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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

New Bentley boss nixes any new sports cars in its money-losing lineup

Adrian Hallmark took over the helm at Bentley on February 1 this year. Volkswagen poached him from Jaguar, where he headed the brand's global strategy. Or perhaps we should say re-poached him, since Hallmark served as Bentley's board member in charge of sales and marketing from 1999 to 2005, and helped guide the original Continental GT to market. He's now responsible getting Bentley in better shape financially and sales-wise, and positioning it for growth. Among the products necessary to do that, Hallmark recently told Autocar that flashy coupes won't cut it. "I'll tell you what we won't be building," he said, "and that's sports cars." That means we can forget about the gorgeous EXP 10 Speed 6 coupe that had a rumored place in the lineup after a sub-Bentayga CUV, and the EXP 12 Speed 6e battery-electric convertible. Hallmark cited a few issues with the segment, the first being that the segment hasn't yet recovered from the recession, and the buyer demographic that's left goes up in age every year, clearly a losing game. The kinds of younger buyers who would buy Bentleys, athletes and entertainers, are deterred from the purchase by contractual limitations like injury clauses or aversion to paparazzi photos. As well, in China, wealthy buyers get SUVs or limousines, but Hallmark believes Bentley hasn't adopted the the proper strategy there to take advantage. This is far more than about sports cars for Bentley, though; a recent article in German newspaper Handelsblatt outlined a number of situations the carmaker needs to rectify, including the finding that Bentley's "losing money hand over fist instead of racking up the hefty margins more typical of the class." A German study claimed that whereas Ferrari makes around $80,000 on every car it sells, and Porsche makes a little more than $19,000 on each car (last year it was a little more than $17,000) Bentley loses a little more than $19,000 on each unit. The English manufacturer has posted an operating loss of roughly $92 million through the first six months of 2018, the latest figures in a decline that began in 2014. That financial timeline, however, coincides with Bentley's $1.1B investment in new technologies, which the carmaker cites as the reason for profitability woes.

Bentley recalls nearly 2,000 examples of the Bentayga over fire risk

Bentley is voluntarily recalling 1,892 examples of the Bentayga in America to replace a fuel line that could leak and cause a fire. The affected SUVs were manufactured between July 26, 2018, and January 15, 2020. Documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) explain the SUVs included in the recall are fitted with a quick fuel line connector that can leak if it's exposed to extremely high temperatures in the engine bay. Fuel and heat don't go together well, unless they meet in a cylinder, so the leak could start a fire. Bentley noted motorists might smell fuel in the engine bay if the connector leaks, but Autoblog learned from a company spokesperson that it's not aware of accidents, injuries, or even damage related to the problem. The spokesperson stressed the recall only applies to the Bentayga V8; it doesn't include the W12 model or the plug-in hybrid. Only about 0.2% of the SUVs being recalled have this defect, according to the firm. Bentley explained it noticed the problem in 2018, when a customer complained the SUV smelled like gasoline. Technicians identified the cause of the problem as material softening due to elevated temperatures in the engine bay, and engineers began working on a fix and testing it in real-world conditions. The redesigned part notably faces away from the hot side of the engine, according to a recall bulletin published by the NHTSA. Owners of affected cars will be notified in the coming weeks, and they'll need to bring their Bentayga to the nearest dealer to have the fuel line and its quick connector replaced. It's a job that takes approximately one hour. The average Bentley customer owns eight cars, so at least Bentayga owners won't be stuck using Uber. Featured Gallery 2019 Bentley Bentayga V8: First Drive View 34 Photos Recalls Bentley SUV Luxury