said: This is Bentley’s “fastest, most potent convertible ever,” according to a company news release.

What makes it tick? A turbocharged 6-liter W-12 engine delivers 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. If you don’t value your hairdo, the Supersports Convertible will rocket you to a top speed of 202 miles per hour, says Bentley, which claims this to be the “fastest four-seat convertible in the world.” The company adds that accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour takes only 3.9 seconds.

2011 Bentley Continental Super Sports Convertible

2010-04-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

2011 Bentley Continental Super Sports Convertible

Most folks like luxo barges while some have pockets deep enough to afford them. Among the some, a fewer some want wind in their perfectly gelled pates and for those fewer some, the Bentley Continental Super Sports Convertible. We won’t sing paeans about how understated yet classy this luxo barge of a convertible looks or how comfortable it’s plush interiors feel. We’ll go straight to the bonnet and have a dekko at the goodies it manages to put a lid on.

2011 Bentley Continental Super Sports Convertible

Yeah, six liters in a W12, 621 horses and 800 Nm. Need we say more? Four full sized adults can sit inside this Bentley and start screaming as the turbine, er, engine propels them towards the horizon with the thrust of a jumbo jet.

If you want the world to see how insanely classy, or should it be classily insane you are, pull out that cheque book and scribble your signature below two, eight and four zeros, in dollars of course. Before we forget, that’s for the car minus the bells and whistles.

2011 Bentley Continental Super Sports Convertible

Bentley Mulsanne Makes Canadian Debut

2010-04-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

Bentley Mulsanne
2010, Bentley Montreal, a division of Decarie Motors, will unveil the all-new Bentley Mulsanne, the flagship model of legendary British automaker Bentley Motors, at an exclusive preview event held at STARLINK Aviation (9025, Ryan Avenue, Dorval).

The Bentley Mulsanne has been hailed as an engineering masterpiece and a modern statement of luxury driving and grand touring, featuring almost 40% more wood than the Bentley Arnage, unique cutting-edge technology and the world's most powerful audio system ever installed in a production vehicle.

"The challenge we gave our engineers was to create a new grand Bentley that would stand as the pinnacle of British luxury motoring, offering the world's most exclusive driving experience," said Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors. "They have responded to this challenge with real passion and the result is a luxury grand tourer that sets new standards in terms of comfort, effortless performance and hand-crafted refinement – the very qualities for which Bentley is renowned."

Bentley Mulsanne Makes Debut In India

2010-03-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Bentley Mulsanne
Exclusive Motors unveil the flagship model of Bentley. Exclusive Motors India Private Limited today unveiled Bentley Mulsanne, the company’s all-new flagship grand tourer, at the British High Commissioner’s residence in New Delhi.

The Mulsanne has been designed and engineered without compromise by Bentley’s craftsmen and engineers to combine refined performance and unparalleled levels of luxury with the coach building elegance for which the marque has long been renowned.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Satya Bagla, Managing Director, Exclusive Motors said “We are pleased to launch Mulsanne in India; the car is a modern statement of luxury driving and grand touring. We have debuted this car in the Indian market for the Bentley car connoisseurs. We are thrilled with the launch of the Mulsanne and are confident that the car will receive an overwhelming response from the patrons of luxury”.

Present at the launch Mr. Chris Buxton, Bentley Regional Director, India said, “India is a very important market for Bentley, our association with Exclusive Motors has been really rewarding and goes back a long way. India is the hub of luxury, the country of the erstwhile Maharaja’s, who were the true patrons of bespoke luxury. We have, in the past received a heartening response from our valued customers and I think the launch of the Mulsanne will truly delight our loyal and discerning audience”.

Production of the Mulsanne will commence at Bentley’s Crewe (England) headquarters in the second quarter of 2010. A newly constructed body production facility, dedicated to Mulsanne, is being completed where leading-edge body assembly technology, such as super forming of the aluminum front wings for superb surface definition, will complement traditional, highly skilled metalworking including hand-brazing of steel joints for a ‘hewn from solid’ appearance.

The Mulsanne will offer customers a degree of choice, when commissioning their cars, which is unmatched in the industry. The luxury Bentley flagship offers a palette of 114 paint colours, 21 carpet colours, nine wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides, all of which will be tanned using a decades-old process to ensure this future classic retains its distinctive scent.

All Bentley cars in the Continental range will be sold as flex-fuel

2010-03-13T00:36:00.000-08:00

Going green isn't just for puny little hybrids and self-loathing econoboxes any more. It's now big business, not just for the mainstream, but for even the hyper-luxury types at Bentley. The entire Bentley Continental range will be going flex-fuel capable by June.

We've already seen--and driven--the Bentley Continental Supersports, the first flex-fuel Conti in the line. While that car didn't live up to its green tagline to start, it has since turned the corner into flex-fuel factuality. For an inside look at the reasoning behind Bentley's biofuel work, check out John Voelcker's interview with Bentley's David Reuter at GreenCarReports.

Biofuel isn't the first Bentley foray into greener imagery, however. Last year we detailed the company's plans for introduction of cylinder deactivation to the 2010 Mulsanne.

2010 Bentley Arnage

2010-03-11T08:40:00.002-08:00

The new generation Arnage will appear on the market no earlier than 2010. Bentley intends to propose models of Rolls-Royce worthy competitor, therefore, not surprising that model will grow in almost all dimensions and receive new engines.

2010 Grand Bentley

2010-03-11T08:40:00.001-08:00

The latest photos of new Bentley.

Grand Bentley received a traditional radiator bars on the sides of which are located on the two lamps in the retro style fitted with LED lights. The main competitor of the new Bentley, which was built in the modernized Audi platform , will become a Rolls-Royce Phantom. The car should get the 8-cylinder engine with eight automatic gearbox ZF.

2010 Bentley Supersports Biofuel

2010-03-11T08:39:00.000-08:00

Bentley model with W12 engine operating on alcohol mixture of E85, was high-speed tests at N?rburgring. Bentley Continental Supersports Biofuel - new rear bumper, new exhaust pipes and air ducts at the edges of larger diameter front bumper.

Bentley Continental Supersports For 2010

2010-03-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

You have cash to burn, successful career on autopilot and the mansion is finally mortgage-free, you’re in the market for a new car, one that speaks to your success and station in the community. But, you’re also in full mid-life crisis, sentimental for the tearaway youthfulness you now regret suppressing every time you open that second bottle of Chateau Lafite. Indeed, in your last act of impetuousness before children and creeping maturity reared their ugly heads, you owned an Aston Martin. Not one of these new namby-pamby ones, what with their button-down engineering and sophisticated electronics, but a real he-man-of-yesteryear Vantage with eight thundering pistons, a rock-crunching transmission and coil springs stiff enough to suspend the Golden Gate Bridge.

So, you head down to your friendly neighborhood British luxury car dealership only to find that the Aston’s oh-so-low seats that once gripped as you sported about now have you screaming about your arthritic back. As lovely as all sumptuous leather and V12 cacophony is, rampant lust is of no use if you can’t climb into the bed. What to do? You certainly don’t want to head to your friendly Audi, BMW or Mercedes dealers. Ruthlessly engineered their cars may be, but Teutonic efficiency is not nearly as welcoming as British warmth. Besides, everyone has an AMG or M5 parked in their garage and separating yourself from the herd is why you file all those litigious torts.

What about Bentley? Yes, there’s an entire spate of German engineering to its underpinnings, but it’s at least outfitted like a proper English motorcar. And, unlike the Aston, it’s not nearly as hard on geriatric spinal columns. But that’s to be expected, no? Bentleys, after all, are not nearly as sporty as Aston Martins.

That would have been true right up until, well, last week, when I popped into Grand Touring Automobiles, my local Aston/Bentley dealer, and spotted a brand new Continental Supersports conveniently tagged with dealer plates and no scheduled customer test drives for the next three days. For those unfamiliar with this latest Continental, the Supersports is, quite literally, the philosophical progeny of W.O. Bentley’s famed monsters that dominated Le Mans during the 1920s.

2011 Bentley Mulsanne Full Specifications

2010-03-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

The Mulsanne is powered by a 6.75-liter V-8 engine rated at 505 horsepower and 752 pound-feet of torque, coming at just 1800 rpm. The car features a range of driving dynamics settings for its air suspension system. The dimensions of the car measure- 219 inches (18.25 feet) in length, 75.8 inches in width, 60 inches in height and weighs in at 5700 pounds.

The car is equipped with many hand-made parts, including the fillet of metal below the rear window. Bentley officials claim that the new car gets the “technological feel of the Continental models with the prestige of the Arnage.” The car has been provided an entirely new platform, thus giving the car a much more modern and expensive look. The average building time for one Mulsanne is 400 hours, among which 200 hours is reserved for hand building. This is about 15 percent longer than the previous Arnage.

Bentley Mulsanne in Europe

2010-03-06T06:20:00.000-08:00

Bentley's newest luxury car, the Mulsanne, has been showcased for the first time in Europe at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Crewe-based manufacturer is positioning the Mulsanne as its flagship model, above the Continental Flying Spur.

The grand tourer's design is said to be based on the famed 1950s Bentley S-Type, but with an ultra-modern makeover.

It integrates the most advanced engineering technologies and luxury materials, with new-age features including LED lights and a state-of-the-art "infotainment" system.

Bentley introduces flex-fuel super sports convertible

2010-02-19T00:10:00.000-08:00

The Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible (which we originally told you about here) offers the same 621bhp, twin-turbocharged W12 engine as the coupe version that was introduced in 2009 and is the fastest and most powerful drop-top the company has ever produced. Yet, remarkably, it can run on either petrol and E85 bioethanol, or even a combination of both.

Bentley has made an ongoing commitment to make its vehicles biofuel capable by 2012. E85 biofuel has a high octane rating of 105 but a lower energy content compared to petrol and requires a 30 per cent increase in the engine fuel flow rate. This meant that a complete review of the fuel system was required to identify, and replace as appropriate, any components deemed unsuitable.

A fuel quality sensor is used to detect the blend ratio of the fuel in real time and send a signal to the engine control unit. This keeps performance parameters consistent and with the flexfuel technology in full use, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions can be reduced by as much as 70 per cent.

All of these environmental improvements do not mean there has been a sacrifice in performance, however. The six litre W12 engine produces 621bhp at 6,000rpm and 800Nm of torque at 2,000-4,500rpm. The Continental Supersports Convertible can race from 0-60mph in just 3.9seconds, and boasts an impressive top speed of 202mph making it the fastest four-seat convertible in the world.

Bentley breaks world record

2010-02-19T00:09:00.001-08:00

Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible.

Owners of convertibles will never view their cars in the same way again - Bentley's new Continental Supersports will make sure of that.

The Continental Supersports Convertible is the fastest, most potent drop top that Bentley has ever built. Capable of 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 325km/h, it is also the fastest four-seat convertible in the world.

This muscular vehicle is unmistakably Bentley in design and craftsmanship but its cabin is a dramatic re-interpretation of the marque’s definition of luxury. Satin-finished carbon fibre, Alcantara and 'soft grip' leather all combine in a very contemporary manner.

Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

2010-02-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

Bentley Continental Supersports

The new Continental Supersports Convertible is not only Bentley’s fastest open-top car ever (0-60mph in 3.9 seconds; top speed of 202mph), it’s also the fastest four-seat convertible in the world.
It is powered by the same 621bhp twin-turbocharged W12 that lurks under the bonnet of the Continental Supersports Coupé, launched in 2009, and – as with all models in the Continental range – can run on both petrol and E85 bioethanol. Or any combination of the two.

The styling is described by Bentley as ‘muscular’, with an interior that re-interprets Bentley luxury using satin-finished carbonfibre, Alcantara™ and ‘Soft Grip’ leather. Overall, the engineers have managed a weight saving of 90kg against the GTC Speed.

Prices have not yet been announced but Bentley has released many technical and design details in advance of the Geneva unveiling:

* Revised ZF 6HP26 transmission with ‘Quickshift’ system that cuts shift times by 50% and enables double downshifts
* New 40/60 rear-biased torque split for the all-wheel drive system reduces understeer when powering out of bends and provides for better modulation of line and attitude by ‘throttle steering’
* Retuned Continuous Damping Control (CDC) system, stiffer suspension bushes and uprated rear anti-roll bar benefit body control, steering response, turn-in and balance
* Increased 50mm rear track improves grip and stability
* Lightweight, 20-inch, 10-spoke alloy wheels offer 10kg weight saving per car, reducing unsprung and rotating mass and improving brake cooling
* 275/35 ZR20 Pirelli Ultra High Performance tyres
* Advanced ESP system
* Standard-fit carbon-ceramic brakes provide fade-free braking and contribute a 20kg reduction in rotating and unsprung mass from the front axle
* Distinctive centre air-intake and vertical grilles feed larger volume of air (+ 10%) to turbocharger intercoolers while bonnet vents extract hot air from engine bay
* Subtly curved rear wheelarches with newly tooled side panels accommodate increased rear track of the uprated chassis and provide muscular stance
* Distinctive ‘smoked steel finish’ to all exterior ‘brightware’, including the first automotive application of ‘Physical Vapour Deposition’ to stainless steel
* Larger, twin elliptical exhaust tailpipes and rear valance with discreet vertical divider

1925 Bentley Supersports

2010-02-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

1925 Bentley Supersports

2010 Bentley Arnage

2010-02-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Autocar reports that the Bentley Arnage will be replaced with a new model for the 2010 model year. Amid speculation that the Veyron-engined Arnage built recently and described by Bentley as a “prototype” is an indication of the next-generation Arnage’s powerplant – almost 1000 hp – the word is that the 2010 Arnage will have an aluminum spaceframe chassis produced by Audi, an aluminum body, and possibly a hybrid version of the current 6.75 liter V-8 using the transmission developed for the Audi Q7 hybrid or the hybrid transmission currently under development for the next Audi Quattro.

Bentley Continental Supersports

2010-02-07T22:26:00.000-08:00

In the past days Bentley Continental Supersports was tested by Jay Leno, if you wonder who he is, Jay Leno is the host of a very popular TV show. Bentley Continental Supersports can achieve an amazing speed of 204 mph and that makes this Bentley the fastest car ever build by the well known British brand.

Bentley of 2020

2010-02-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

Some of the world's best young designers from London's Royal College of Art (RCA) have created a series of remarkable 'Bentleys of the Future' designs in a unique partnership with the famous British company.

Eighteen Vehicle Design Course Masters students have spent the last few months studying the work of Bentley's leading designers, including Head of Exterior Design Raul Pires who played a key role designing the company's new Mulsanne flagship. Drawing on Bentley's proud design heritage. they have sought to develop a range of striking and futuristic car designs.

Now four of the RCA students have been shortlisted to refine their designs with Pires and his colleagues with a winner and runner-up both being invited to join the Crewe-based company for a six month secondment in the Bentley design studio. Professor Dale Harrow, Head of Vehicle Design at the RCA explained:

"Working with Bentley has inspired these young designers to create a coupe for the 21st Century that embraces the latest aerodynamics technology. The Vehicle Design Course attracts postgraduate students from across the world and it has been fascinating to see them make a connection with a British marque that has such a distinguished heritage."

A key part of the project has been the ability to combine strong visual design with the latest automotive software. Each car design has undergone extensive testing in a virtual wind tunnel to assess and enhance its aerodynamic capabilities. Professor Harrow added:

"We've had invaluable support from Exa and their PowerFLOW software which was used to create cars like the Bentley Continental Supersports. The students realise the importance of optimising the aerodynamic qualities of their designs and Exa's technology allows each car to evolve constantly. Crucially, our young team has been working with top designers like Raul, learning how to combine great creativity with sound engineering solutions."

Raul Pires said the overall standard was extremely high and this convinced Bentley to add an extra place to the shortlist. Pires said:

"The RCA has an eviable reputation for attracting some of the best young design talent, with many of their graduates going on to work for the world's leading car manufacturers. The outstanding quality of work meant we have offered an extra place.

2010 Bentley Mulsanne ultimate luxury

2010-02-02T04:16:00.000-08:00

When Bentley parted ways with Rolls-Royce in 1998, it still had some co-developed models in its line-up. The last of those, the Arnage sedan, has finally been replaced with a new flagship sedan, the Mulsanne, representing Bentley's new beginning under Volkswagen ownership.

Designed for absolute luxury, the Mulsanne gets a cabin filled with detailed coachwork, a powerful and sophisticated power train, Volkswagen's latest navigation system, and an outstanding audio system from Naim.

We spent some time looking over the Muslanne's details at the 2010 Detroit auto show and found a cabin that is covered in impeccable materials. The few plastics used for buttons are wrapped in metal enclosures, while the shifter is a big, wooden spindle topped by metal brightwork. Its wood details have matching grains from side to side. At this level of luxury, customers can opt for a wide variety of cabin materials and colors, or go completely bespoke.

2010 Bentley GTC Speed

2010-02-02T04:13:00.000-08:00

2010 Bentley Continental GTC Speed
The Bentley Continental GT has been lauded and derided for being too much: too powerful, too fast, too easy, too big, too ubiquitous, and yes, too good. The convertible version, the Continental GTC, dismissed its roof but retained the excess. Now, Bentley has worked its "Speed" hocus-pocus in order to create a new variant of everyone's favorite over-the-top drop-top and Crewe's mad scientists have taken a vehicle that's already cranked to eleven and turned it up a notch or two... or three. Gloriously excessive excess awaits after the jump.

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

2010-02-02T04:12:00.000-08:00

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

Teaser shots for Bentley's new 2010 Continental Supersports have been making their way round the internet for the past couple of weeks, but today Bentley was finally ready to unleash exhaustive details on their new E85-capable 621 horsepower Continental Supersports 2 seat supercar.

The Continental Supersports shares most body pieces and drivetrain architecture with the Continental GT Speed, though both interior and exterior have been beefed up to handle all that extra power. New are larger standard 20 inch wheels with what Bentley boasts are the largest and strongest brakes on any production car.

The Continental Supersports also gets a trick automatically deploying rear spoiler that is completely hidden in the sublime bodywork. Wider track relative to Continental GT Speed models necessitates new flared fenders, and enlargened inlets feed air through the twin-turbocharged air intake system.

E85 ethanol, while clean-burning and mostly eco-friendly, is more corrosive than conventional gasoline. Thus, Bentley has replaced most of the engine internals in its turbocharged W12 powerplant. All the rings, seals and gaskets are unique to the Continental Supersports, meaning a greater focus on extreme performance is possible with this engine.

The Continental Supersports gets a modified version of the AWD system found in lesser Continental models. In this application, the AWD system distributes 40 percent torque to the front wheels and 60 percent to the rear by default. Through the use of electronic locking differentials torque can be reapplied as the situation requires, naturally.

The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports currently has a release date this Spring, though Bentley says US models are still waiting on regulators' approval to run on the E85 spewing out of North American pumps. The car is adequately engineered, and the British motor company expects full ethanol certification by August.

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

2010-01-29T04:03:00.000-08:00

Key Competitors: Rolls-Royce Phantom and Maybach
if you remember who they are.
Power: 6.75L twin-turbocharged V8 – 505-hp / 752 lb-ft of torque.
Transmission: ZF 8-speed automatic.
Availability: On sale now.
Pricing: $285,000.

Since Bentley was not present at the 2009 LA Auto Show last month, it decided to come to Detroit with its new flagship sedan – the 2010 Bentley Mulsanne.

Bentley Mulsanne

2010-01-29T04:01:00.000-08:00

Bentley Motors

pulled the wraps off the all-new Bentley Mulsanne flagship sedan at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Designed and engineered at Crewe from the ground-up, the new Mulsanne “reaffirms the marque’s intent to create a new flagship Bentley with refined performance and unparalleled levels of luxury with the coach building elegance for which the marque has long been renowned.”

OK Bentley Boys, let’s see what you got.

Bentley Series 51 Continental Pricing

2010-01-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

Bentley Series 51 Continental
The Series 51 package, available on the Continental range’s GT, GT Speed, GTC and GTC Speed models, will start at $192,750, which gets you behind the wheel of the GT coupe model. From here on, prices start to rise depending on how much you wish to customize your vehicle and with thousands of configurations available through Bentley’s expansive color and trim catalogue, things could start to get very expensive very quickly.

Bentley Mulsanne

2010-01-15T04:28:00.001-08:00

Bentley Motors pulled the wraps off the all-new Bentley Mulsanne flagship sedan at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Designed and engineered at Crewe from the ground-up, the new Mulsanne “reaffirms the marque’s intent to create a new flagship Bentley with refined performance and unparalleled levels of luxury with the coach building elegance for which the marque has long been renowned.”

Bentley Series 51 Continental GTC prices start at $192,750

2010-01-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

Bentley’s press conference at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show consisted of two things – the Bentley Mulsanne (which we’ll post about in just a few) and this special-edition Series 51 Continental GTC. The Series 51 package will be available on the Continental range’s GT, GT Speed, GTC and GTC Speed models

What’s so special about the Series 51 package? Well besides the starting price of $192,750 for the GT Coupe model, it provides thousands of configurations available through Bentley’s expansive colour and trim catalogue.

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

2010-01-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

Bentley Motors, a manufacturer of cars that offers the world’s most exclusive driving experience showcase the new Mulsanne last August 16, 2009 at Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in Monterey California. Mulsanne is Bentley’s all-new flagship grand tourer. This prestigious car is envisioned, fashioned, and engineered at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England.

Mulsanne, which has a new and distinctive platform, is designed and inspired by Bentley’s founder W.O. Bentley. Engineers of the company were asked to create a car that would serve as the peak of British luxury motoring. As the result of their passionate engineers, they come up with a luxury grand tourer that offers a new standard of comfort, easy performance, and handcrafted sophistication. The 8 litre Mulsanne is created with the help of the guiding principles that were also used when Bentley manufactured a grand luxury car that is able to surpass every other leading manufacturer during the year 1930. The original Mulsanne 8 litre can reach a speed of more than 100 mph. Its performance is breathtaking and the quality unquestionable. Its mechanical details truly showcase the W.O. Bentleys unique stamp and it also exhibits the most vivid demonstration of a manufactured car without compromise. Mulsanne will also be displayed during the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show this September 15-27, 2009 and will be on sale in the mid 2010.

Bentley Motors to introduce 'Mulsanne' super-luxury car by 2011 in India

2010-01-07T08:53:00.001-08:00

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

Bentley Motors, which had unveiled its new flagship model – the Mulsanne – at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance event in August this year, is looking to launch it in the Indian market too, probably in the next couple of years if media reports are to be believed.

According to Business Standard, though the details of the launch have not been officially confirmed, it has been learnt that the super-luxury car will be handcrafted as per the customers and will attract over 100 per cent import duty. It is to be mentioned that the British ultra-luxury carmaker had already announced that production of the car will start early next year globally. Prices for the 2010 Bentley Mulsanne will start at £220,000 (Rs. 1.69 crore) in the UK, which means this V8-engined luxury grand tourer is likely to cost more than Rs. 3.5 crore when it finally comes to India, which will probably not happen before 2011. Like all its other models, the aforesaid model would be rolled out from its factory in Crewe, England.

The car is equipped with a revised version of Bentley’s 6.8-litre twin-turbo V8, which produces 512 horsepower and 1,020Nm of torque. The new Bentley Mulsanne will go on sale in the US and in Europe by mid-2010 and was also displayed at the forthcoming IAA Frankfurt Motor Show (15-27th September, 2009) where Bentley will provide additional information about the car.

The Mulsanne is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentley’s crowning achievement in 1930, the Bentley 8-litre, which was first shown in 1930 and 100 units of which were built from 1930-31. Conceived, styled and engineered entirely at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, the Mulsanne, with its completely new platform, will go into production in 2010. The car will be made in a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe factory in the UK.

According to Bentley, “Expression of interest in the new Mulsanne easily exceeds 2010 production targets for the car, which will be built at the company’s facility in Crewe, in the UK. To give you an idea of exactly how a Bentley Mulsanne is in a different league from, say, a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or a BMW 7 Series car, the Mulsanne will be offered in 114 paint colours, 21 carpet colours, nine wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides. Hand-built to a large extent, each Mulsanne will take up to nine weeks to assemble.”

Read more: Bentley Motors to introduce 'Mulsanne' super-luxury car by 2011 in India - WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News
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2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

2009-12-27T22:14:00.001-08:00

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

200 mph Bentley: Big , Fast, Luxurious

The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports is the fastest and most luxurious Bentley to date.

It is a car that can be used every day as a luxury sport cruiser. This Bentley weighs just below 5000 pounds and has 621 horsepower but can still do the note to sixty in just 3.7 seconds.

The car is finished with black on black and black wheels which gives it a seriously stealth look.

Leno is a huge Bentley Enthusiast with many of them in his collection. Here is Jay Leno's take on the car in the video below.

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

2009-12-27T22:14:00.000-08:00

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

200 mph Bentley: Big , Fast, Luxurious

The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports is the fastest and most luxurious Bentley to date.

It is a car that can be used every day as a luxury sport cruiser. This Bentley weighs just below 5000 pounds and has 621 horsepower but can still do the note to sixty in just 3.7 seconds.

The car is finished with black on black and black wheels which gives it a seriously stealth look.

Leno is a huge Bentley Enthusiast with many of them in his collection. Here is Jay Leno's take on the car in the video below.

2011 Bentley Mulsanne

2009-12-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

2011 Bentley Mulsanne

When it comes to Bentleys, new models are a big deal, simply because the automaker's portfolio is so exclusive. The aging Arnage has been with us for quite some time now, and now the new Grand Bentley, the 2011 Mulsanne, has been revealed. The official debut took place at this past weekend's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, but the full details of the Mulsanne will not be released until next month's Frankfurt Motor Show.

As of this writing, we know that the Mulsanne will be powered by some sort of V-8 engine when it goes on sale in mid-2010. Bentley says that this car is "neither an evolution of revision" of the Arnage, and that it was inspired by the original eight-liter Bentley of 1930-31, which at the time, was conceived as the world's largest and most luxurious automobile.

We're sure that the Mulsanne will be nothing short of elegant, in true Bentley fashion, and we'll have the full details from next month's Frankfurt show. In the meantime, click through the post to read all of the details that Bentley has released at this time.

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports Review

2009-12-21T09:36:00.000-08:00

The Continental Supersports was delivered by my good friend Brad and it looked sensational and yet unobtrusive. Whereas a Rolls –Royce would have looked completely out of place the Bentley was just fine among the Porsches, Jaguars and its elder sister a 1993 Bentley owned by our neighbors. It was no great surprise that seconds after I’d parked my phone was ringing.

Can we take it for a spin please asked the owner of the “other” Bentley. Well, I didn’t need too much persuading. One slight problem rose immediately. We live in a 25 mph zone with nice but strict policemen patrolling day and night.

So off we went to an airport where son Nicholas joined us. I know it wasn’t quite the same as the Nurburgring but at least we could all do some acceleration and brake tests without getting huge tickets. And while there wasn’t quite enough room to hit the magic 200 miles per hour the Bentley is capable of, we did see the needle on a steady 170, fast enough ,I think ,for most of us.

The Supersports is aimed at Aston’s stunningly beautiful V12 DBS and Ferrari’s legendary 599 GTB. I am fortunate to have driven all three and luckily –or unluckily-my finances stop me from having to make the choice. For sheer beauty the convertible Aston DBS cannot be beaten. It also has that special ingredient, the James Bond connection. The Ferrari 599 GTB is the top of the Ferrari tree and trees don’t come much taller than that . Whether some people would find the engine sound too much on a long run depends on how much you enjoy listening to it. With the 599 Ferrari can justly claim that a certain Michael Schumacher had a hand in sorting out the handling . On a scale of 1-10 he is a 15.

As for the Bentley, well, there is no doubt that it is very much in contention for top awards. The minute you open the –very heavy-doors you are reminded of Ferrari’s Enzo. The beautifully trimmed two-tone leather and Alcantara seats complete with side bolsters are seriously inviting.

Bentley have removed the rear seats to save some weight and for the same reason they’ve also removed the electric seat-adjusting mechanism. No big deal, you pull a lever, adjust the seat and that’s that.

As for the engine, just press the button and you know you are in supercar country. Burble, burble and ready to go. You can just pop it into D for drive which will see off most other cars or into S for Sport in which case you won’t see anyone other than the cop waiting some way ahead with one of those unfriendly carpets across the road full of nails having been alerted by the whirly bird, just about the only thing that can keep up with you.

The obligatory paddle shifts are totally misplaced. These are not on the steering wheel and therefore pretty useless except on a straight road.

Handling is terrific especially in an automobile weighing 4,850 pounds. The ceramic discs are the size of the biggest pizza you’ve ever seen and the stopping power is nothing short of amazing. The four-wheel drive has a 40-60 rear wheel bias which again works just fine.

Ulrich Eichhorn, Bentley’s Head of Engineering is an accomplished racing driver so the result is an extremely fast and rare car. When I tested it there were only 4 in the United States.

Is it worth 300 thousand dollars? That really does depend on just how selfish you are. You cannot even take your children for a spin because there are no back seats just lots and lots of luggage room. More than in the 599 and the Aston put together.

Oh, by the way, as the seats don’t adjust upwards-unless it was just me who couldn’t figure it out- you have to put a cushion under your wife if she is only 5 foot three like my good lady. She couldn’t see a thing. Not a great selling point at 300 big ones. Is it an overkill? Is it an engineering tour de force? Probably. If you would like to buy one I would suggest the somewhat less exotic version, namely the Bentley Continental. Just as beautiful, a lot more comfortable, vastly more practical and as you are cruising from Sun Valley to San Francisco you can have two smiling little Johnnies in the back. Talk about brownie points!

Bentley Continental Supersports Technical Specs
ENGINEEngine Capacity5998ccMax. Power621bhp / 630 PS / 463kW @ 6000rpmMax.Torque800Nm, 590 lb-ft @ 2000-4500rpmCompression Ratio9.0:1Emission LevelEU4 / LEV2Fuel98 (95) RON
DRIVELINE AND TRANSMISSION
Continuous all-wheel drive
40/60 front/rear torque split
zf 6-speed automatic transmission
Quickshift
PERFORMANCE
Max. Speed 204mph / 329km/h
Acceleration 0 - 60mph 3.7 seconds
Acceleration 0 - 100km/h 3.9 seconds
* Power rating based on 98 RON fuel
FUEL CONSUMPTION
EU DRIVE CYCLE
Urban 11.3mpg 25.0 litres/100km
Extra-Urban 24.8mpg 11.4 litres/100km
Combined 17.3mpg 16.3 litres/100km
Co2 emissions (combined) 388g/km
EPA DRIVE CYCLE
City Driving 13 USmpg
Highway Driving 23.8 USmpg
WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES
Kerbweight 2240kg 4940lb
Gross Vehicle Weight 2750kg 6060 lb
Front Axle Weight 1433kg 3160 lb
Rear Axle Weight 1317kg 2900 lb
Boot Volume 370L 0.37m3 (13.1cu-ft)
Fuel tank capacity 90L 19.8 Gallons / 23.8 US Gallons

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

2009-12-18T23:31:00.001-08:00

The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports, which will roar into the 2009 Geneva Auto Show next week, sounds like the ultimate automotive oxymoron. It's the fastest and most powerful Bentley ever, but it also gives a nod to the green movement, since it can run on gasoline or E85 — or any combination of the two.

The Continental Supersports is equipped with a 6.0-liter W12 twin-turbocharged engine that produces 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Bentley said the car sprints from zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and has a top speed of 204 mph. Engineers were able to achieve a weight reduction of 243 pounds versus the Continental GT Speed. Bentley said that the car's standard carbon-ceramic brakes are the "largest and most powerful brakes ever fitted to a production car."

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

2009-12-18T23:28:00.000-08:00

The Bentley Continental Supersports is the fastest car Bentley makes.

The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports may be the most extreme example of sport luxury available today, putting mere BMWs to shame, but its navigation system is terrible. The maps are very low resolution and, stored on a DVD, are slow to refresh and calculate routes. This navigation system lacks all but the most basic features, with no external data feeds or text to speech. It really doesn't belong in this car.

Let that rest as our main criticism so we can get to the good stuff, which is just about everything else.

Bentley has offered several variations of its Continental coupe since its introduction in 2003, but the Supersports model exhibits the purest level of performance. Bentley tweaked the already massive engine for more power, fitted wheels with big carbon ceramic brakes, and shed 243 pounds of weight, most notably by removing the rear seat.

And you really don't want a rear seat in this car, as you would resent any passengers back there for being a drag on performance, while they would unfriend you on Facebook for being relegated to such cramped quarters.

Bentley Continental Supersports with E85 biofuel

2009-12-17T01:09:00.000-08:00

The new Continental Supersports, the first Bentley to use FlexFuel technology which enables it to run on E85 biofuel, gasoline or any combination of these two fuels, has further underlined its green credentials by meeting the 85% recyclability standard (95% for recoverability) demanded of all the Bentley Continental range.

In May 2009 Bentley received the official recycling pre-certification (in accordance with the EU Directive 2005/64/EG) from the German Motor Transport Authority (KBA) - thereby becoming one of the first luxury car manufacturers to attain this standard.

Type approval then followed from TÜV, the independent testing and certification service supplier, and now, with the addition of the Continental Supersports to this certification, the entire Bentley Continental range meets this exacting standard. The certificate, which is only awarded after detailed independent scrutiny of the car, assures the fact that virtually all the Continental's materials can be reused or reprocessed by other industries.

The Crewe-built Supercar, which is now arriving in Bentley showrooms, is the most extreme production car in the company's 90-year history. Capable of reaching 204 mph (329km/h), it is also the lightest road-going Bentley having shed some 110kg through a broad programme of weight reduction involving the innovative use of new materials such as carbon ceramics and carbon fibre.

The achievement of this certification is testament to the endeavours of the Bentley engineering team as Dr. Arno Homburg, Head of Whole vehicle Development at Bentley Motors said:

"Producing the fastest Bentley was a challenge in itself. However, we were equally determined not to sacrifice any environmental aspect in pursuit of this goal. The result is the paradox that the most extreme Bentley ever, is also the greenest".

The Supersports is the first iteration of the environmental strategy Bentley launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008. Powered by gasoline, E85 biofuel or any combination of these two fuels, the Supersports can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70% on a well-to-wheel basis.

It is one element of a broader Bentley strategy which will see by 2012 the company's average fleet CO2 emissions reduced by 15% and the introduction of a new powertrain that will by itself deliver a 40% reduction in fuel consumption. This programme is also supported at the Bentley factory where the use of gas, electricity and water have all been reduced significantly despite Bentley achieving record levels of production in recent years.

A genuine two-seater, the Supersports takes Bentley into new market sectors. It has received an overwhelmingly positive media reaction and is now attracting keen customer interest. Its Flexfuel capability ensures that is fuelled for the future and, with this latest recyclability certification, customers can be assured that every effort has been taken to consider the environmental impact of all components over the entire life of the car. As Dr Homburg adds:

"It is part of our responsibility as a car maker to contribute to environmental improvements and with Supersports you can see an evolution of this thinking. Even though Bentleys last a very long time - nearly 70% of all cars ever made are still on the road or in collections - we have still sought to ensure any environmental impact is minimised. The wide use of natural materials such as wood and leather and the craftsmanship inherent in their use naturally favours us here."

Mulsanne to be new Bentley flagship sedan in 2010; Starting price in the US will be $285,000

2009-12-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

After a successful debut at Pebble Beach past August in the USA, and at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September, Bentley has released that its new flagship sedan, the Mulsanne, will begin with deliveries to the UK this coming summer and the USA in the fall of 2010.

Pricing, just released by Bentley, shows the Mulsanne carrying a price tag of $285,000, not including taxes and delivery fees.

That kind of cash brings the cache to customize to one’s tastes. Mulsanne is offered in: 114 paint colors, 21 carpet colors, 9 wood veneers, and 24 leather interior hide selections. Mulsanne carries more standard leather and wood than any other modern Bentley and takes 9 weeks to build.

Power is derived from the hand-built, 505 horsepower, V-8 that generates a whopping 572 lb-ft of torque for this rear-drive cabin cruiser. Power is channeled by an 8-speed automatic transmission that’s fitted with paddle shift levers behind the steering wheel as well. The new mill also features cylinder de-activation and variable cam phasing, helping reduce CO2 emissions and fuel.

In a press release, Stuart McCullough, Member of the Board for Sales & Marketing said,

” Even at this early stage, the expression of interest we’ve received easily exceeds our 2010 production targets. Mulsanne’s credentials are a pure expression of Bentley design and craftsmanship, and that’s struck a chord with Bentley enthusiasts as well as many of the potential customers we have welcomed for tours in Crewe this year. We’ve been encouraged by the positive commentary, notably from our American customers as the Mulsanne was privately previewed in seven metro markets across the country.”

Mulsanne will include such modern amenities as an iPod and MP3 connection, Bluetooth and SIM card reader. Automotive audiophiles will enjoy NAIM’s premium audio system – billed as the world’s most powerful audio system in a production vehicle – with 2,200 watts and 20 channels.

An all-new, dedicated facility will build Mulsanne at Bentley’s Crewe HQ, commencing in the second quarter of 2010.

SPECS

Engine

Engine capacity 6750cc

Max. Power 512PS / 505bhp / 377kW

Max. Torque 1020Nm / 752 lb ft

Driveline and Transmission

Rear wheel drive. 8-speed zf automatic with steering wheel mounted paddle-shift

Weights and Volumes

Fuel tank capacity 96L 21.12 Gallons / 25.36 US Gallons

Dimensions

Overall length: 219in

Width with mirrors folded: 75.9in

Height: 60in

Bentley Mulsanne Priced at $285,000

2009-12-09T03:22:00.001-08:00

The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne was displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance in California.

There’s no stinkin’ recession. At least in the eyes of Bentley Motors, people are still willing to drop hard cash on luxury cars. Its new luxury liner, the Mulsanne, which goes into production in the second quarter of next year, will carry a hefty price tag of $285,000. And that’s not including taxes or delivery charges.

“Even at this very early stage, the expression of interest we’ve received easily exceeds our 2010 production targets,” said Stuart McCullough, member of the board for sales and marketing for Bentley. “We’ve been encouraged by the positive commentary, notably from our American customers as the Mulsanne was privately previewed in seven metro markets across the country.”

So what do you get for $285,000? For starters, plenty of decisions. There are 114 paint colors to choose from, 21 carpet colors, 9 wood veneers and 24 leather hides. Naturally, custom colors are also available at a premium. Each Mulsanne will take nine weeks to build.

Bentley emphasizes the amount of hands-on craftsmanship that’s involved in the building of the Mulsanne. According to a news release that accompanied the car’s appearance at the Frankfurt auto show, “All spot welds are performed by hand during the Mulsanne’s construction and all panel joints are hand-brazed. These further enhance that ‘hewn from solid’ appearance and result in an extremely stiff body.” Construction will take place in a new plant at the Bentley factory in Crewe, England.

2011 Bentley Mulsanne Priced From $285,000

2009-12-09T03:21:00.001-08:00

2011 Bentley Muslanne

With a starting price of $285,000, Bentley's newest flagship model won't come cheap. Nor should it, with its 505-horsepower, 725 lb-ft, gasoline-fed 6.75-liter V8 engine sitting behind the automaker's trademark mesh grille and four round lights.

Also included in that price will be a paddle-shifted eight-speed automatic transmission, 16.54-inch front and 15.5-inch rear carbon ceramic brakes and 20-inch wheels. Don't forget the 2,200-watt stereo system and the the new Driver Dynamics Control system, which comes with "Bentley," "Sport," "Comfort" and user-definable "Custom" modes.

Want one? Production is slated to begin at the Crewe factory in England in the second quarter of 2010 and the first deliveries will make it to America later than year in the fall. Get yours in one of 114 available paint colors, 21 carpet colors, nine wood veneers and 24 interior leather hides, but get your order in fast – Bentley reports that early customer interest has exceeded 2010 production targets. Click past the break for the official press release.

The New 2011 Bentley Mulsanne

2009-12-09T03:19:00.000-08:00

This is a car that literaly made my eyes swirl! The new Bentley Mulsanne is simply regal!
The Mulsanne comes in a smooth, suave shape that tempts you to caress it!
The new Bentley Mulsanne is a monster under a sexy shell; 505 horsepower and a gasoline-fed 6.75 liter V8 engine.
It's also monstrous in size; with 5.57 meters in length and 1.92 meters in width.

Production of the Mulsanne is slated to begin at the Crewe factory in England in the second quarter of 2010 and it seems the company are expecting more orders than the 2010 production targets!

What makes this car excuisite, is the hand work on the wood veneers and leather hides on the interior.

So, you could guess that this baby doesn't come cheap!
The starting price is $285,000 ... including eight-speed automatic transmission, front and rear carbon ceramic brakes and 20-inch wheels. And if you want more luxurious features, you'll have to write a bigger check!

Vorsteiner Bentley Continental GT

2009-11-30T10:00:00.001-08:00

Vorsteiner already has upgrade packages for German luxury vehicles like the BMW M3 and Mercedes CLK63 AMG, and now the tuning house has unveiled a fresh aero package for the Bentley Continental GT and GT Speed.

Called the BR9 edition, the five-piece kit was constructed using vacuum-bagged dry carbon-fiber technology. It starts off with a new front bumper cover with bigger air intakes as well as a carbon-fiber chin spoiler and continues with side skirts, a rear bumper, a diffuser and a deck lid spoiler. The package gives the two-door British coupe a 1.5-inch-lower stance in the front and a 1.4-inch drop in the back.

Vorsteiner also equipped the vehicle with 22-inch forged aluminum wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. The tuner allows buyers to have the wheels custom painted or powder-coated if desired.

The whole carbon-fiber package comes in either glossy or matte coloring, and you can check out the California tuner's Web site for more details.

Bentley Continental GTZ

2009-11-28T10:51:00.001-08:00

The 2008 Bentley Continental GTZ is a high performance sports which features a power engine with a coachbuilt body for a Bentley.

The Bentley Continental GTZ consists of an Aluminum W12 engine with a capacity of 5998 cc. The bore measures 84 mm and the stroke measures 90.2 mm. The engine features dual KKK Turbochargers and 4 valves for each cylinder. The engine delivers an output power of 600 bhp and 533.2 lb-ft torque at 1750 rpm. The Bentley Continental GTZ features a 6-speed Automatic transmission and the gear shifts can be performed easily and smoothly even at higher loads.

The Bentley Continental GTZ features cast alloy 20-inch wheels with carbon discs and Anti Braking System. The wheels are wrapped with Pirelli P-Zero tyres which measure 275/35x20 at the front and back. The average price for a Bentley is around $200,000 and the most expensive Bentley is the Azure Convertible edition costing around $329,000.

Specifications

Vehicle Type: - 2-door Sports car
Configuration: - Front Engine
Engine: - Aluminum W12
Capacity: - 5998 cc
Torque: - 533.2 lb-ft at 1750 rpm
Horsepower: - 600 bhp
Transmission: - 6-Speed Automatic
Wheelbase: - 2746 mm

Bentley Arnage R

2009-11-28T10:50:00.002-08:00

The 2005 Bentley Arnage R is a high performance luxury car which is available in 40 different colors.

The Bentley Arnage R consists of a 6.75 liter V8 engine with a capacity of 6750 cc. The engine delivers an output power of 400 bhp at 4000 rpm and 616 lb-ft torque at 3250 rpm. The Bentley Arnage R reaches the speed of 60 mph in 5.9 seconds and the top speed is 155 mph. It features a 4-speed Automatic transmission and the gear shifts can be performed easily and smoothly even at higher loads.

The exteriors features the headlamps, new bonnet, xenon bulbs, vaned radiator grille and the 18-inch 12 spoke alloy wheels. The interiors features the electric windows, DVD based navigation system, audio system, ash tray, stylish dashboard, electric seats, ventilation system and climate control system.

Specifications

Vehicle Type: - 4-door Luxury car
Configuration: - Front Engine/RWD
Engine: - 6.75 liter V8
Capacity: - 6750 cc
Torque: - 616 lb-ft at 3250 rpm
Horsepower: - 400 bhp at 4000 rpm
Transmission: - 4-Speed Automatic
Weight: - 5699 lb
0-62 mph: - 5.9 sec
Top speed: - 155 mph

2009 Bentley Azure T

2009-11-28T10:50:00.001-08:00

The 2009 Bentley Azure T is a stylish and powerful car which is also considered as the one of the elegant convertible in the world.

The body of the Bentley Azure T is made of aluminum and the shape looks a bit muscular and the car is available in 42 different colors. The Bentley Azure T features a soft top which is operated by a switch and it can be opened or closed in 25 seconds.

The Bentley Azure T consists of a Twin-Turbo V8 engine with a capacity of 6761 cc. The engine is hand made and it comes out in black color. The engine delivers an output power of 500 bhp at 4200 rpm and 738 lb-ft torque at 3200 rpm. The Bentley Azure T reaches the speed of 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and the top speed is about 179 mph.

The Bentley Azure T features a 6-speed ZF Automatic transmission and there are three transmission modes which are Drive mode, Manual mode and Sports Mode. These modes can be selected depending upon the driving and road conditions. The gear shifts can be performed easily and smoothly even at higher loads.

The Bentley Azure T features 20-inch five spoke 5-spoke alloy wheels which are wrapped with Pirelli P Zero tyres for better handling and grip. The wheels features carbon ventilated disc brakes that consist of eight piston calipers.

The exteriors feature the door mirrors, LED lights, canvas roof and the 20-inch alloy wheels. The interiors feature the memory card slot, iPod interface, audio system with 10 individual speakers, leather seats, air conditioning system and a huge luggage space.

Specifications

Vehicle Type: - 2-door Convertible, production car
Configuration: - Front Engine/RWD
Engine: - Twin-Turbo V8
Capacity: - 6761 cc
Torque: - 738 lb-ft at 3200 rpm
Horsepower: - 500 bhp at 4200 rpm
Transmission: - 6-Speed ZF Automatic
Width: - 83.7 inches
Length: - 212.6 inches
Height: - 58.7 inches
Weight: - 5699 lb
0-60 mph: - 5.2 sec
Top speed: - 179 mph

Review of the Bentley Azure T at the L.A. Auto Show

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed

2009-11-28T10:29:00.001-08:00

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed

2009-11-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

Bentley Continental GT Top Speed Car

2009 Vorsteiner Bentley Continental GT BR9 Edition

2009-11-24T12:04:00.000-08:00

True to the motto ”Passion Does Not Compromise,” Vorsteiner – the renowned American tuner – has finished its latest project, a 5-piece lightweight aerodynamic package for Bentley Continental GT and GT Speed models, called BR9 Edition.

Designed to enhance even more the sleek, noble look of the vehicle and to improve his sportier stand, the new aero kit is created with Vorsteiner’s high tech vacuum bagged dry carbon fiber technology, which speaks for extremely high quality product. The BR9 Edition aero package includes: a 39mm lower front bumper with larger and taller air inlets, full length side skirts, 35mm lower rear bumper, carbon fiber rear diffuser with built-in dual racing fins and deck lid spoiler.

As addition to the refined Bentley exterior, Vorsteiner also offers a striking 22-inch V-101 forged aluminum monoblock mesh wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 Tires.

Vorsteiner Styles the Bentley Continental GT

2009-11-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

Though the company bears a name quite similar to one of my favorite German beers, I can’t say I’m enamored with this Vorsteiner BR9 Bentley Continental GT styling package. Outside of the language–”vacuum bagged dry carbon fiber technology”–there’s just not a whole lot of wow there.

Love it or leave it, the package includes five carbon fiber pieces: lowered front bumper, side skirts, lowered rear bumper with integrated diffuser and a deck lid spoiler. Additionally, customers choose matte or gloss finish on the carbon upgrades and add 22-inch forged aluminum ‘Monoblock Mesh’

2010 Bentley Accessories Range

2009-11-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

Bentley Motors has launched a new collection of accessories highlighting the British company's design and craftsmanship skills. Whether purely functional or created to further accentuate and personalise the appearance of a customer's car, each accessory reflects the attention to detail at which Crewe's stylists and engineers excel.

One of the highlights of the new collection is the striking Vented Wings available for the Bentley Continental GT and GTC. Styled by Raul Pires, Bentley's head of exterior design, the sleek, vented wings further emphasize the Continental's sporting lines. Positioned to the rear of the front wheel arch, the vents are cut into a newly tooled wing panel and feature a black mesh finish. An alternative chrome mesh is currently under development and will be available in early 2010. This accessory will also be offered on Continental Flying Spur models.

The Bentley ethos of tailoring hand craftsmanship to customers' personal needs is now extended to the company's smallest enthusiasts. Customers may now commission a new selection of bespoke Child Seats with the hide colour matching that of their car's interior including, where appropriate, the same piping, fluting and hand-stitching. As a further option, a child's name may be embroidered on the seat back beneath the Bentley Wings.

Bentley's new Self-Levelling Wheel Badges offer Arnage, Azure, Brooklands and Continental customers the opportunity subtly to personalise their Bentley. The badges fit into the centre of the wheel and feature Bentley's classic ‘B' symbol surrounded by the ‘Bentley Motors' script and remain completely level and upright at speeds of up to 70mph (112 Km/h). Once the car comes to a halt the wheel badges will also automatically self-level.

Offering excellent indoor and outdoor protection (and tailored to specifically fit each model) Bentley's branded Car Covers are now available for the Continental Supersports and Series 51 GT and GTC models. The covers are branded with unique Supersports and Series 51 logos with the name of the model embroidered on the side. In addition, Bentley is now offering Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur customers the opportunity to personalise their indoor car covers with their own bespoke text - for example, a cherished registration number.

Originally launched in 2004, the Bentley Jewelled Torch has been a notable hit with Bentley drivers and enthusiasts of the marque. The lightweight torch retains its powerful LED spot beam but for an extra dash of style and practicality, the Bentley ‘B' is now lasered into the lens and Bentley's unique knurling has been added around the beam adjustment bezel. The new version of this compact torch is presented in a branded box and can be recharged from the car's cigar lighter.

Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed

2009-11-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed packs 600 HP and 553 lb-ft of torque with the 6.0 liter W-12 engine borrowed from the two-door Continental GT Speed. The luxurious sedan's power is routed through a ZF-6 speed automatic transmission to all four wheels.

The Flying spur sprints from standstill to 60mph in 4.5 seconds and on to 100 mph in 10.5 seconds. The Flying Spur has a top speed of 195mph whereas Flying Spur Speed has a top speed of more than 200 mph. Check out more details on this monster!

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

2009-11-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

Bentley took the wraps off its new Mulsanne flagship ultra-luxury sedan at the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, the Mulsanne will be the centerpiece of Bentley’s showcase at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Specific details like engines, new technologies, pricing, and features will likely be announced then.

The Mulsanne is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentleys crowning achievement in 1930, the 8-litre.

2010 TopCar Bentley Continental GT Bullet - Detail, Photo, Price

2009-11-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

A new product of TopCar Company - Bentley Continental GT Bullet

This package fits both Continental GT and Continental GT Speed due to the Bentley’s Continental GT Speed radiator grille included into the body kit.

The complete kit consists of:

- Bonnet with additional air intakes
- Radiator grille GT Speed
- Front bumper with set LED daytime lights
- Front bumper lip
- Tinted front and rear lights
- Two composite side skirts with additional air inlets
- Rear bumper and diffuser
- Rear wing
- Exhaust tips
- Black window frames and lower side moldings

We also offer carbon-fiber car parts.

Soon the body kit package will include an additional option – front fenders with air intakes. It is shown on the white car.
The price for the whole package with forged wheels (GT Speed) R-20 amounts to 25.000 EUR.
The whole package with carbon-fiber car parts included forged wheels (GT Speed) R-20 costs 30.000 EUR.
The forged wheel and tire packages (GT Speed) R-20 cost 6.500 EUR.
The price for the body kit with new front fenders with air intakes will climb 5.000 EUR higher.

Bentley Arnage Final Series

2009-11-01T00:31:00.002-07:00

Bentley is giving farewell to Arnage, 10 years after its original debut in 1998. The final series Arnage will end with an exclusive 150 production cars. In 1999 the V8 engine was introduced into the Arnage, codenamed “F1”, with a single turbocharger, developing 400bhp/298kW and 616 lb ft/835 Nm of torque. This was followed in 2002 by the “F6” version featuring twin turbochargers, boosting power to 450bhp/336kW with 645 lb ft/875 Nm of torque.

[Source: Bentley]

2009 Bentley Continental GT By Romero Britto

2009-11-01T00:31:00.001-07:00

This is the ‘Britto-Bentley', a squiggly, cartoony art-thing from renowned Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto, created in conjunction with the Bentley designers themselves.

The Britto-Bentley is on display at Romero's ‘Come to my World' exhibit in Berlin and, according to Romero himself, has been created to ‘put a smile on people's faces'. "Since everything in life moves toward an end", says Britto, "we should fill our life with colour and hope."

When the Berlin show finishes, the Britto-Bentley will be auctioned off for charity.

[Source: Bentley]

New Bentley Mulsanne

2009-11-01T00:27:00.000-07:00

Built to replace the soon-to-be discontinued Arnage, the Mulsanne is Bentley's new flagship model that has been designed and engineered at Crewe from the ground-up. We already got a taste of the Mulsanne about a month ago at the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance in California, but now Bentley has released further details on the limousine that made its European premiere in Frankfurt.

On the outside, the Mulsanne is less gaudy than the Rolls Royce Phantom but far more interesting than Daimler's S-Class-lookalike, the Maybach 57/62, which are the car's closest rivals. Highlights include the bold front design with the unusual quad headlamp arrangement and the huge front grille that echo the styling of the Bentley S-Type of the 1950s, the swooping rear end and muscular shoulder lines at the back along with the massive 20-inch or optionally, 21-inch alloy wheels.

Bentley's New $300,000 Sedan

2009-10-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

A lot of people may be resentful of Wall Street bonuses, but Bentley executives are not among them. Bentley Motors Inc. gave a preview of its upcoming Mulsanne luxury sedan in New York Oct. 22. The car, which will cost close to $300,000, has an eight-cylinder engine which, despite using an old-fashioned design, generates more than 500 horsepower.

Named after a long, fast straightaway at the Le Mans racing track in France, the Mulsanne is part of the company's plan to re-establish itself as a top-tier maker of exclusive luxury cars -- sales have been drastically down. The new model will compete with a handful of other rarefied sedans already on the market, including the Maybach 57 and Rolls-Royce Phantom. Bentley, a British unit of German carmaker Volkswagen AG, has not named an exact price for the new car, which will go on sale in the U.S. a year from now. But since the Rolls-Royce Phantom, built by BMW AG, and Maybach 57, part of the Daimler AG family, both cost closer to $400,000, the less-costly Mulsanne will take advantage of a largely untapped sweet spot in luxury-car pricing.

While there certainly are people who can afford the Mulsanne, its release into a struggling economy may be a case of bad timing. Bentley says it expects worldwide sales of its current cars, priced mostly between $150,000 and $200,000, to total about 4,500 vehicles for 2009, down from 10,040 in 2007 and 7,600 in 2008. In a more acute case of poor timing, the Mulsanne refused to start during the preview and had to be manually pushed off its truck and into the display gallery (see video).

2009 New York: Bentley Continental Supersports

2009-10-23T01:32:00.000-07:00

$267,000 – that’s how much you’ll have to cash out to own the fastest, most powerful Bentley ever produced – otherwise known as the Bentley Continental Supersports. You can place your order starting October 2009.

Power comes from a 6.0L W12 twin-turbocharged engine making 621-hp and a maximum torque of 590 lb-ft. The engine is capable of running on gasoline and E85 biofuel or any combination of the two. Keep in mind that the first couple hundred units headed to the U.S. will be gas only.

0 to 62 mph for the Bentley Continental Supersports comes in 3.9 seconds with a top speed of 204 mph.

2010 Bentley Arnage

2009-10-23T01:31:00.000-07:00

2010 Bentley Arnage

2010 Bentley Continental Supersport

2009-10-23T01:30:00.000-07:00

$267,000 - that’s how much you’ll have to cash out to own the fastest, most powerful Bentley ever produced - otherwise known as the Bentley Continental Supersports. You can place your order starting October 2009.

2010 Bentley Arnage

2009-10-21T16:50:00.001-07:00

Autocar reports that the Bentley Arnage will be replaced with a new model for the 2010 model year. Amid speculation that the Veyron-engined Arnage built recently and described by Bentley as a “prototype” is an indication of the next-generation Arnage’s powerplant – almost 1000 hp – the word is that the 2010 Arnage will have an aluminum spaceframe chassis produced by Audi, an aluminum body, and possibly a hybrid version of the current 6.75 liter V-8 using the transmission developed for the Audi Q7
hybrid or the hybrid transmission currently under development for the next Audi Quattro.

Autocar cites Audi’s chief of engineering, Michael Dick, as a source for the spaceframe information. Dick has recently said that Audi’s spaceframe would be the basis for all new Bentleys, saving about 330 lbs. in weight. Bentley has also disclosed that it will display a concept model which emphasizes “green” thinking at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. It is also expected that there may be major modifications made to the Bentley factory, both to accommodate the next Arnage and to accommodate production of other future Bentley models which will be based on the same spaceframe.

Despite the recent appearance of a Veyron-engined prototype version of the current Arnage, Bentley’s boss, Franz-Joseph Paefgen, has said that the company intends to keep the 6.75 liter powerplant used in the current model, but retune it to meet 2009 European Union emissions standards. That will be quite a feat for an engine that was first introduced fifty years ago. Even more challenging will be the next set of emissions standards. But, the company is currently working, according to Paefgen, on meeting the 2013-15 EU emissions standards with the 6.75 liter engine. “All our engineers want to keep the engine alive,” he said. Perhaps the W16 from the Veyron is merely a fall-back plan.

Introducing a model smaller than the current Bentleys, however, seems to be a plan that’s been rejected. Though Bentley anticipates that it may need to improve fuel efficiency by 20%, it does not intend to downsize the cars. “We may need to shed weight, but we still need to produce cars of a Bentley size,” according to Paefgen.

2010 Bentley Azure T

2009-10-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

Based on Azure model, the Bentley Azure T offers a wide palette of discrete properties of the body, which pronounce even more the power and announce some potential in sport performance. Through the key elements that describe it, our attention is drown by the 20 inches aroid rims that are made from two pieces and 5 spokes also the air scoops “Le Mans” placed on the front wings.

Other standard characteristic from Azure are available such as standard option like the radiator grid, the lower grid painted in dark colors, the tank cover “Jewel” and side mirrors in the same color as the body.
Just like Bentley Brooklands, Azure T approaches the legendary “B with wings”. For the concept of the car we have to thank the artist F. Gordon Crosby, this emblem was mounted for the first time on the Bentley cars on the 8 liters engine in 1930.

With the exterior lines that reveal visual elements just like the Bentley Mk.6 from 1946, Azure was welcome with enthusiasm in 2005 in Los Angeles. Now with the preparing for the launch of Azure T in Los Angeles, Raul Pires, the director of the design department of the body from Bentley Motors a notice:
” The proportions of Azure have offer us a base idea to create the new Azure T. The bold wings on the rear and her “top model” body have inspired our designers to reinterpret the convertible Bentley.

Exceptional lines of the rims go together with the trunk line that sows us that this one is smaller and younger, but makes room to a round dash board and is in a hors shoe form. This elegant form is a smile for the first Bentley built at Crewe, The Mk 6 model, and the main effect is a discreet illusion of the power and performance that lies in the body of Azure T.

The subtlest chrome elements pronounce the fluid lines of Bentley Azure T, and also include the frame of the lights, the exhaust end and the fine vanillin’s that are over the car.

Bentley invest time and effort to transform the hood of Bentley Azure T a hood that has it looks but it is also functional. It’s made from 3 layers of calico, the hood it is hydraulic opened, with a simple touch of a button. The roof, when is acted, elegant rearrange itself in 25 seconds also with a simple touch of a button. Being stored in a independent zone, the roof dos not change the space of the trunk, trunk that is design to hold 2 equipment of golf and a hand bag.

Bentley

2009-10-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

The Bentley Continental Supersport blends luxury and performance. Photo / Supplied

Unlike new variants of production cars, Bentley's Supersport wasn't planned. It came, according to Bentley's head of exterior design Raul Pires, after the company's engineers began playing around.

As they were developing the Continental range, "the designers over-engineered, then we made a judgment call," Pires says. "We realised we could make an extreme Bentley."

Pires says the engineers worked on weight saving and technical changes, and it all went from there.

It sounds amazingly casual, but petrol just leaks from Bentley folk, they can't help themselves. So those engineers gave Pires a play in their altered GT to get the feel of it and he got to work, his changes largely mandated by technical tweaks to the standard Continental GT.

"A car is never too wide or too low," Pires says, pointing out the wider rear arches to accommodate a 50mm increase in track and beefier wheels. They underline the greater rear-drive bias - the torque split for the four-wheel-drive system now 40:60 front to rear.

Bentley's GTC Speed has got your number

2009-10-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

On the prowl: the Bentley GTC Speed may be a 200mph soft-top, but it'll be driven slowly in cities by narcissists. Photograph: James Royall

BENTLEY GTC SPEED
£153,400
MILES PER GALLON: 17
CO₂ PER KM: 396 GRAMS
GOOD FOR: SHOW PONIES
BAD FOR: PIT PONIES

If you've ever arrived in London from the west via the great maw of the M4, colliding with the congested capital like a piece of arterial plaque swirling into a diseased heart, you may have found yourself edging down towards Chelsea. You'd have hit the river – and standstill traffic – at Cheyne Walk and, if you were still in touch with your senses, you might have noticed on your left two Bentleys which are usually parked in an open-fronted private garage. Their number plates read 2B and NOT 2B. Plates such as these sell for huge sums. A few months ago 1O went for £210,242. A personalised plate is the ultimate accessory for the super-rich car owner. I knew I had to start looking for a new dentist when the one I'd been seeing for years bought GOB 1 for his Porsche – a shade of dark grey that reminded me of my fillings. And, true or not, Peter Andre's gift of BO55Y KT for Jordan's Range Rover must have been worth every penny.

Research carried out by the insurance company elephant.co.uk shows that if you are the owner of a nursing home, live in western Stirlingshire and own a Ferrari 360, you will almost certainly have a personalised number plate, because that's the occupation, location and vehicle which have the highest percentage of personalised plates in Britain. Incidentally, if you are a janitor, live on Merseyside and drive a Ford Orion you will almost certainly not own a personalised plate.

This week, I've been driving a Bentley with the number 2000TU. TU was a local registration plate for the Chester area and Bentley own a dozen or so "cherish plates" with this suffix. They also own 1 WO and 21 WO – the WO standing for Wilfred Owen (Bentley), the founder of the historic marque. During a long sunny weekend in the Bentley, plenty of people stopped and stared, but I don't think it had much to do with the cherish plate and everything to do with the fact that the Bentley in question was a pearlescent white convertible with "smoked" low-pro 20in alloys and a Glastonbury-sized stereo.

It's impossible to sit in the 200mph, 6-litre, twin-turbo, 600bhp, two-and-a-half tonne tourer without being in two minds. On the one hand, it's the epitome of limitless power and budgetless motoring. On the other it is an expression of unmatched vulgarity and over-the-top excess. There is no justification for its dreadful fuel consumption or poor emissions record. The Speed variant costs 20 grand more than its standard GTC cousin, and for that you get 15% more power, nicer seats, bigger wheels and wider exhaust pipes. Given that it stood out on my suburban street like Lady Gaga at a Women's Institute cake sale, I was braced for abuse. But all I got was a steady stream of "Nice car, mister!", "Good choice" and "That's the car, man!" My wife had two women come up to her and cheer, "You go girl!"

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports First Drive

2009-10-10T07:52:00.000-07:00

Bentley describes the new 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports as “a fusion of extremes.” And that it is, starting with the name itself, which fuses the “Continental” badge, which dates to the brand’s 1950s models, and “Supersports,” a descriptor first given to a series of speed-record-setting Bentleys in the 1920s. Styling-wise, 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports look is also a blend of the elegant body shape of the Continental GT coupe and sinister elements such as black wheels and gaping front intakes. The interior remains inarguably luxurious, yet eschews stodgy wood and puffy seats in favor of intense carbon-fiber trim and lightweight racing shells.

If this sounds like high-brow automotive schizophrenia, just know that each enhancement achieves the purpose stated by the Supersports name, contributing small but effective measures that elevate the Supersports out of the sphere where normal Continentals exist and into a world of faster, more exclusive, and even more prestigious nameplates. Think of it as a big-boned Aston Martin DBS and you won’t be far off.

Bentley Builds a Velvet Battering Ram

2009-10-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

Bentley’s new flagship is a massive yet stately battering ram of an automobile that oh-so-politely says, “I am very important. Please do get out of my way.”

Nothing about the Mulsanne is subtle, from the 505-horsepower twin-turbo V8 propelling the behemoth to the optional 21-inch wheels carrying it. The Mulsanne almost makes a Cadillac Escalade on dubs look understated. This is a car that no more than a few thousand people will ever buy, and as such it provides the utmost luxury — and lets everyone know it.

“This car is obviously a statement,” Christophe Georges, the company’s president and chief operating officer, told Wired.com during a sneak-peek in San Francisco before the car was unveiled today at the Frankfurt auto show. “We want this car to be the pinnacle of Bentley.”

“Car” seems too plebeian for something that takes nine weeks to build and almost certainly costs more than $350,000.

Although Bentley remains a British company that has built cars in Crewe since W.O. Bentley spun wrenches, it is owned by Volkswagen. You can see Teutonic influence in the styling, which is muscular and athletic. The Mulsanne looks like it was milled from billet. It is huge, almost 219 inches long and 76 inches wide, but more graceful than the Rolls-Royce Phantom and Maybach 57. Bentley hasn’t said what the Mulsanne weighs, but the Arnage is just shy of three tons.

Bentley may make Continental Supersports convertible

2009-10-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Bentley Continental is getting isn't getting any younger and soon it's going to need replacing. But while Bentley's focus is firmly fixed on the new Mulsanne and the variations expected to follow, the "entry-level" Continental hasn't been forgotten. The Continental has already spawned seven different derivatives – including the GT coupe, GTC cabrio, Flying Spur sedan, Speed versions of each and the Supersports coupe – but recent reports indicate that adding an eighth version is being considered.

The variant in question would be a Supersports convertible, featuring the same 621-horsepower, flex-fuel twin-turbo 6.0-litre W12 (21 hp more than standard) as the Supersports coupe. In the process, the GTC would drop some weight – and receive carbon ceramic brakes andonly have room for two occupants. Sources indicate that if goes ahead, the Continental Supersports convertible would likely reach market about a year from now, where it would almost certainly command the highest price in the Continental range.

2010 Bentley Continental GT Supersports

2009-10-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

2010 Bentley Continental GT Supersports

On the other hand, if you think it possible – by way of octane-rich biofuel – to reconcile massive, brain-pan-sloshing displays of horsepower and torque with a reduction in carbon emissions - and keep a straight face - then by all means read on.

Bentley’s comeback-kid Continental GT, introduced in 2004, was better known as a grand tourer than a jagged-edged racetrack scamp. Then came the GT Speed, which added more power and nimble road manners, and it became the first Bentley to reach over 200 miles per hour. Then, a 24-month skunkworks project yielded the Supersport, an even more powerful variant that’s also lighter and, set up to run on ethanol – large quantities of it - emits less CO₂.

Of course, only the most passionate lovers of internal-combustion engines might cut Bentley slack for kicking off an environmental sensitivity project with a fuel-swilling, neck-snapping bruiser of a sports car. But the Volkswagen-owned company has committed to cutting carbon emissions, and you can't deny the Supersports is a conversation starter in that regard. Bentley says using biofuel in the Supersports sums to 70 percent less emissions "well to wheels," which takes into account all the CO₂s emitted as fossil fuels go from primordial ooze to food for supercars.

Plus, since the average Bentley owner has six other cars in his garage to choose from, a typical model logs just 8,000 miles a year. It's always possible for one of those other cars in heavy rotation to be a Prius, or a bicycle.

But enough sturm und drang. The Supersports' reason for being is simply outrageous fun. It gets power from the typical Bentley 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W12, tweaked to 621 hp and 590 pounds-feet of torque. That sounds like a lot, but the 12-pot has to pull serious weight -- 2.5 short tons. That’s 4,939 pounds – a ton more than a Ferrari F430. Nonetheless, the Supersports’ power-to-weight ratio works out quite well, indeed.

A strategic weight-reduction plan helped push the right end of that ratio downward. Swapping the Continental GT's luxury seats with lightweight racing buckets from Sparco, clad in diamond-stitched leather and alcantara (a grippy faux suede), along with other interior shavings cut 157 pounds. Changing the big steel brakes with carbon-ceramics saved 44 pounds of unsprung mass, new wheels: 22 lbs, chassis mods: 20 lbs. It doesn't sound like much, considering the traditional Continental GT weighs over five large, but the physics of it all belie the numbers.

That means it can dance. Imagine the late Andre the Giant in the Ballet Russe. Light, quick steering and heightened antiroll hardware connive to give the massive Supersports the alert feel of a smaller car hauling around far fewer pounds. Along the winding secondary highways of upstate, New York, the Supersports flitted from hill to dale like a Kodiak bear performing Cirque du Soleil’s “flying man” act (the one where they hang from the ropes). Hat tip to the engineers.

Keeping all that power under command is a traction control system that’s been modified for the Supersports’ higher performance. It's more compliant than similar systems. If a driver overcooks a turn and loses traction, for example, the system's software algorithm can detect a skilled move to correct, or a ham-fisted saw at the wheel. In the case of former, the ESP will add a strategic touch of brakes, but won’t intrude to cut power like others do.

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports First Drive

2009-09-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

If you keep the throttle mashed, you can hit 140+ on Monticello Motor Club's long straight. Massive carbon-ceramic front rotors bleed off speed, and you'll flick the downshift paddle numerous times in preparation for the (relatively) low-speed first corner. Aluminum suspension components and sticky Pirelli's bite hard, and once past the apex, you'll press the twin-turbocharged, 12-cylinder engine's 590 pound-feet of torque back into the New York track's surface.

Lapping Monticello in a 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning prototype? No. It's a leather-lined, roadgoing Bentley. One that weighs 5000 pounds, at that. Welcome to the latest, hottest, best-performing model in the Continental lineup, called Supersports.
"We had one group of engineers working on getting more power out of our 6.0-liter W-12 engine," says Brian Gush, Bentley's director of Powertrain and Chassis Engineering. "Another was addressing vehicle weight reduction. A third was working on the ZF transmission, in search of quicker shifts. We decided to meld these efforts together, add a body/chassis improvement program, and make the ultimate Continental GT."

If there's one thing the Continental suffers from, it's weight. There's just too much of it, and too much of it on the front end; all of the engine sits forward of the front axle line. So out came the scales. Semi-racing style, non-power-adjustable Sparco seats account for the first 100 pounds out of the middle. As the Supersports was conceived to compete with cars like the Ferrari 599 Fiorano and the Aston Martin DBS, the rear seats hit the dumpster entirely. This, and extensive use of carbon-fiber trim, saved another 57 pounds in the cabin.

Switching from iron to the aforementioned carbon-ceramic front brake rotors saved another 44 pounds. This move gets bonus points, as the weight lost here is unsprung and also reciprocating mass, so this seemingly small benefit is vast. Lighter binders allow suspension components that could be designed 20 pounds lighter. The Supersports' new 20-inch wheels weigh 5.5 pounds a corner less than those on other Continentals. All the abs crunches led to over 240 pounds less girth.

Bentley Destroyed in Cash for Clunkers Program

2009-09-27T04:18:00.000-07:00

A 1997 Bentley Continental R — a car that when new sold for $250,000 — was destroyed in the Cash for Clunkers program, according to data gathered by the federal government and discovered by the Detroit Free Press. Keep in mind that the Bentley’s owner only got a $4,500 credit at best.

This trade-in, obviously, makes absolutely no sense. According to the program’s rules, the vehicle had to be drivable, which means the Bentley was probably worth a lot more than $4,500. As Howard Krimko, a former chairman of a luxury car club, told the blog Wheels, “The seats for the car would be worth more than that.”

What’s even more mystifying is that dealers had the option of buying the car outright. Why wouldn’t they just take the car? The report listed no details on the condition of the car or where it was turned in, so curious parties will be maddened until someone steps forward and identifies the party responsible. Could this trade-in be illegitimate or even made up?

A few other vehicles of note that owners scrapped through the program include a 1997 Aston Martin DB7 Volante (that sold for $135,000 when new) and a 1987 Buick GNX (one of 547 ever built).

Bentley Azure Review

2009-09-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

This is not the sort of car that anybody is going to need to buy. Like a luxury yacht, it will be bought by the super-rich as an indulgent plaything - indeed Bentley reckons that Azure customers will already own at least five other cars. And for this rarefied group of customers, the Azure's massive pricetag won't matter.

Nor, probably, the fact that it is clearly inferior in most ways to its own sister, the Continental-based GT-C. The Azure's styling is clearly similar to that of the Arnage saloon, sharing its sister's slightly convoluted front end and massive proportions. To get a real impression of the car's massive 5.4 metre length you need to view it from the rear three quarters and over the huge bootlid.

Yet despite being enormous on the outside it's less than spacious within. Front seat occupants enjoy a reasonable amount of space, but rear legroom feels very limited considering the vast external dimensions. The cabin is finished to a very high standard with what feels like acres of wood trim and a couple of milking sheds-worth of leather.

Performance comes from an effortlessly understressed 6.75 litre V8 engine, which pits its prodigious output against the Azure's vast bulk to produce impressive acceleration - although the power-to-weight ratio is barely that of a modern hot hatch. Steering is far less vague than that of previous Bentley coupes and handling is responsive enough, but the very old-fashioned automatic gearbox only has four ratios.

And as for running costs? Well, if you need to ask, then you undoubtedly won't be able to afford them.

Sean Stewart Wrecks $200,000 Bentley

2009-09-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

The bad news: Rod Stewart's son Sean just wrecked a Bentley Continental GTC worth about $200,000.

The good news: It was a rental.

We're told Sean wrecked the Bentley on Sunset Blvd., near Boa Steakhouse. It happened at around 3 PM PT. He was renting the expensive ride from Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car for $2,500 a day.

The rental place tells us they don't sell coverage on high end vehicles ... so it looks like Sean may be in the hole anyway.

UPDATE: A rep for Sean tells us he was a passenger in the car and a female was driving at the time. We're told she lost control and hit the curb.

More 2011 Bentley Mulsanne Details Revealed

2009-09-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

Bentley on Tuesday filled in some of the blanks on its 2011 Mulsanne flagship at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. But up in the air are such critical details as final U.S. pricing and fuel-economy numbers.

The Mulsanne made a showy debut last month at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. As promised, Bentley in Frankfurt released a raft of technical specifications on the car. The V8 engine, an update of the existing motor that includes cylinder deactivation, displaces 6.75 liters and is mated to an eight-speed transmission. The engine churns out 505 horsepower and 752 pound-feet of torque.
When Inside Line on Tuesday asked Bentley's U.S. spokesman David Reuter for official fuel-economy numbers, he replied in an e-mailed message: "We'll release specific numbers a bit closer to launch. We expect real-world fuel economy improvements to be significant."
Bentley says a new Drive Dynamics Control system offers three standard modes: Bentley, Sport and Comfort. A fourth mode, Custom, allows the driver to select personalized settings via the multimedia system to "tune" the Mulsanne to a "preferred driving style."
As expected, virtually all of the specifications on the Mulsanne are supersized. The car comes equipped with 20 audio speakers, it takes 15 hours to hand-stitch the steering wheel, and optional wheels are 21 inches across. Buyers can select from 114 exterior paint choices, including duo-tone combinations. A personalized keyless entry system can even preprogram the blinds for the side and rear windows.

The automaker noted in a statement that it takes more than 170 hours to put the interior together. "Following detailed customer feedback, a traditional tanning process has been reinstated to match the rich, worn leather smell that is so evocative of vintage Bentleys," it
Reuter said the Mulsanne will cost "more than an Arnage, which runs from $224,000 (regular model) to $264,000 (long-wheelbase model)."
The Mulsanne goes on sale in the U.S. in summer 2010.

Bentley's muscle-bound Mulsanne

2009-09-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

Something about the Mulsanne gives me the distinct impression that Bentley is trying to build a better Rolls-Royce.

The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne was officially announced at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, but the luxury automaker was keeping quiet with the details regarding its newest land-yacht's power train and tech. However, with the 2009 Frankfurt auto show, the veil has been pulled back and we're finally able to share the goods.

Let's just get this out of the way: 752 pound-feet of torque--that's how much twist is generated by the Mulsanne's 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 engine. There's also 505-horsepower being generated, but we can't get past that number: 752.

The engine isn't the only generator of huge numbers. Try "2,200-watt Naim for Bentley premium audio system with eight DSP modes and 20 speakers" on for size. Feeding that audiophile quality audio system is a 40GB hard-drive-based audio system that features navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, and multimedia connectivity options.

Bentley's PR guys and gals probably won't admit it, but much of the Mulsanne's tech appears to be repackaged Audi technology, which makes sense as both automakers are mostly owned by the Volkswagen Group. For example, the infotainment system appears to be a reskinning of Audi's MMI system and features a leather-lined MP3-player drawer in the center of the dash that houses what appears to be Audi's Music Interface. A Drive Select system with four vehicle dynamic modes (including a user customizable mode) is remarkably similar to the system that we're starting to see on, you guessed it, Audis. This technology sharing is fine by us; after all, the Rolls-Royce Phantom shares more than a little tech with its distant BMW relatives.

Bentley to Officially Debut Mulsanne Flagship

2009-09-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Technically speaking, Bentley already unveiled its Arnage successor at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, but the regal British automaker was tight-lipped about any specifics.

Details of the new Mulsanne will be unveiled tomorrow (September 15th) at the Frankfurt Auto Show, where we expect to learn about the impressive fuel-economy improvements Bentley has made with this new model. About all we do know is that the Mulsanne, much like the Arnage, is powered by a 6.75-liter V8. The engine has been reworked almost entirely, however, and we expect this model to be able to run on ethanol as well as gasoline. And of course, the engine’s power output will increase as well.

The design is certainly impressive with a massive front grille with huge circle headlights and lots of chrome.

As for the car’s name, it comes from the same place as the Arnage - France’s famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe race track. On that track the Mulsanne straight is actually two straights, which have been divided up with a chicane so as to limit the overall speed that race cars can achieve. Modern racers have to slow from over 200 mph to 65 mph to run the chicane, before taking to the second-half of the straight.

Bentley sees signs of revival in luxury car class

2009-09-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

Bentley, owned by Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), is seeing some signs of
revival in the super luxury vehicle segment and expects sales
of premium cars to improve next year, one of its top executives
said on Friday.

"We can see some movement. There is some activity going
on," said Christophe Georges, chief operating officer of the
Americas division. "We expect the last part of this year to be
a little better."

He added, "2010 should be the start of a new business
cycle."

Georges, who spoke on the sidelines of a media event, was
in San Francisco to unveil the iconic British manufacturer's
new flagship model Mulsanne. The new sedan will replace the
Arnage, which starts at about $225,000.

The Mulsanne, aimed at the super-wealthy, will go on sale
in Europe next summer and will make its debut in the U.S.
market in third quarter of 2010. It will also be displayed at
the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.

Georges declined to reveal the price of the Mulsanne. The
least expensive Bentley, the Continental Flying Spur model,
starts at $191,500.

Based in Crewe, England, Bentley is also getting ready to
launch a sports car. The Continental Supersports can run on
ethanol and accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds.

Super-luxury carmakers, typically immune to the
boom-and-bust cycles that affect their mass-market
counterparts, were hurt in the past year by the fallout from
the credit crisis and the economic slowdown.

The wealthy shunned luxury cars during the recession as
they saw their net worth decline following the collapse in
financial markets and real-estate values.

Bentley's U.S. sales are down 57 percent to 863 units
through August this year.

"Luxury has a reputation for being immune to recessions,"
Georges said. "The (current) crisis has severely affected the
overall luxury market."

Bentley has seen customers put off purchases for hand-made
vehicles that take an average of nine weeks to build.

"Customers are there but they have postponed their
purchases because of lack of confidence", Georges said.

2010 Bentley Mulsanne

2009-09-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

2010 Bentley Mulsanne at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel

Bentley invited a few of us auto journo types down to the decadently posh Beverly Wilshire Hotel to meet its COO Christophe Georges and admire the company's new super land yacht, the 2010 Bentley Mulsanne. Not only that, but they spilled the beans on all the juicy technical details that makes the Mulsanne, well, special. And please trust us, the Mulsanne is special.

One small catch, however. All them juicy details are embargoed until next week during the Frankfurt Motor Show. So even though we know the exact, staggering amount of power the Mulsanne will be sending to its rear wheels – and trust us again, it is staggering – we can't tell you. Yet. Infuriating, no? But, we did learn a couple of juicy details that we can share with you in this here teaser post. Better than nothing, right?

New Series 51 Bentley Continental Range

2009-09-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

Series 51 Bentley Continental

Bentley Motors will preview an exciting new design direction for the company’s Continental GT and GTC models at the 2009 Frankfurt Show. The Series 51 Continental models represent Bentley exterior and interior styling at its most vibrant and will enable customers to order ‘off the peg’ from an exclusive range created by Dirk van Braeckel’s renowned team of Crewe-based designers.

Series 51 is named after the year that the first official styling department was established in Crewe by the gifted John Blatchley, who shaped the original and iconic 1950s Bentley Continentals. Every Series 51 car will feature a highly-distinctive interior colour palette and unique exterior design cues.

Bentley’s Colour and Trim team, managed by Melinda - June Jenkins, have designed some bespoke three-tone interiors which demonstrate the full potential of leather hide colours and showcase the creative application of contrast stitching and piping. The first example of their work will be the Continental GTC displayed at Frankfurt which features Imperial Blue as a main and secondary hide, Linen seat and door inserts and Newmarket Tan as the accent colour.

Series 51 cars will also feature several unique interior details including the use of non-indented hide for diamond quilting, contrast piping for the seats and doors as well as bespoke Series 51 treadplates.

Bentley’s designers have selected a range of premium-quality materials for the dashboard and centre console to complement the three-tone interiors. The Dark and Bright ‘Engine Spin’ aluminium options provide a striking contrast with darker and lighter hide colour choices and a special, limited-edition Amboyna veneer reserved for Series 51.

A belief that even the smallest detail presents an opportunity to delight and surprise customers has always be a key element of the Bentley design story. Series 51 follows this principle, where even the overmats and boot carpets are now colour matched and given contrast binding.

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