12 Onyx 6l W12 Twin Turbo Awd Sedan *20 Inch 2-piece Sports Alloy Wheels *low Mi on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ultra-luxury automakers like Bentley and Rolls-Royce need to hurry up with EVs

In the five years that I've worked at Autoblog, I've read a lot of press releases. They're all pretty flowery and self-serving, but the ones that go the extra distance with lavish words and pompous phrasing tend to come from the most luxurious brands, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. And something that they both love talking about is sustainably sourced materials for their vehicles. The descriptions read like they've seen the light about using resources responsibly. That would be great, except for one thing: There's nothing sustainable about multi-ton land yachts with eight or more cylinders. Only one of Bentley's models can be had with fuel economy better than 20 mpg combined when running on gasoline, and guess what, it's not one of the brand's two plug-in hybrids (which are to be commended, but still seem half-hearted when we're talking serious sustainability). And Rolls-Royce is even worse without a single model even hitting 15 mpg combined. These automakers should have at least one EV model apiece. Apparently, there are some coming, but they're still years away, and that frankly shocks and frustrates me for a number of reasons. One of the big ones is that these brands couldn't be better suited to electric propulsion. What makes these cars impressive is their refinement and performance. You can't get much better in either of those categories than with beefy electric motors, which provide nearly silent operation with no gear changes and enormous power and torque ratings. And it's all achievable with a lot less effort than making an 8- or 12-cylinder internal combustion engine quiet and smooth. Sure, battery technology is complicated, and it's expensive and heavy, but all of that is covered by these brand's typical products. They can command prices that would easily absorb the cost of batteries. And the size and weight of current cars mean that loading them up with batteries to achieve range comparable to their gas models wouldn't be a problem, either. Heck, that's the exact strategy being used by GM and Ford to get huge range in their electric trucks. 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S View 41 Photos And the cost of the EV technology shouldn't even be that great for Bentley or Rolls-Royce, since they're both owned by companies that are leaders in electric car development with existing technology and the ability to spread costs out over various brands.

40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.

Bentley Bentayga takes Pikes Peak SUV record

Earlier this spring, we wrote about Bentley's bid to beat the existing Pikes Peak record for sports utility vehicles, with racing driver Rhys Millen behind the wheel of a bright green Bentayga. And this past weekend, they did it, slicing almost two minutes off the earlier record. Having been set by Paul Dallenbach with a Range Rover Sport back in 2013, the old record stood at 12:35.61. The New Zealand-born Millen completed the course in 10:49.9, at an average speed of 66.5 miles per hour. To pass Pikes Peak scrutineering and to keep Millen safe, the near-stock Bentayga had been fitted with a roll cage and racing seats, along with a harness and a fire suppression system; the only performance modification was a production-specification Akrapovic exhaust system. We expect the engine note to have been crowd-pleasing. The #Bentayga has smashed the Production SUV record at #PikesPeak, beating the previous best by nearly two minutes. @RhysMillen took just 10:49.9 to climb 5000 ft over 12.4 miles #BeExtraordinary pic.twitter.com/sEQ80FgwbE — Bentley Motors Comms (@BentleyComms) June 24, 2018 The 5000-foot climb has 156 corners, which the Radium Satin colored, 600-hp Bentayga attacked on stock Pirelli rubber. After his record run, Millen said: "To take a luxury SUV with minimal modifications and be able to drive up this course in under 11 minutes is a huge testament to the performance and level of engineering in the Bentayga." Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley Bentayga Pikes Peak Image Credit: Bentley Motorsports Bentley Crossover SUV Luxury pikes peak bentley bentayga hill climb