Like every job, we have good days and bad days here at Inside Line. And then there are odd days. Like when European Correspondent Alistair Weaver went to Switzerland to be dragged behind a Bentley.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Miscellaneous,Videos
Around this time last year, Bentley claimed the ice speed record with a Continental Supersports. 205.48 mph on ice is a pretty tough act to follow, for sure, as demonstrated by the latest Bentley winter frolic.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Videos
At this point there’s not a whole lot we don’t know about the 2013 Bentley Continental GT. After all, the car’s been official for a long while and we’ve even driven a preproduction example. Still, Bentley didn’t want to let this Detroit auto show go to waste without doing something, so it officially rolled out the V8 Continental GT here.
Here’s what we know: The 4.0-liter V8 makes 500 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and twists out 487 pound-feet of torque at only 1,700 rpm. The turbos live in the center of the V (think BMW turbo 8 here) and the powertrain delivers 40 percent better fuel efficiency (in part thanks to variable displacement) while running zero to 60 in 4.6 seconds. The V8 GT's top speed is 188 mph.
Visual changes (again, you know this) include a red enamel "B," chrome "figure 8" tailpipes, dark lower valance, black gloss grille with chrome frame and totally pedestrian 20s instead of the real GT's 21s. Interior changes include a short center console, cloth headliner (why even have a Bentley?) and Dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus veneer (totally makes up for the cloth and the 20s).
Pics after the jump.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Coupes,Detroit Auto Show,Sports Cars
Haven't the 1% suffered enough? First they have to endure the constant annoyance of campers clogging up their parks and city halls, and now they're being asked to give up on V12s? For shame. For shame.
Sure, this new (optional) V8 will be cheaper than the V12, lighter, more fuel efficient and, if this clip is to be believed, will sound better, too. But at what cost? Last time we tested a 2012 Bentley Continental GT it ran to 60 in 4.7 seconds and cleared the quarter-mile in 12.9 seconds at 109.8 mph with only 567 horsepower from the 6.0-liter V12. Not bad for a 5,159-pound luxury car.
For the record, Bentley doesn't admit this is the V8 sound, they cryptically say, "Welcome to the new sound of Bentley. Stirring and thunderous, it is the prelude to a potent new Bentley driving experience that begins in 2012." Right. V8. Got it.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Luxury Cars,Videos
This newly redesigned convertible version of the Bentley Continental GT was already unveiled to the world a few weeks ago at the Frankfurt auto show, but the L.A. auto show marks the Bentley Continental GTC's North American debut.
As the U.S. is Bentley's biggest market (sales are up 33 percent over last year's), and half of all the company's convertibles are sold in California, it's fitting that the GTC should make another grand entrance here.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,LA Auto Show
While it was never explicitly said that the new Bentley SUV would use 12-cylinder power, we always just assumed it would be. I mean, c'mon, this is Bentley! At this point in time, despite having a fuel-saving V8 on the horizon and an insane twin-tubo V8 in the Mulsanne , Bentley is identified by the W12 in the way that a Corvette is by a pushrod V8.
Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer knows this, too, and he knows how important big numbers are to luxury buyers. "We will be first to use a 12-cylinder petrol engine in a luxury SUV. I like this idea; it makes clear whose car is the boss," said Durheimer to AutoCar.
This engine would be in addition to the diesel V12 that Bentley is planning for a few years after launch.
"Ninety-nine per cent of Bentley owners also own an SUV. I am absolutely sure the demand is there," Durheimer concluded. "Absolutely thousands of premium SUVs have been sold -- Cayennes, Range Rovers, Q7s and so on -- but nobody has given those owners the chance to upgrade. We will."
V12 diesel or Gasoline W12...decision decisions....
(AutoCar)
Categories: Bentley,Future Vehicles,SUVs
There is absolutely nothing new to be learned from this video of the new Bentley Continental GTC. The vehicle, officially released just before Frankfurt, gets the same 6.0-liter W12 (now producing 567 horsepower), has optional 21s, a new transmission and the same visual tweaks that the new Contental GT got earlier this year. But we knew all of that.
What we have here then is nothing more than a simple driving video to see how those subtle exterior changes look on the road. Enjoy.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Convertibles
We all know that technology moves at a breakneck pace these days. And automakers are trying to keep up with the expectations of constantly connected consumers. Lots of new bells and whistles were unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show this week, and Ford dropped a few nuggets at the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon in San Francisco.
From luxury iPad integration to self-parking VWs, here's a rundown of a big week in car tech.
Continue reading...
Categories: BMW,Bentley,Car Tech,Ford,Frankfurt Auto Show,General Motors,Honda,Mercedes-Benz,Volkswagen
So, Bentley went ahead and redid the Continental GTC convertible as well. You can read more about it here. Or you can watch Alistair Weaver talk about it in the video after the jump.
Teaser: Yeah, I think the picture probably handles it.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Frankfurt Auto Show
You know, I was wondering why the folks at Bentley were eyeing my Oakleys with such disdain this weekend. Bentley Eyewear is the latest in the growing selection of car-branded luxury merchandise. Co-developed with Estede, these glasses sport a subtle Bentley "B" logo and knurled-metal surfaces of platinum, silver palladium or 18ct solid gold available in white, pink or regular old yellow. Both the lenses (available in regular or polarized sun) and frames can be made to order for size and the production run is limited to only 100 units per color variation.
Not fancy enough Buffy? Well, the case fits perfectly inside a Mulsanne's console and can also be made to order in any hide color that Bentley offers. If you've been on the Bentley configurator lately, you'd know that's a lot of choices.
Ready to put your order in? Well, the 18ct yellow gold sunglasses start at 10,000 euros, which is 14,379 in American pesos. Other 18ct designs are a bit cheaper, but the platinum ones will set you back $44,574. One for the whole family, then.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley
This one probably won't come as too much of a surprise. Take the Bentley Continental GT coupe's revised styling for 2012, apply it to the familiar silhouette of the current GTC convertible and voila: the new Bentley Continental GTC.
Yet like the coupe, there's a lot more going on than you'd initially notice. The front end has a bolder, more purposeful appearance, while the rear is similarly less round and organic than before. Adding subtle visual distinction are new sculpted lines throughout the car made possible thanks to the use of aluminum superforming technology. A wider track is another subtle visual improvement, though it ultimately could mean more in terms of handling.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Frankfurt Auto Show
I'm standing behind five-time LeMans winner Derek Bell at a bus stop. He's by himself waiting for the same shuttle that will take us back to our hotel from the final and by-far grandest event of the weekend: the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The shuttle finally arrives and I plop down next to Mr. Bell, securing the final seat aboard. It's not exactly a secret, but Mr. Bell is an incredibly nice man and we chat about the cars we saw on the 18th fairway. Quite bluntly, though, he isn't interested in the high-dollar road-going cars.
"We never had Duesenbergs in England," he says. "No, I like the race cars obviously. Love the Ferraris. Actually, did you see the King George car?"
Actually, it was my favorite of the show. Built in 1910 for King George V, this unrestored Daimler is an incredible 17 feet long and 7 feet tall, and like other pre-war cars, demonstrates the nascent stages and evolution of the automobile. As crude as it may seem with its wooden cabin, leather fenders and 9.4-liter 57-hp straight-6, it was touted at the time as an example of "the Great Power of the Reign of King George V."
Indeed, both the car and my shuttle-bound conversation with Derek Bell perfectly encapsulated a weekend filled with surreal moments and enriched by a neverending stream of tangible history.
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Classic Cars
Have you ever been to Monterey for the annual classic car extravaganza of auctions, concours, races, new-car introductions and guys who look like that? ^^^
No? Well I haven't either, but hopefully I'll be able to give you a rookie taste over the next few days as I'm heading north for the first time with Team Inside Line to cover it all. The kicker is that I'll be driving up in a Bentley, which I certainly won't lie, is kind of awesome.
Of course, you'll find plenty of coverage of the events here on Straightline, onTwitter @Insideline_com and on our Facebook page.
And please follow me on Twitter @JRiswick where I'll be sharing photos, anecdotes and whatever else happens over the course of four days. Maybe I'll go someplace swanky in a Mulsanne like, I don't know, Jack-in-the-Box. And as always, don't forget the musings of Dan Edmunds @EdmundsTest
2010 Monterey Historics Photo Gallery 1 and Gallery 2
**edit: Also Follow Mike Magrath on Twitter because, well, he doesn't get to go to Monterey and he needs more followers. Don't worry, he never tweets. -mm**
Categories: Bentley,Classic Cars
Torque is one of the things that makes luxury cars drive really, really well. Nobody wants a huge turbo boost at 4,000 rpm in their Mulsanne. Heck, people barely want a 4,000 rpm redline in their Bentley Mulsanne -- the redline on that car is 4,500. And so it's no surprise that when Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer confirmed that Bentley would be developing a 150,000 Pound (British Pounds, we'll get to weight later) SUV, he thought 738 lb-ft of torque would be sufficient. It's a goofy number here, but in Nm it works out to a nice, round 1,000.
So 1,000 Nm wasn't a surprising number, but the delivery method was a little unexpected: A diesel. Most likely a version of the Q7's V12. Unfortunately, we (in the States) generally don't see the benefit of diesels and will get a W12. I don't think I've ever been so disappointed that a car will only come with a W12.
Durheimer says that the launch and development of the Porsche SUV was one of his "proudest achievements" during his time with the brand. He pulled off a sport SUV, doing a luxury SUV should be a no-brainer.
As for the platform, the Bentley SUV is rumored to run on the same platform as the next-generation Audi Q7. That platform is rumored by Automobile to be an all-aluminum number weighing some 650-pounds less than the current car.
They had us at 1,000Nm diesel V12.....
(AutoCar)
Categories: Bentley,SUVs
Well this news isn't quite as bad as Mercedes-Benz dropping all of the V12s out of the SL, but it's still a distressing sign of the times. The lack of surprise is because it's not a surprise in any way. From the day they announced the new Continental, we knew there would be a V8 option, we just didn't know when. Now we do: Bentley will be showing a V8 Continental at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show.
Currently, the Continental GT is available with a twin-turbo 6.0-liter W12 which makes 567 horsepower, 516 pound-feet of torque while returning 12/19 mpg. It also costs $189,900. Most of these numbers are not good for sales. The newly developed 4.0-liter V8 will be cheaper and more fuel efficient, such are the times. Consider you can get a CL600 for some $30,000 less or a Jag XKR-S for some $50,000 less and you can see why Bentley is eager to compete in a new price range. A price, btw, which has yet to be announced.
Oh, and there's also a very nasty rumor floating around that Bentley is considering a sub 3.0-liter option for the Chinese market (there's a tax break and that market seems okay with big cars with small engines). But that's not something we need to worry about so let's just forget I said anything.
Categories: Bentley,Coupes,Detroit Auto Show,Sports Cars
You asked for it, here it is: Three Blondes Crash a Bentley in Monte Carlo and now you caption it.
Winners on....oh, let's go with Monday morning.
(Oh, and remember that I'm the decider here, not Donna. Have fun!.)
Categories: Bentley,Caption Contest,Miscellaneous
I know there's a joke here, but I can't settle on a start. "Three blondes drive into a Ferrari.." "What do you get when you cross three blondes and $1.1 million in exotic cars?"
Or then there's the Monaco angle: "Gee, demolition derbies in Monaco are different."
I could grasp at these all day, so let's skip that and just get straight to the facts: There was a car crash in Monaco in front of the Casino involving a Bentley Azure crashing into an S-Class....and then a Ferrari F430 which got bumped into a Phantom Drophead Coupe. And then, not to be outshone by the spotlight of a Bentley/Roller crash, another of Britain's crown jewels entered the fray in the form of an Aston-Martin Rapide slamming into the passenger door of the Bentley.
And just for fun, a Porsche 911 crashed into the lot of 'em. This is what insurance is for, right?
Gallery available here.
(Yahoo, )
Categories: Aston Martin,Bentley,Ferrari,Porsche
Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer has confirmed to Auto, Motor und Sport that there is enough customer demand for the brand to finally produce a sport utility vehicle. Rumors of a Bentley SUV have been swirling since the Continental GT rose to prominence and have persisted through high gas prices and the economy explosion. But, now that things seem to be settling a bit, the timing is apparently right.
The new Bentley SUV will go head-to-head with the Porsche Cayenne (which it will probably be based on) and Land Rover Range Rover when it comes out, according to the report, alongside a new Mulsanne and Continental. This either means they're getting this thing out the door very, very fast as we're sitting on a new Mulsanne and a new Conti right now, or that we're going to have to wait for the next model cycle in, oh, 8 years.
(World car fans)
Categories: Bentley,Future Vehicles,SUVs
Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the track, along with comments direct from the test-drivers. Enjoy.
The 2012 Bentley Continental GT doesn't look like a new car and, for the most part, it isn't. But along with the subtle yet instantly recognizable exterior tweaks, the new Continental has been tweaked to be a better driving machine. Bentleys are racing vehicles, don't forget.
The new Continental GT gets lighter aluminum suspension parts, standard 20-inch wheels, a 40:60 torque split (it was 50:50 before) plus an additional 15 horsepower and 37 pound-feet of torque. The final numbers work out to 567 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque from a 6.0-liter W12. When the car was released, Bentley said the 5,200-pound hypercoupe would be capable of 0-60 acceleration in 4.4 seconds.
And we've finally had it on our track to separate the marketing hype from reality...
Continue reading...
Categories: Bentley,Coupes,IL Track Tested
The Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class is a pretty spectacular vehicle. Even if you're not sold on the styling, just try driving around in the full-size, "four door coupe" that makes -- on the bottom end -- 402 horsepower; you'll be sold. But as nice as it is, Mercedes-Benz isn't Bentley.
Spend 15 minutes in any halfway decent section of LA and you'll see a dozen CLSs and only one, maybe two, Bentley Continental GTs and fewer Flying Spurs. It represents a different level of success and style. And -- sort of like they did with Maybach and Rolls Royce -- Mercedes-Benz is looking to bring in a new model to compete directly with Bentley in terms of price, performance and exclusivity.
According to Autocar, Mercedes is prepping a new four-door "uber CLS" to fight the Bentley. The new vehicle would have a more dramatic shape and use tuned AMG parts to further distance it from its CLS roots and to justify the proposed price hike. The CLS currently starts at $71,300 while the 2012 Continental GT rings up a nice, fat $189,900.
The ultra-coupe market is still booming in Russia and the Mid-Eas, after all, and if you've got the parts, why not? A CL- version and a Xenatec / Excelero-style version for Maybach should be expected should this plan bear fruit.
First they go for the 911 with the SLC and now this. What's next?
(Autocar )
Categories: Bentley,Luxury Cars,Mercedes-Benz
