Bentley has revealed a special edition of the Continental GT W12 in celebration of its record-breaking run at the Pikes Peak hillclimb earlier this year. The Continental GT became the fastest production car to ever tackle the 12.42-mile course, with American racer Rhys Millen setting a record time of 10min 18.4sec. Limited to just 15 examples, the commemorative Continental GT wears a similar ‘Radium’ green-and-black livery to the record-breaking car, applied by Bentley’s in-house bespoke division, Mulliner. Buyers can also have the number 100 painted across the car’s front grille in recognition of Bentley’s centenary in 2019. Also featured are a carbonfibre bodykit, contrasting black trim elements, bright green brake callipers and matching sidewall markings on the tyres. The 22in alloy wheels are taken from the Mulliner line of vehicle options and finished in gloss black. The ‘Radium’ theme continues inside, where the seats are trimmed in black Alcantara with green stitching. A map of the Pikes Peak course has been applied to the carbonfibre dashboard, while the steering wheel features the same honeycomb stitching pattern and centre stripe as the race car. Additionally, the treadplates and headrests feature a Pikes Peak logo, while the speaker grilles have been replaced with bespoke green items. The powertrain is unmodified, with the twin-turbocharged W12 petrol engine producing the same 626bhp and 664lb ft. It can push the car from 0-62mph in 3.7sec and on to a top speed of 207mph. Chris Craft, member of the board for sales, marketing and aftersales at Bentley, said the new limited edition “reflects Bentley’s spirit of endeavour, one that has been a constant throughout the last 100 years and remains at the beating heart of the company”. Prices for the special edition have not been confirmed, but the Pikes Peak edition can be expected to command a significant premium over the standard Continental GT’s £159,100 starting price. Bentley has launched several limited-run models to celebrate its 100th birthday, paying tribute to historic motorsport successes, iconic models and company founder Walter Owen
Origin: Limited-run Bentley Continental GT celebrates Pikes Peak win
Bentley
Updated 2020 Bentley Bentayga to feature revamped design
Bentley will update its best-selling model – the Bentayga SUV – next year to bring it up to scratch with its latest models, and disguised prototypes have begun cold weather testing. The test mule is clearly recognisable as a Bentayga, but heavy camouflage to the front and rear suggests Bentley is planning a number of design updates. At the rear, we can see the brakelights have been reshaped and expanded, while the current model’s deep numberplate recess looks to have been brought forward. At the front, the Bentayga retains its prominent grille and three lower air intakes, but will receive a reconfigured headlight design to bring it into line with the firm’s new Continental and Flying Spur – both of which have launched since the Bentayga arrived in 2016. We can also expect the front and rear bumpers to be redesigned. Just as significant will be the technology overhaul inside. The current car’s infotainment system is often criticised for feeling out of date next to cheaper siblings from Audi and Porsche, so the priority will be to bring in the latest system from the Continental GT and Flying Spur. A fully digital instrument display will likely also feature, while the range of active safety technology should advance. The flagship W12 engine is expected to receive upgrades to boost efficiency, but don’t expect anything dramatic across the rest of the range. The V8 is relatively new, too, while the six-cylinder plug-in hybrid model still isn’t on sale after a lengthy delay. Question marks remain over the diesel model, which was officially axed from the firm’s line-up in 2018. A change in attitude towards the fuel was blamed for its removal back then, but since then sister brand Audi has introduced several large capacity S-badged diesel models to its range. Expect to see more details emerge early next
Origin: Updated 2020 Bentley Bentayga to feature revamped design
Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 arrives to rival Bentley Bentayga
Mercedes-Benz has extended its Maybach line-up with the unveiling of a plush new 550bhp flagship version of the third-generation GLS at the 2019 Guangzhou motor show in China. Lining up alongside the S-Class-based Maybach saloon, the top-flight SUV is planned for UK delivery in 2020 as a rival to the likes of the Bentley Bentayga and Range Rover, featuring a series of unique styling cues, a mild-hybrid drivetrain and an upgraded interior. The new model invokes many of the styling elements seen on the S-Class Maybach to help distinguish it from the standard third-generation GLS. Included is a distinctive chrome grille featuring vertical louvres, chrome highlights within the side window surrounds and along the sills, standard 22in (and optional 23in) wheels, an optional two-tone exterior paint scheme in eight different colour combinations, electrically extending running boards and chromed tail-pipes with a signature cross-rib. Speaking about the new model, Mercedes-Benz’s head of product management, Martin Hülder, said: “SUV vehicles have a major advantage for the luxury segment: the high seating position. In combination with the running boards, this makes access and egress easy and convenient.” Inside, the 5202mm-long Mercedes-Maybach GLS sports an upgraded interior with nappa leather upholstery and unique trim elements. Among the long list of options for UK customers are reclining rear seats with a massage function and a fixed centre console with folding tables and a refrigerator in a four-seat layout that can be further enhanced with a panoramic sunroof. Boot capacity below the cargo blind at the rear is 520 litres. Reflecting its upper luxury positioning, the latest Maybach model also receives a long list of standard driving aids. Mercedes-Benz’s most luxurious SUV will be offered from the outset of sales with just one drivetrain in the GLS 600 4Matic. The mild-hybrid unit combines a turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine with a 48V integrated starter motor to provide an overall output of 550bhp at 6000rpm and 538lb ft of torque from 2500-5000rpm. The electrically boosted reserves are channelled through a nine-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox and 4Matic all-wheel drive. Mercedes-Benz claims a 0-62mph time for the 2710kg Maybach GLS 600 4Matic of 4.9sec. Top speed is limited to 155mph. Combined fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are put at 24.1mpg and 266g/km respectively on the WLTP cycle. Underpinning the new top-of-the-line GLS model is a specially tuned version of Mercedes-Benz’s E-Active Body control suspension. Also included is a curve inclination function that allows the big new SUV to lean into corners to reduce the lateral forces acting on the
Origin: Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 arrives to rival Bentley Bentayga
Bentley rolls out augmented-reality app for new Flying Spur
Bentley has introduced an app for its third-generation Flying Spur that allows users to virtually experience the luxury sports saloon ahead of first deliveries in early 2020. The app, which is free to download on Google Play and Apple’s App Store, is targeted at prospective customers. However, Bentley also anticipates that it will appeal to enthusiasts and fans of the brand. Users can explore the outside and interior of two versions of the car, once they are logged into the app: the luxury spec, which features a gun-metal exterior and bespoke interior linings; and the more driver-focused chrome ‘performance’ version. The performance variant can also be toured with a recently added black accent. Bentley launched a similar app for its centenary concept car, the EXP 100 GT, allowing users to tour the car and superimpose it onto various locations, including their own driveway. This feature is also on the Flying Spur app, as well as a new option to get behind the wheel and take a virtual drive. For users looking to purchase the car, Bentley’s configurator and dealer contacts can be accessed through the
Origin: Bentley rolls out augmented-reality app for new Flying Spur
Bentley unveils one-off Continental GT art car
Bentley has unveiled a one-off version of its Continental GT W12 painted by renowned Icelandic artist Katrin Fridriks. Created as a collaboration between London’s JD Malat Gallery and Bentley’s Jack Barclay dealership, the car wears a custom livery inspired by Fridriks’ show, Speed of Light – Commander. The car’s paintwork is primarily black, but Fridriks’ addition of a swirling grey pattern is said to imbue “the car with a sense of speed and motion, even at rest”. In her wider Speed of Light – Commander show, Fridriks adopts speed as a central motif, focusing more particularly on the speed of light. Fridriks said: “I’m so excited about working in partnership with Jack Barclay Bentley to create this unique, automotive artwork. “It’s the perfect marriage of the cornerstones of my art – capturing speed and energy, design, craftsmanship, precision and a strive for excellence.” The model pictured here is a show car, but Bentley will make one Fridriks art car available for sale, with the buyer able to specify their preferred trim. Pricing is available on application, and expected to be well in excess of the standard W12’s £159,000 starting price. The one-off has been signed by the artist, and will be on display at Jack Barclay Bentley in Mayfair, London, until 7 October, alongside a collection of her other works. It will then travel to the nearby JD Malat Gallery to be shown at a number of special events. The Continental artwork is the latest in a series of limited-run and one-off models unveiled by Bentley this year. As part of the firm’s 100th anniversary celebrations, it has launched special editions of its Bentayga, Continental, Flying Spur and Mulsanne models, as well as reviving its iconic Blower and Corniche classic sports
Origin: Bentley unveils one-off Continental GT art car
Bentley Bentayga Hybrid goes on sale in UK
The Bentley Bentayga Hybrid, the firm’s first electrified production vehicle, is now on sale in Europe and the UK, priced from £133,100. First revealed at the Geneva motor show in March 2018, order books for the plug-in hybrid SUV were due to open later that year. However, the launch was significantly delayed in the European market as a result of WLTP emissions certification. A Bentley spokesman said the setback was “due to WLTP certification, with business priority placed on getting the (new) Continental GT and GT Convertible on sale in as many markets as possible”. Customer deliveries of the Bentayga Hybrid are now set to get underway before the end of this year. The luxury plug-in hybrid is capable of up to 24.2 miles of electric-only range on the WLTP combined cycle. It couples a 126bhp, 295lb ft electric motor with a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine for a 0-62mph time of 5.5sec and top speed of 158mph. Total power output is unconfirmed, but it can be expected to match the 455bhp of the powertrain-sharing Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, while torque is rated at 516lb ft. Unique to the Bentayga Hybrid is a range of new sat-nav features that automatically calculate the “optimum combination of electric motor and engine” according to the planned journey. Three driving modes – EV, Hybrid and Hold – offer varying balances of electric and engine power, with regenerative braking working to recover energy at all times. The SUV is capable of 80.7mpg on the WLTP cycle, with CO2 emissions rated at 79g/km. Bentley claims the battery can be fully charged from empty in two and a half hours. The Bentayga Hybrid is Bentley’s first step into electrification and precedes an electrified version of the firm’s new Flying Spur luxury saloon that’s set to arrive in 2020. Plans for an electric sports car have been shelved, however, with boss Adrian Hallmark telling Autocar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed: “We are wrestling with multiple dimensions, and it is my belief – and it is an informed estimate, not a defined goal – that we will have the capability of building a car with the high performance and high range capabilities that our customers expect by around
Origin: Bentley Bentayga Hybrid goes on sale in UK
Bentley is building 12 new examples of its 1920s ‘Blower’ race cars
Bentley is joining the likes of Aston Martin and Jaguar in offering new recreations of one of its classic models but, being Bentley, it has to do things a little bit differently.The U.K. marque will bring back the iconic 4 1/2-litre Supercharged Blower for a limited run of 12 vehicles, one for every race the original four Team Blowers entered. Each vehicle will be identical to Tim Birkins original race cars that raced in the late 20s.As we continue to commemorate 100 years of Bentley, we are combining a look to our past with the very latest digital technologies and techniques to create something truly extraordinary, Bentleys chairman and CEO, Adrian Hallmark, said in a release.The four Team Blowers are the most valuable Bentleys in the world, and we know there is demand for genuine recreations that can be used, enjoyed and loved without risk to the prized originals.Although the Blower Bentleys never won an endurance race, they had the distinction of being the fastest car in the world in their time, which was enough for James Bond author Ian Fleming to write the vehicle into his stories as the original preferred choice of the British spy. Subtle. To build the cars properly, Bentley will disassemble its own Blower Bentley chassis number HB 3403 into individual components, which will then be cataloged, 3D-scanned and digitally modeled. High-tech scanning complete, the parts will then be made using the original molds and tooling jigs, as well as traditional hand tools.It will take the coachbuilding masters at Mulliner two years to build the 12 vehicles. The price is available upon asking, but we can guess it wont be a cheap
Origin: Bentley is building 12 new examples of its 1920s ‘Blower’ race cars
Bentley to make new versions of pre-war Blower racer
Bentley will make 12 new versions of its famous 1929 4.5-litre supercharged Blower, in what it claims to be the first-ever continuation run of a pre-war race car. Just four examples of the Blower were built by Sir Tim Birkin in the 1920s, all of which were used in endurance events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All four machines survive and are now the most valuable Bentleys in existence. The 12 Blower Continuation Series models – one for each race that the original four chassis competed in – will be identical to the originals bare minor updates for safety. They will retain a pressed steel frame, leaf spring suspension and 400mm mechanical drum brakes, along with the original car’s supercharged four-cylinder 16-valve 4398cc engine, which makes 240bhp. To make them, Bentley’s Mulliner division will disassemble its own Blower – chassis HB 3403 – to individual parts, before cataloguing and scanning each to crease a digital model. Bentley’s engineers will then use 1920s moulds and tooling jigs to create 12 sets of parts based on that model, which will then be assembled into complete cars. The original Bentley, which continues to be used regularly in display events, will then be restored and rebuilt. Bentley boss Adrian Hallmark said: “We know there’s demand for genuine recreations that can be used, enjoyed and loved without risk to the prized originals.” He added that the new Blowers would “not only be an homage to our heritage, they will (also) be a celebration of the outstanding skills of our Mulliner craftspeople.” The project follows the recent Continental GT Number 9 Edition, a limited-run of Bentley’s new grand tourer featuring design nods to the Blowers. Bentley says it will take around two years to complete the 12-car series. Prices haven’t been
Origin: Bentley to make new versions of pre-war Blower racer
World’s first armoured Bentley Bentayga is built in Canada
Are you secretly a James Bond villain or international despot jockeying for world domination? Does your commute regularly take you through Downtown Eastside Vancouver a firing range? Do others routinely use your car for target practice? Then one Canadian company has the answer for you.Just be sure to bring half-a-million dollars.Inkas, a Canadian-based company specializing in the design and production of armoured vehicles, has built what it claims to be the worlds first bulletproof Bentley Bentayga.Said to be armored to meet CEN 1063 BR6 ballistic standards, it provides protection for fuel, battery and electronic control unit compartments. Ballistic protection encompasses the vehicle with 360-degree, floor-to-roof coverage.According to the company, this armoured Bentayga can withstand fire from high-power rifles like AK47s and AR10s; as well as the simultaneous detonation of two DM51 grenades placed beneath the vehicles floor.In case youre wondering, heres what a brace of those puppies can do.Additional equipment includes emergency lights mounted behind the vehicles front grille, as well as a siren and PA system to made sure those pesky dissidents move out of your way.Additional upgrades include tailpipe protection; smokescreen system; engine bay fire suppression system; and electric door handles that presumably give a surprise jolt to those daring to rudely intrude on your personal space. Inkas seems to leave the powertrain basics alone, which is fine since Bentley factory-installs a 6.0-litre W12 making 600 horsepower in these things. Its interior doesnt give up much in the way of comfort compared to a stock truck, either, with 24-way climate-controlled seats and a signature surround sound system.Unsurprisingly, Inkas also makes armoured Escalade and Land Cruiser SUVs it even plies its trade on the pedestrian Toyota Sienna. Hey, you never know when an early morning hockey practice will get out of
Origin: World’s first armoured Bentley Bentayga is built in Canada
Updated 2020 Bentley Bentayga to receive tech overhaul
Bentley will update its best-selling model – the Bentayga SUV – next year to bring it up to scratch with its latest models, and disguised prototypes have hit the road. Although not exactly long in the tooth, the Bentayga has been around since 2016 with no significant styling or technology upgrades. Since its launch an all-new Continental GT has come to market, while the latest generation of Flying Spur will arrive in dealers soon. In order to ensure the Rolls-Royce Cullinan rival isn’t left behind by both its competitors and its siblings, revisions to the exterior will bring it into line with the latest brand look. It’s too early to tell how extensive these will be, but expect a reshaped grille, fresh bumpers and tweaks to the lights front and rear. Just as significant will be the technology overhaul inside. The current car’s infotainment system is often criticised for feeling out of date next to cheaper siblings from Audi and Porsche, so the priority will be to bring in the latest system from the Continental GT and Flying Spur. A fully digital instrument display will likely also feature, while the range of active safety technology should advance. The flagship W12 engine is expected to receive upgrades to boost efficiency, but don’t expect anything dramatic across the rest of the range. The V8 is relatively new, too, while the six-cylinder plug-in hybrid model still isn’t on sale after a lengthy delay. Question marks remain over the diesel model, which was officially axed from the firm’s line-up in 2018. A change in attitude towards the fuel was blamed for its removal back then, but since then sister brand Audi has introduced several large capacity S-badged diesel models to its range. Expect to see more details emerge early next
Origin: Updated 2020 Bentley Bentayga to receive tech overhaul
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