Looking for a nicer way to transport your lawnmower? Us too. Touring Superleggera, a Milan, Italy-based design house/coach-builder, has just the thing for you: The Bentley Continental Flying Star.
The company will unveil the station wagon-ized Continental GT at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show in early March. It anticipates building 20 Flying Star shooting brakes for sale. Predictably, each of these will feature "unique specifications and details to the owner's desire." Our desires call for built-in child-safety seats and a cargo area with tie downs and rubber mats.
All Flying Stars get an alloy power tailgate, hand-crafted steel rear fenders and aluminum door skins. They can be had with either the standard 6.0-liter W12 making 560 horsepower or a GTC Speed version which delivers 610 horsepower. We're going to need the 610. Judging by the teaser image, all Flying Stars will be black and have no wheels.
Touring would like to point out that shooting brake conversions are part of its "genetic heritage" that includes the Lamborghini-based 1966 Flying Star II prototype (pictured here). We think the Bentley Flying Star will look better.
Categories: Bentley,Concept Vehicles,Geneva Motor Show,Wagons
Bentley recently held a design contest with some promising students from the Royal College of Art. They were told to come up with some ideas for Bentleys of the future. The winner gets a six-month stint as an intern with the Bentley's in-house design studio.
So what do you think? Any of these guys have a future?
Categories: Bentley,Concept Vehicles
Photo Credit: Pawel Litwinski 2009, courtesy of Gooding and Company
The economy might be recovering after all. Gooding and Company has just announced that it has added a second day to its Scottsdale auction in January.
If you're not familiar with the auction scene, Gooding and Company is one of the big-dollar auction houses. You won't see any lightly-restored Camaros crossing the block at a Gooding auction. Instead, it's mostly really expensive, and really European, vintage stuff.
Case in point, the 1927 Bentley 6.5-liter Sports Coupe pictured above. It features a custom fabric body by Surbiton Carriage Company and has been fully restored after 20 years of being driven regularly. It will hit the block on Friday, Jan. 22nd.
Gooding and Company
Categories: Bentley,Car Auctions,Classic Cars,Luxury Cars
Bentley announced today that the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne will start at $285,000 when deliveries to the United States start in the fall of 2010. That's just a start, of course, since that figure doesn't include destination or the additional $26K+ in sales tax you'll owe if you buy one in Pebble Beach, California, where the Mulsanne debuted in August.
Mulsanne buyers will naturally have the chance to bespoke the big sedan to their heart's content, but for the more conventional, there will be 114 exterior paint options, 21 hues of carpeting, 9 wood veneers and 21 leather hides, "all of which will be tanned using a decades-old process to ensure this future classic never loses its scent."
The Mulsanne's power plant has an old-world quality of its own, as it's a revised version of the 6.75-liter V8 used in the passing Arnage. Bentley assures us it has been "comprehensively reengineered," however, and it now uses both cylinder deactivation and variable valve timing technology. Also, 505 horsepower and 752 pound-feet of torque shouldn't hurt, and there's now an eight-speed automatic -- two more forward gears than the Arnage ever had.
Production of the 2011 Mulsanne begins next spring at the company's Crewe, UK, plant.
Categories: Bentley,Luxury Cars,Sedans
Hope you weren't counting on seeing the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia at next month's LA Auto Show. Ferrari, Maserati, Bentley and Lamborghini have all pulled out of the show due to financial considerations. A source close to the LA Auto Show tells us the decision came months ago, though a report out of Detroit has drawn the Web's attention to it today.
Aston Martin is still on the exhibitor list. Although Aston public relations officials told us recently the company would have no official presence there, the LA-based Aston dealers are still expected to pull together a booth. Our source tells us that show organizers tried to persuade the other exotics to do the same, but Ferrari and Maserati in particular were against that because they wouldn't be able to control the brand message going out to consumers.
2009 LA Auto Show exhibitor list, TheDetroitBureau
First Drive: 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia
Categories: Aston Martin,Bentley,Ferrari,LA Auto Show,Lamborghini
Curious whether the new 2010 Honda Accord has an optional neck massager? How about the tow rating on the Ford F-150? And what about those European cars, they're always adding some new totally nonessential technological "feature."
Now there's an easy way to find out. Our 2010 Buyer's Guide lists every model change from every manufacturer. From colors to options to full redesigns, it's all there.
2010 Buyer's Guide
Categories: Acura,Aston Martin,Audi,BMW,Bentley,Bugatti,Buick,Cadillac,Chevrolet,Chrysler,Dodge,Ferrari,Fiat,Ford,GMC,General Motors,HUMMER,Honda,Hyundai,Infiniti,Jaguar,Jeep,Kia,Lamborghini,Land Rover,Lexus,Lincoln,Lotus,MINI,Maserati,Maybach,Mazda,Mercedes-Benz,Mercury,Mitsubishi,Nissan,Pontiac,Porsche,Rolls-Royce,SMART,Saab,Saturn,Scion,Subaru,Suzuki,Tesla Motors,Toyota,Volkswagen,Volvo
A Panamera coupe? That's the word according to a recent report in the UK magazine AutoExpress. They claim it's in the works for 2012 despite other rumors that Porsche's new overlords at Volkswagen intend to make the Panamera a one lifecycle pony.
Should the new Porsche coupe make it to production, it could overtake the 911 as Porsche's premier coupe. Certainly not in terms of performance, but at least in terms of price.
Not that it would be any slouch in the engine department as it would likely use all the same powerplants as the Panamera sedan. With a 500-horsepower V8 topping the range, the Panamera coupe would match up well with say, a Bentley Continental GT. Sounds good to us, but Volkswagen might have some reservations about creating competition for its already existing products. Expect to see something by the end of next year if Porsche decides to go through with it.
AutoExpress
Categories: Bentley,Coupes,Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Porsche,Volkswagen
You may have seen some of these before. Rich guys like to show off you know. Regardless, these ultimate garages still stir the soul in a way only serious car enthusiasts can truly appreciate. There's a 25 page string on Luxury4play.com if you want to see more.
Luxury4play
Categories: Aston Martin,Bentley,Bugatti,Chevrolet,Classic Cars,Ferrari,Lamborghini,Luxury Cars,Maserati,Maybach,McLaren,Pagani,Porsche,Rolls-Royce
Last night, the Volkswagen Group threw a huge party in Frankfurt. In this video, we bring you the official unveilings of the Audi R8 Spyder, Lamborghini Reventon Roadster and Volkswagen e Up!. You'll see the over-the-top Bugattis and Bentleys, too.
Full unveil list for the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show
Categories: Audi,Bentley,Bugatti,Concept Vehicles,Convertibles,Frankfurt Auto Show,Lamborghini,Volkswagen
Bentley unveiled its new monster-size sedan earlier this summer at the Pebble Beach concours, presumably because it meant that the company could pretend it was already a classic. Or possibly because the crowd at Pebble Beach is probably a bit more likely to be capable of purchasing this beast.
Whatever the case, we're still having as much trouble warming to the front of the car after seeing it up close and personal here on the show floor.
While we work on that, make the jump to read a rundown of the just-released details on the 2011 Mulsanne and a photo gallery.
Continue reading 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: 2011 Bentley Mulsanne.
Categories: Bentley,Frankfurt Auto Show,Luxury Cars,Sedans
A report out of Europe today suggests the Porsche Panamera platform architecture will be shared among other brands within VW Group. This would apparently happen, even if the Panamera expires in 2017 as predicted earlier this week.
An unnamed source close to the company suggests that Audi, Bentley and Bugatti are the most likely candidates. Lamborghini has already been ruled out, even though the Panamera platform looks tempting as a basis for an Estoque production car.
Bentley could use this platform to build the next Continental GT, though the dimensional differences between the Panamera and the current Continental might make it unsuitable. For Bugatti, it could be a front-engined, two- or four-door complement to the Veyron. Or, if Audi decided to use it, it could be a five-door, GT-type hatchback companion to the R8. However, the Panamera's steel structure would probably rule it out for Audi, which likes to build in aluminum, the source concludes.
If you were rubbing shoulders with VW Group's Ferdinand Piech, how would you advise him on using the Porsche Panamera platform architecture?
Inside Line News: Porsche To Share Panamera Platform With Other VW Brands
First Drive: 2010 Porsche Panamera
Categories: Audi,Auto Industry,Bentley,Bugatti,Luxury Cars,Porsche,Sedans
This long list of events is your chance to throw away your inhibitions and lay down some rubber. Some of the track days make you bring your own vehicle, while others provide you with a machine to pilot. Either way, find the right event and brush up on your driving skills by booking some track time at the links below.
Continue reading Hit Up the Track With These Events.
Categories: Audi,BMW,Bentley,Chevrolet,Chrysler,Consumer Track Events,Dodge,Ferrari,Ford,Infiniti,Jaguar,Jeep,Lamborghini,Land Rover,Lotus,MINI,Maserati,Mazda,Mitsubishi,Porsche,Saab,Scion,Subaru,Toyota
Known only as the Bentley Grand up to this point, the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne finally made its public debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance yesterday.
A replacement for the current Arnage, the Mulsanne is all-new vehicle that was designed and engineered solely at Bentley's facility in Crewe. Only a handful of parts were carried over from the current car, so although Bentley swears it had a shoestring budget for the car it's still very much a ground up redesign.
IL News: 2011 Bentley Mulsanne
Categories: Bentley,Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Sedans
As contributor Andrew Frankel points out, you don't expect anything scary from a Bentley. Over-the-top luxury for sure, but not frightening speed. The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports throws that idea out the window. It's 621-horsepower W12 engine turns the monstrous coupe into a machine capable of hitting 60 mph in 3.7-seconds, and it does it all while burning ethanol if that's the kind of thing you're into.
First Drive: 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports
Categories: Bentley,Coupes,Green Tech
Now that more than a few people care about Bentley, mostly due to the phenomenal success of the Continental GT, the company has been hard at work on a new flagship sedan to replace the ancient Arnage.
Known only as the "Grand Bentley" up until this point, the new four-door will attempt to pull back some market share from the over-the-top Rolls-Royce Phantom. To assure plenty of attention, Bentley has gone with a pair of monster, gatling-gun type headlights that give it a very distinctive look up front.
Early spy photos posted by CAR magazine appeared to show a prototype in a Bentley plant and these latest shots confirm its identity. With its official world debut only weeks away, it won't be long until we get to see the final product.
Bentley Teaser
Categories: Bentley,Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Sedans,Spy Photos
Touring would like to point out that shooting brake conversions are part of its "genetic heritage" that includes the Lamborghini-based 1966 Flying Star II prototype (pictured here). We think the Bentley Flying Star will look better.
