Pristine Mulliner Edition on 2040-cars

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Now you can order a Bentley with real stone trim

Order up a new Bentley and you'll have some choices to make. After choosing which model, you'll need to select from over a hundred standard exterior paint colors and a staggering array of trim options – and now, interior stone veneers. Mulliner will now outfit your Bentley with actual stone trim. Now we know what you're probably thinking: stone adds weight. But here's the kicker: Bentley's new stone veneers measure just 0.004 inches thick. That's less than the breadth of a human hair, and (according to the automaker) makes these trim pieces not only very lightweight, but also translucent. The rocks are sourced from quaries in India, cured using fiberglass and resin, and finished by the Mulliner coachbuilding team back at the factory in Crewe, England. Customers will be able to select between a natural finish or in four tints to install on a new Continental or Flying Spur. So if you were hoping for a little extra ballast in your 5,300-lb Bentayga or 6,000-lbs Mulsanne, we're afraid you'll just have to choose a different interior accent. STONE VENEERS BY MULLINER – THE NEXT LEVEL OF MODERN BRITISH LUXURY - Bentley pushes boundaries of cabin luxury with new and rare materials - Lightweight and contemporary feature developed by Mulliner - Four exclusive colours: Galaxy, Autumn White, Terra Red and Copper (Crewe, 04 January, 2016) Bentley Motors' bespoke coach-building division, Mulliner, is introducing the next level of modern British automotive luxury – stone veneers. This innovative interior finish utilises state-of-the-art stone veneer technology to make a luxurious, contemporary feature of a natural product formed over 200 million years. The slate and quartzite stone is sustainably sourced from hand-selected quarries in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, India – a nation with an ancient and rich culture of stone masonry. The sections of stone are split from larger pieces and cured using glass fibre and a bespoke resin. Finally, they are shaped and hand finished by Bentley's world-renowned Mulliner coachbuilding team at the company's headquarters in Crewe, England. The stone surfaces of the veneers are just 0.1 mm thick, meaning that they are both extremely light and translucent, allowing the elegant grain and pattern in the stone to be visible to the interior occupants.

Bentley Continental GT 'Ultratank' makes tracks in Russia. Literally

When the automotive news cycle last turned its attention to Russia, it was to celebrate the maniacs who'd linked three cheap four-cylinder engines to create a 12-cylinder Lada. Our newest visit to the motherland is for the diametric opposite: a first-generation Bentley Continental GT placed on a custom set of heavy duty tracks. Created by Russian YouTube channel AcademeG, the navy blue mutant is called the Ultratank, and its waiting for its close-up in the Akira sequel. Chronicling the build began last August, sometime after AcademeG's presenter bought the cheapest Continental GT he could find. Seems that kind of purchase is a cautionary tale in Russia as much as it is here, because the Bentley's 6.0-liter, twin-turbo W12 needed a list of expensive repairs, starting with new turbos. It appears that was the cue to throw out the whole engine, drivetrain, and frame. AcademeG took the coupe to Swap-Point, who replaced the stock motor with Toyota's Japanese-market 4.3-liter V8 used in the Toyota Crown Majesta, Celsior, and Soarer and Lexus GS, LS, and SC 430. The engine sends power to a solid rear axle only through a torque converter automatic. From there, the twist is transferred to a set of heavy vehicle tracks measuring 98.4 inches long. The Bentley's passenger tub and upper portions mostly survived the transformation, but tube-frame construction replaced the stock architecture front and rear. Nine months later, the Ultratank has taken its first steps. The Russians took their baby into the woods to play, and - watched by some goats and shepherds - proved they got it mostly right in spite of a few issues. Running on treads is often done best in low revs, but the engine doesn't like low revs. There wasn't enough tension on the tracks, and the rubber nubs aligning the tracks with the wheels aren't substantial enough, so the tracks rolled off the wheels during hard cornering. And there are no brakes. Slowing down requires sawing at the wheel, which brakes the inside tread as the Ultratank starts to turn. Even so, the vehicle and the test were declared a success. The team will tune the engine, add doors and tweak the tracks, but according to YouTube's Russian translation, "everything is simply ideal." You can check out the entire build while awaiting updates on the next big changes, including a higher top speed: The Ultratank tops out at 31 miles per hour now, and AcademeG wants to double that.

Volkswagen Group previews its wares on eve of Geneva show

The Volkswagen Group is comprised of 11 brands producing 240 vehicles across 49 factories throughout the world. So the best way to show off the range of the VW family is to cram a few thousand journalists and VIPs into a massive makeshift stand to outline the Group's goals, what's in the pipeline and what you'll be able to buy later this year.
To that end, VW pulled out all the stops on the eve of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, bringing along 10 vehicles from across the range. We'll be delving into the details of each over the next two days of show coverage, but before that happens, you can read all about what we saw tonight from the cheap seats after the break.