2001 Bentley Arnage Ultra Premium Luxury Sedan With 69,000 Miles No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Bentley considering chopping new Bentayga into a crossover coupe

Like it or not, crossover coupes are gaining traction. BMW lead the march with the X6 and has since followed up with the X4, rival Mercedes has already showcased its new GLE Coupe, and Audi is expected to be following suit as well. So who's next? According to Top Gear, that'd be Bentley. The British luxury automaker is (like Jaguar and Maserati) preparing to launch its first SUV in the form of the upcoming new Bentayga. But it isn't likely to stop there. After speaking with Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer, who pointed towards the growth in the luxury crossover segment at the expense of coupes, convertibles and sedans, Top Gear is convinced that the Flying B marque is weighing the possibility of a slant-backed coupe version. If BMW's experience is anything to go by, reconfiguring the roof and styling of the Bentayga to give it a more rakish profile would be a relatively low-cost, straightforward way to give Crewe another crossover model to offer. But by the same token, we wouldn't expect it to lose any doors in the process as that same Bavarian rival did with the Mini Paceman. With the Bentayga set to debut next year, it may not be until 2019 that the coupe version would arrive. That's if it's given the green light in the first place, with Bentley expected to decide "within the next year and a half," according to TG. What isn't clear at the moment, however, is whether the Bentayga crossover would stand in place of the smaller crossover Bentley was said to be considering, or the four-door coupe or sports car projects that were said to be on the table as well.

Bentley and Skoda capitalize on the coronation

Most likely, King Charles won’t be riding in a Czech-made Skoda this weekend when he is crowned king of England, even though the car company has introduced a Coronation Edition in a “Royal Green” color “in honor of the Coronation.” However, should they ride to the fancy investiture at Westminster Abbey in a home-grown Bentley, the royal tushes of he and Queen Camilla may be resting on bespoke, handcrafted “cabin cushions” created by BentleyÂ’s “Dream Factory” to celebrate the occasion (not likely, since the royal couple is expected to travel in the 260-year-old Gold State Coach). The upcoming, day-long event has inspired lots of tchotchkes of course — chocolate Charleses, crowns for dogs, Lego kings — as well as an outpouring of affection by the public and commercial opportunities to sell them things royalty-related. On the matter of the new KingÂ’s rear end, the Bentley cushions are described as being quite fabulous. It took craftsmen three days to embroider them with the special “Coronation Emblem,” which consists, according to the firm, "of two separate thread colours ... three different colourways of the emblem were used, to contrast the individually-selected hides for different colours of cushions to match the interiors of the Bentleys that will use them." The colors of the cushions include Cricketball and Cumbrian Green, accented by piping of Beluga, Porpoise, Newmarket Tan and Imperial Blue respectively. Should they require more modern transportation, a fleet of Bentleys will be on hand for special guests.  Regarding the Skodas, the Royal Green color will be available to order by commoners as well as by the royal couple, available on selected Superb, Kodiaq and Octavia models in the UK.

Bentley confirms SUV for 2016

It looks like the addition of a Royal Baby isn't the only big news coming out of the UK this week. Bentley has ended all of the will they/won't they speculation by confirming today that it will produce an SUV. Earmarked to go on sale in 2016, the as-yet unnamed Bentley SUV will help create an extra 1,000 jobs in the UK.
While no concrete details have been released, Bentley says that it will be the "most luxurious and most powerful SUV" on the market. Past rumors have indicated that the SUV could look completely different from the 2012 EXP 9 F Concept shown above, be renamed the Falcon and offer options like a plug-in hybrid version and three-row seating. To prepare for a fourth model in its lineup, Bentley will be investing 800 million British pounds (around $1.2 billion USD) into its Crewe headquarters and production lines over the next three years. Scroll down for Bentley's press release officially confirming the new SUV.