It seems that the team at Bentley is quite busy these days, as it has just released the Mulsanne, which will be the base for the replacements of the Brooklands and Azure, is preparing to revamp the Continental lineup, and, according to a new report, may also be researching two new cars, a three-door shooting brake and a crossover.
First off, the three-door model will sit below the Continental, and try to please the $100-130,000 price range with performance fitting of a Bentley sportscar. The second however, is a bit tricky, as it won’t be a crossover model per-se, like an Audi Q5, but more along the lines of the Allroad models from the German company, as the Bentley chief is Franz-Josef Paefgen, former Audi man which backed up the Allroad and hated the Q7.
Both models will share a lot of things with the new platform which will be used on the Aud A6 and upcoming A7 models, as well as the 4.5-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, which generates around 550 HP that will be transmitted to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
While nothing is for certain, it would be quite interesting to see such models from Bentley. I wonder what Rolls Royce will be planning to counter these new cars. What do you think about Bentley’s plans? Leave a comment with your views.
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley mulsanne, bentley-continental
While most car fans can appreciate any well-made vehicle, there are people who are very devoted to a single brand, and whose goal is to have almost everything in their lives adorned with that special logo.
Exactly for such fans has Bentley released a new accessories line, which includes besides the usual car cover or other little trinkets things like a set of self-levelling wheel badged, which will remain completely upright at speeds of up to 112 km/h (72 mph), for models like the Arnage, Azure, Brooklands or Continental. For sportier models like the Continental GT or GTC, new black-mesh vents for the rear wheel arches can be ordered, adding that extra touch.
But for every model in the Bentley lineup, the company has released a truly exclusive accessory, in the form of a custom baby seat, which can be ordered to match the upholstery of your own Bentley and even have the name of the young one engraved in it.
Last but not least, the company is also offering a small torch light, which can be powered by the cigar lighter, and projects a B wherever you point it.
While prices haven’t been revealed (take a hint, they’re gonna be high), I’m sure many (rich) people will be very interested in them.
Post tags: Tags: accessories, accessories-range, Bentley
Bentley is trying harder and harder these days to show that it can also do sports cars and grand tourers, not only big fat limousines for people who aren’t in a hurry to get somewhere. That is why it has unleashed the new Continental Supersports on the famous German track the Nurburgring.
But the company didn’t unleash it on its own, as former racing champion Derek Bell took the wheel of the new supercar and really showed the skills that made him famous years ago. Enjoy the video below.
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley continental supersports, bentley-continental, derek bell, nurburgring
It seems that Bentley will be going greener and greener in the future, and I’m not talking about new paint options either, as the next generation of the Continental GT model will also see a hybrid version, in which the presumably big gasoline engine will be helped by a smaller electric one. This is part of the UK automaker’s strategy to become more friendly with the environment, after presenting a bioethanol version of the current Continental GT Supersports.
The future series, which is expected to hit around 2011, will see plenty of other technologies, aimed at lowering its fuel average and its CO2 emissions. It is expected that the hybrid model will take the current 396 g/km value and lower it by as much as 40% to a more sensible 225 g CO2/km. We will also bioethanol version of the future models, in order to further differentiate the Continental GT from its rivals.
Ulrich Eichhorn, one of Bentley’s executives revealed that the current Supersports and the future Continental hybrid will aim at delivering both a high performance and a more balanced take on the environment, in order to satisfy all of its customers.
Will you be looking forward to the new Bentley Continental? Don’t be shy to drop a comment below.
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley continental supersports, bentley-continental-gt, bioethanol, Hybrid
While it has recently revealed that its newest Mulsanne limousine will receive plenty of body versions, it seems that the UK-based manufacturer Bentley is thinking about creating yet another version of its popular Continental supercar.
Based on the Supersports versions, this new model will be a convertible, and be adequately named the Bentley Supersports Cabrio. Aimed at people who want the best performance out of the Continental but also the wind to blow throw their hair, this version is set to be the most expensive one.
Presumably it will be equipped with a hard top roof and powered by the big W12 6-liter engine which develops 621 HP. Extras like ceramic brakes and weight saving options like the removal of the back seat are also expected next year, when it is rumored that the model will be unveiled and launched on the market.
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley continental supersports, bentley continental supersports cabrio, bentley-continental
The Bentley Continental GT is one superb car, but it seems that the work of art from the British automaker received quite a lot of improvements, courtesy of the Russian tuning house TopCar, which released a special edition of both the GT and the GT Speed, called Bullet.
With no cues from the famous Bullitt Ford Mustang, this tuning package takes car of the aerodynamics and the wheels of the car, with no improvements to the already powerful engines that the two version have. Starting with new air intakes for the hood, and going down with a GT Speed grille to the new front bumper which now sports LED daytime running lights and a lip spoiler, the bodykit also contains side skirts and a rear bumper sporting a diffuser and side air vents.
Other beauty enhancements like the boot lid spoiler, new exhaust tips and darkened front and lights were also fitted, along with the 20-inch standard GT Speed rims which received a darked coat of paint and can now be worn by the normal GT.
If you fancy this tuning package, be prepared to fork out €25,000, or about $37,000 for the bodykit and rims. In case you want carbon fiber parts for your exclusive Bentley, then the price increases to €30,000 ($44,000). And, just in case you still have a bit of money left over, you can adorn your car with the matte black finish, like in the pictures, which will add an extra €7,000 or $10,300 on the bill.
While the Bentley Continental GT is certainly fine car, this new tuning package might make plenty of its owners interested.
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley continental gt speed, bentley-continental-gt, russia, topcar, Tuning
As you may have heard, BMW-owned British luxury automaker Bentley has recently released the Mulsanne, a new high end limousine with which to take the fight straight to its arch rival, Rolls Royce. But while the new car has been introduced in the traditional four-door version, it seems that the manufacturer also has plans for a coupe and a convertible version, with which to replace the aging Brooklands and Azure models.
The statement was made by the boss of Bentley, Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, which revealed his confidence in the Mulsanne to set a new benchmark for elegance and luxury in terms of cars. A coupe and a convertible version of the car will only help in accomplishing this goal, he added.
“With this car, we assessed the performance, craftsmanship and refinement of the Arnage–and enhanced it in every way. We have produced a car of the highest possible quality,” said Eichhorn.
The new versions are still a bit far away, as Bentley will focus its marketing and manufacturing efforts on the normal version of the Mulsanne for the next few years. Chances are the future models will also use the monster 6.75-liter supercharged V8 engine, which develops 505 HP and 1020 Nm (752 lb-ft) of torque.
Post tags: Tags: azure, Bentley, bentley mulsanne, brooklands, convertible, coupe
Pink isn’t something you normally see on many cars except in the case of women drivers. But the tuning crew at Mansory thought it would be a perfect color for the Bentley Continental GT Speed, and will be revealing the Bentley Vitesse Rose at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week.
After you recover from the shock of seeing a pink Bentley, you might also observe that besides the pink, the German team from Mansory has outfitted the Continental GT with a carbon fiber bodykit, in sharp contrast with the pink and new 21-inch allow rims that provide better handling than the normal ones. In order to truly hear that monster 6-liter V12 engine, the team also put in a new, custom-built, sports exhaust manifold.
On the inside, the stark contrasts keep on coming, as the two-tone upholstery features both light and strong purple as the colors. The leather, hand processed, will also be in a strong contrast with the sporty pedals, made of aluminum blended with carbon fiber, and the racing wheel which still contains the stock airbag of the car.
Overall, if you want a truly custom Bentley Continental GT Speed, as only three of these tuning packages will be made, it will cost you €269,000. More pics will appear straight from the Frankfurt floor later this week.
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley vitesse rose, continental gt speed, frankfurt motor show, mansory, Tuning
German tuner Hamann turned its attention to one of the most ‘tuned’ cars around, the Bentley Continental GT Speed. The package, called Hamann Imperator, consists of a new body kit, performance upgrades and set of exclusive modifications for the interior.
The body kit features a completely redesigned front fascia with larger air inlets and LED daytime running lights, large extensions at the front and rear wings (makes the car 70 mm wider), new Hamann side skirts and at the rear we have a spoiler and an integrated diffuser rear skirt. The car’s aggressive look is completed by new Anniversary Race Anodized with high-gloss polished rim flange and black anodized rim star, available in 22- and 21-inch sizes.
Under the hood, by modifying the ECU and by adding a sports end muffler with oval stainless steel end pipes, Hamann managed to squeeze 40 hp and 90 Nm more from the 600 hp W12 engine, which translates into a top speed increased by 5 km/h. The interior features a newly designed 3-spoke sport steering wheel, new Hamann upholestry with carbon fiber inserts and personalised floor mat.
Photo Gallery: Bentley Continental GT Speed tuning by Hamann
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Post tags: Tags: aftermarket, Bentley, bentley continental gt speed, bentley-continental, bentley-continental-gt, hamann, Tuning
With a little more than a month left until the Geneva Motor Show starts, Bentley has announced today that one of their stand’s starts will be what they call their fastest and most powerful production car ever. Of course, that’s interesting, but not that interesting, you might say. But that’s not all. The car, named “Extreme Bentley” so far, will run on biofuel. That’s about all the details the British company has released, but considering the current most powerful Bentley is a 600 hp beast, we can only dream about what the Geneva car will be like. And about the biofuel part, the guys from Autoblog expect to see an ethanol adapted version of the twin-turbocharged W12 that powers the most powerful Bentley in production.
And for all our US readers who won’t probably make it to Switzerland to the Geneva Motor Show, don’t worry, the car will be on display at April’s New York Auto Show, so you too will be able to admire the beauty.
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley-continental, biofuel, ethanol, geneva-motor-show
If you’re lucky enough to own a Bentley (doesn’t really matter what model), we’ve got some more good news for you. The British carmaker is preparing a special event, called “Power on ice”, which will take place in Finland, in February and March next year. So, what’s this? It’s an event where you’ll get the chance to drive 560-610 hp cars from the Continental series across a frozen lake in the centre of Finland. Before that, Bentley will offer a training program, under the supervision of a team led by Finnish rally star Juha Kankkunen, who set a new world speed record for driving on ice in 2007, driving a Bentley Continental GT on a frozen bay off the coast of Finland.
All these will take place around the small town on Ruka, approx. 800 km north of Helsinki, where Bentley is creating its own private holiday village consisting of a small boutique hotel and a number of exclusive chalets. The all-inclusive packageis priced between 7,590 and 8,990 euros, with moreinfo available on the event’s website. Unfortunately, though we’re one of the best blogs around here (ahem, just being modest, you know), we don’t really afford it yet, so maybe someone over at Bentley will see this and drop in a special invitation, we wouldn’t mind at all.
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, power on ice
The upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show will mark the debut of the new Bentley Azure T convertible, a more luxurious and powerful version of the Azure. The car is powered by the same engine as the Arnage T, a 6.7 liter twin-turbocharged V8 which delivers 500 hp and 1000 Nm of torque. This means that the Azure T goes from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.5 seconds and up to a top speed of 288 km/h (179 mph). The engine is mated to a six-speed ZF automatic transmission with locking torque converter and the car comes with ESP and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System as standard.
On the exterior, we’ve got a set of new features, like dark tint matrix upper and lower grilles, ‘Le Mans’ lower front wing air vents, Bentley ‘Jewel’ fuel filler cap, twin exhaust tail pipes, retractable ‘Flying B’ bonnet mascot and 20-inch five-spoke ‘Bright Finish’ alloy wheels, plus a choice of 42 exterior paint colors. The interior is everything you’d expect in a Bentley, with diamond quilting to seats and door panels, drilled alloy brake and accelerator pedals, ‘Engine-turned’ aluminium finish to fascia, instrument faces in black, embroidered ‘Bentley’ emblems to front seats and rear seat centre, knurled finish to organ stops, mirror adjustors, door handles (interior and exterior), light switch and seat lumbar controls, plus a ‘Naim for Bentley’ premium audio system featuring 10 speakers, a dual channel sub-woofer and an 1100 Watt amplifier, plus eight individual Digital Signal Processor (DSP) modes.
Bentley didn’t mention anything about the Azure T’s pricing or availability, but you can enjoy more photos after the jump. (more…)
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley azure, bentley azure t, la-auto-show
Japanese tuning company ASI has a record of very flashy and impressive tuning programs for Bentleys. We saw their versions of the GT Speed and the Continental GTC and now it’s the Continental GT’s turn to meet the ASI engineers and designers. And we really don’t know what to write about first, the ‘Pimp my ride’ style body kit or the 800 hp engine.
The TETSU GTR (that’s what they call it) will be on display at this year’s SEMA and it was designed by artist Tetsuei Nakamura, who also worked on luxury hotels, for example. The exterior has received an ultra wide body kit finished in two-tone carbon fiber and Fujiyama matte white color, 22 inch black forged wheels and LED lights, while the interior fetures car seats and floor mats fashioned in the Nishijin weaving legacy. Like we said, the engine now delivers 800 hp, thanks to the enlarged turbo turbines, ECU upgrade, new exhaust system and improved cooling methods.
To be honest, there’s not much we can say about the car, we’re kinda speachless, so we’re gonna let the pictures do the talking.
Photo Gallery: Bentley Continental GT tuning by ASI
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Post tags: Tags: asi, Bentley, bentley-continental, bentley-continental-gt, sema show, Tuning
The Bentley Arnage Final Series, a 150 units limited Arnage edition that will debut at next week’s Paris Motor Show celebrates a lot of stuff: 10 years of the Arnage, 50 years of its V8 engine, 90 years of the marque, Bentley Motors and the end of the Arnage production.
Under the hood, the Final Series will be powered by Bentley’s twin-turbo 6.75 liter V8 engine that delivers 500 bhp and 738 lb-ft of torque and, as you’d expect from a special edition of a luxury car, it is loaded with all sorts of features, like 20-inch five-spoke alloy wheels, retractable ‘Flying B’ bonnet mascot, body coloured headlamp bezels, dark tint matrix upper and lower grilles, ‘FINAL SERIES’ badge on front wings and Bentley ‘Jewel’ fuel filler cap for the exterior, while the interior has ‘FINAL SERIES’ treadplates to front doors, drilled alloy brake and accelerator pedals ,waistrails with inset chrome strip and recessed Bentley marque badges, rear cocktail cabinet and document stowage trimmed in hide, FINAL SERIES stainless steel flask and shot glassesm ,four Bentley umbrellas with wooden handles and large display audio head unit with Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot.
“The Final Series is the perfect model to give our Arnage flagship a splendid send off. Handcrafted at Crewe, this exclusive run of 150 cars represents the ultimate expression of Bentley luxury and effortless power,” said Stuart McCullough, Member of the Bentley’s Board, Sales and Marketing.
Check out more photos after the jump. (more…)
Post tags: Tags: Bentley, bentley arnage, final series, limited-edition, production, special-edition
Bentley is becoming more and more a tuner favourite brand, after projects based on their cars by Mansory or MTM the Japanese tuning firm ASI decided to tackle the Bentley Continental GTC. After their previous kit made for the Bentley GT Speed, they decided to take their expertise on the luxury convertible and the result is quite amazing.
ASI stand for Accuracy Spirit Imagination, and they really tried to implement those principles in the kit they developed. Carbon fiber is the name of the game in the composition of this kit, being implemented in the lip fitted to the front bumper spoiler, on the lip for the rear bumper and in a discreet boot spoiler. Other modifications made were the LED daytime running lights, side skirts and the 22-inch wheels. But enough talk, check out more photos after the jump. (more…)
Post tags: Tags: asi, Bentley, bentley continental gtc, bentley-continental, continental, Tuning
