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Bentley EXP 100 GT could become an ultra-exclusive topless two-seater

By most standards, Bentleys are already pretty expensive, but as the global economy funnels more and more wealth to the very top, the luxury automaker plans to cater to an ever-richer clientele with ultra-exclusive, even-more-expensive models. Britain's Autocar reports that one such proposed model is an open-topped two-seater that borrows heavily from the EXP 100 GT concept (pictured), which, if approved, would sell for 1.5 million pounds ($1.9 million) or more. Although the EXP 100 GT concept, which debuted this past summer in celebration of the brand's 100th anniversary, had a configurable two- or four-seat interior and a mostly glass roof, the proposed model is a two-seater with no roof whatsoever — practicality, evidently, not being much of a consideration for the ultra rich. Exclusivity, however, is very important, and it's said that only 12 examples would be built, with Bentley's in-house coachbuilder Mulliner tasked with the construction. Whereas the concept was an EV, the Mulliner-built car would ditch that idea in favor of a traditional Bentley W12 borrowed from the Continental GT — which currently makes 626 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. From the concept, the new model borrows its styling, as well as some of it exotic materials, which included 5,000-year-old wood salvaged from peat bogs and infused with copper, synthetic leather created from wine-making byproducts, and crystal trim elements. If approved, the two-seat barchetta could arrive as soon as 2021. Bentley Convertible Luxury

Bentley orders are up by 50% thanks to Chinese buyers

LONDON — Bentley began the year with 50% more orders than the start of last year and built more luxury cars in January than the same time in 2020 as China boosted demand despite challenges from the pandemic, its boss told Reuters on Wednesday. The Volkswagen-owned brand said it had not faced major disruption from Britain's exit from the European Union nor from a shortage of semi-conductor chips, which has forced some automakers to halt or reduce production. Based in Crewe, northern England, the over century-old marque made a small profit in 2020, when its factory was forced to close as Britain entered its first national lockdown, and hopes to build on that this year. "The order bank at the beginning of this year was 50% higher than it was at the beginning of last year," Chief Executive Adrian Hallmark said in an interview. "China, by far, is the most outstanding performance in the world in respect of level of orders compared with normal expectations." The firm sold 11,206 cars in 2020. Related Video:

Bentley GT3-R is the most hardcore road-going Continental yet

A factory-entered Bentley hadn't won a top tier race in the UK for 84 years when the Continental GT3 recently took victory in the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Silverstone. It was an early success for a racer that only hit the track competitively for the first time late last year at the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi. To capitalize on the potent platform, Bentley is bringing it to the street with the limited-edition Continental GT3-R.
Limited to just 300 units worldwide, this bruiser starts as any other Continental GT on the assembly line in Crewe, England, but then Bentley Motorsport get ahold of it to painstakingly improve its performance. Like the racer, GT3-R uses the 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8, and here, power is cranked up to 572 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, 51 hp and 14 lb-ft better than the GT V8 S. The muscle is routed through an eight-speed automatic gearbox from ZF with shortened gearing and a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring for the rear wheels. The weight also comes down over 200 pounds from the V8 S to 4,839 pounds. Bentley claims all the tweaks are enough to hustle the GT3-R to 60 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds, on to an estimated top speed of 170 mph.
To handle all that power, an air suspension holds up all four corners, and the brakes use carbon silicon carbide discs for plentiful stopping power. A titanium exhaust saves an additional 15 pounds of weight, and Bentley promises that it gives the car a baritone growl.