In 1961 Bentley’s first official styling department was established in Crewe by the gifted John Blatchley. It was the place where the 1950s Bentley Continentals models were designed. To honor the year, Bentley will unveil at the Frankfurt Motor Show a special edition Continental GT and GTC.
The new Continental Series 51 model will feature a highly-distinctive interior color palette and unique exterior design cues. The GTC version displayed in Frankfurt will feature a Imperial Blue as a main and secondary hide, Linen seat and door inserts and Newmarket Tan as the accent color.
Both GT and GTC version will feature 20” 14-spoke polished Diamond wheel with a dark centre cap provides Series 51 cars with a purposeful and stylish appearance. The cars will be further distinguished by a signature ‘51’ badge on the front wings.
Press release after the jump.
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Rolls-Royce may be the foremost luxury brand in the world, but don’t tell that to Bentley because the latter is out to prove to its estranged sibling that it’s bent on taking over the top spot with the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne, the company’s all-new flagship car tourer.
Bentley’s new luxury car, which it is proclaiming as the “pinnacle” of luxury cars, made a resounding world debut at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours, drawing the attention of a throng of spectators who were there to witness the unveiling of Bentley’s newest toy. The Mulsanne, which was named after the infamous 90-degree turn at Le Mans, will be officially launched at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show but that didn’t stop the folks from Bentley from giving the gathered crowd at Pebble Beach a first-glance at the car that is shaping up to become the Phantom’s greatest adversary.
Significant for being Bentley’s first all-new originally designed car since the 1930’s, the Mulsanne was created using its predecessor, company founder W.O. Bentley’s 1930 Bentley 8-liter model, as the inspiration. Then again, the Mulsanne is more than just beauty on wheels. While most of its technical details are being withheld until its official unveiling at Frankfurt, Bentley did give a glimpse of what’s sitting under the Mulsanne’s polished hood: an all-new 6.75-liter V8 engine.
Press release after the jump.
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BMW had their Art Cars and Mini has specialty celebrity designed automobiles, but Bentley decided to take things a step further and recruit contemporary artist Romero Britto to create the centerpiece for their “Come to my world” exhibition in Germany. The English automaker provided Mr. Britto with a Continental GT as a canvas, prepared with a Bentley Blue base coat for the South Florida artist to get to work.
The car is covered in colorful, comic-like figures featuring a large multi colored flower on the hood, winged heart on the driver’s door, ladybug inspired door mirrors and a few orange and purple stars. The negative space is covered with Britto’s recognizable signature, similar to the mathematical symbol for pi; it is consists of a “T” followed by a squiggly line that sometimes goes down like a backwards “J” and other times is just a continuation of the character before it. The entire feeling of this piece of 200 MPH artwork is that it is as playful as the GT is fun to drive.
Press release after the jump.
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The aftermarket tuners Arden are currently working on an upgrade package for the Bentley Continental GTC. Included will be a flying B for the hood, 21 inch wheels and a new set of LEDs. The engine also gets an additional 60 HP bump. Pricing starts at €980.
As we suspected, once Bentley got ready to drop the veil on its latest supercar project, it would also lose the Victoria name. Bentley has released full details on the car now known as Continental Supersports.
Bentley has created its most powerful car ever by taking its turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 engine and raising the horsepower to 621 (up 21 hp from the Continental GT Speed editions.) With this amount of power the Supersports makes the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds, the 0 -100 mph in 8.9 seconds and can hit a top speed of 204 mph.
The speed in the Supersports doesn’t just come from power, but from weight reduction as well. A lot of glut was removed from the interior and replace with lighter composite materials. The rear seats were completely removed, and the remaining front buckets use carbon fiber for rigidity. Bentley says the car is now 243 lbs lighter then the Continental GT Speed, which represents about a four percent total weight reduction.
The Continental Supersports was designed to run on either regular gasoline or biofuel. Bentley says it’s using this car to begin a three-year process of spreading FlexFuel technology over the entire lineup. The car will go on sale in Europe in the fall of 2009, and in North America starting the summer of 2010.
More details in the press release after the jump.
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Bentley has updated the Continental GTC to go with the subtle changes given to the fixed-roof Continental GT, and as an added bonus, Bentley has made the more powerful engine available to make a "Speed" version of the convertible. Just like the rest of the Continental family, the GTC is powered by a 6.0-liter W12 engine that delivers 552 hp, while the Speed version gets a twin-turbocharged W12 that develops 600bhp.
With the wind in your hair, the GTC Speed can reach 195 mph, but keep the roof up and the performance gets better. With the cloth top in place, the GTC Speed goes from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, 0-100 mph in 10.6 seconds, and the top speed increases by 5 mph.
The six-speed transmission can be left in two fully automatic modes (Drive and Sport) or used as a clutchless manual where the driver can change gears sequentially, via either the automatic shifter or paddles mounted behind the steering wheel.
The changes to the appearance are only minor, including a new front bumper and steering wheel. Pricing should start at about $197,500, which is only about $3,500 more than the previous model year.
Press release after the jump.
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The current big Bentley, the Arnage family, is taking a final bow. While the premiere of last year’s Brooklands was a car that was more for the English crowd (foul-weather friendly hard top, understated coupe styling, etc.), the 2009 Azure T is more for an American crowd ("hey look me and at what I can afford!")
It’s safe to write that the Azure T is the most elegant convertible at the moment. PETA gets woozy every time it thinks about how many cows had to die so that the ultra-rich can have coddled hands, legs, elbows and butts. Like any good Bentley, there are only understated changes to the exterior. Little things like new 20-inch five-spoke two-piece alloy wheels, ‘Le Mans’ lower front wing air vents, and dark-tinted upper and lower grilles.
Like with most big Bentleys, its no slouch. Under the hood Bentley placed a liter twin-turbocharged version of their older-than-dust 6.75 V8 engine that produces 500bhp (50 hp more than the standard Arnage sedan, but 30 hp less than the Brooklands). The Azure T makes the 0-60 mph sprint in 5.2 seconds, hits 100 mph in 12.1 seconds, and doesn’t stop until it reaches the top speed of 179 mph.
While all Bentleys are extremely exclusive, there was no announced cap on productions as there is with the 550-unit Brooklands. Then again, it’s likely there won’t be too many neighbors picking up the kids from soccer practice in this.
The car is set to debut at the LA Auto Show this month. Why LA? Because although Bentley would not divulge the price of the super-lux ragtop (the Brooklands cost $680,000,) most of those who can afford it have had their names on a few movie posters or at least rapped about how much money they have.
If you want to be reminded of just how much money you don’t make, read the press release after the jump.
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Bentley revealed the first Arnage back in 1998. After a long and successful story the model has come to an end. To celebrate the end of its life the company will unveil at the Paris Auto Show a limited edition Arnage. Called "Final Series", this special edition will be limited to only 150 units and will be produced at the Crewe facility.
The engine, transmission, chassis and running gear of the Arnage Final Series are identical to those previously employed in Arnage T. In this specification, Bentley’s remarkable all-aluminium 6.75 liter V8 engine produces 500 bhp and 738lb ft of torque.
Acceleration to 60 mph is accomplished in 5.2 seconds (0-100km/h in 5.5 secs) with 100 mph reached in 12.1 seconds. Top speed of the Final Series is 179 mph.
The six-speed ZF automatic transmission, first introduced for the 2007 model, ensures optimum flexibility, response and refinement. Three transmission modes (Drive, Sport and Semi-Automatic) allow the driver to take full advantage of the powerful 500 bhp V8 engine.
Press release after the jump.
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Bentley today unveiled the 2009 Continental Flying Spur and the new version Spur Speed. The new model is set to deliver even greater levels of refinement, comfort and opportunities for customer personalization.
The Continental Flying Spur is powered by the new Bentley’s 6-litre, twin turbocharged W12 engine, the most compact 12-cylinder engine in production. The 48-valve head employs four camshafts and continually variable valve timing. Power is transmitted via an uprated ZF six-speed automatic transmission.
The W12 engine continues to produce 552bhp at 6100 rev/min and a maximum torque of 479lb ft from 1600 rev/min across virtually the entire rev range.
The Speed engine develops 15 percent more torque and nine percent more power than the standard Flying Spur, while engine efficiency is optimised by the use of lower friction, lighter-weight components and a new engine management system. The resultant performance is exceptional, with a top speed of 200mph (322km/h), a zero to 60mph sprint time of just 4.5 seconds (0-100km/h in 4.8s) and effortless overtaking capability.
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A Bentley Motors apprentice team has won a special “Spirit of Greenpower” award for its performance in the Greenpower Corporate Challenge which took place at Goodwood race circuit yesterday. The Bentley apprentice team designed, engineered and built the electric powered car which they entered into the Greenpower Challenge as well as a season of “F24+” racing.
The Bentley Greenpower car is called Continental DC (Direct Current) and runs off a 24-volt motor supplied by two 12-volt batteries. Designed for lightness and maximum power efficiency the one-seater Continental DC has a carbon fibre chassis and low resistance tyres.
The Continental DC is powered by a 24v Motor that delivers 0.5bhp and 5.1 lb ft. It is capable of hitting a top speed of 40 mph and has Zero CO2 emissions.
Technical specifications after the jump.
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