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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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