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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.

Audi CEO's Dieselgate arrest threatens fragile truce among VW stakeholders

FRANKFURT — The arrest and detention of Audi's chief executive forces Volkswagen Group's competing stakeholders to renegotiate the delicate balance of power that has helped keep Audi CEO Rupert Stadler in office. Volkswagen's directors are discussing how to run Audi, its most profitable division, following the arrest of the brand's long-time boss on Monday as part of Germany's investigations into the carmaker's emissions cheating scandal. The supervisory board of Audi, meanwhile, has suspended Stadler and appointed Dutchman Bram Schot as an interim replacement, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Schot joined the Volkswagen Group in 2011 after having worked as president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Italia. He has been Audi's board member for sales and marketing since last September. The discussions risk reigniting tensions among VW's controlling Piech and Porsche families, its powerful labor representatives and its home region of Lower Saxony. VW has insisted the development of illegal software, also known as "defeat devices," installed in millions of cars was the work of low-level employees, and that no management board members were involved. U.S. prosecutors have challenged this by indicting VW's former chief executive Martin Winterkorn. Stadler's arrest raises further questions. Audi and VW said on Monday that Stadler was presumed innocent unless proved otherwise. Munich prosecutors detained Stadler to prevent him from obstructing a probe into Audi's emissions cheating, they said on Monday. Stadler is being investigated for suspected fraud and false advertising. Here are the main factors deciding the fate of Audi. Background: Audi's role in Dieselgate Volkswagen Group was plunged into crisis in 2015 after U.S. regulators found Europe's biggest carmaker had equipped cars with software to cheat emissions tests on diesel engines. The technique of using software to detect a pollution test procedure, and to increase the effectiveness of emissions filters to mask pollution levels only during tests, was first developed at Audi. "In designing the defeat device, VW engineers borrowed the original concept of the dual-mode, emissions cycle-beating software from Audi," VW said in its plea agreement with U.S. authorities in January 2017, in which the company agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to reach a settlement with U.S. regulators.

Bentley Continental GT takes off with Breitling Jet Team

Of all the automakers that have co-branding deals in place with watchmakers, the relationship between Breitling and Bentley ranks among the longest-standing. But aviation aficionados will also point out that Breitling – ever the favorite of pilots – also supports a team of aerobatic pilots called the Breitling Jet Team. Now the three have come together to create a special run of luxury automobiles. The Bentley Continental GT Speed Breitling Jet Team Series, as you might have guessed, is based on the Continental GT Speed that stands as the fastest model Bentley has ever offered. Which is a good starting point, because despite the "jet" part of the name, they have not actually put a turbine engine under the hood. Jaguar (among others) has tried that, and it has yet to work out. What sets apart this special series is entirely cosmetic, carried out by Bentley's Mulliner customization department. It has a two-tone paint job of Hallmark and Onyx (which may look purplish in the pictures but the scheme is listed as silver and black in the Bentley catalog), matching the livery on the jets themselves. It's accented with Breitling's signature yellow. The color scheme continues inside, with carbon-fiber trim, more yellow accents, and little thematic Easter eggs throughout. Whether the result looks like a promotional vehicle or a sleek take on the vehicle of choice for every entrepreneur who strikes it big, that's a matter of taste. And if you want to see one up close, you'll have to go to Seattle at the end of July. That's where Bentley will present the only seven examples it will make to their owners. The presentation will be made individually by the pilots at the Boeing Seafair Airshow – but only after what's sure to be the ride of their life on board one of the team's L-39 Albatros jets. BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT SPEED BREITLING JET TEAM SERIES LIMITED EDITION - Seven limited edition Continental GT Speeds inspired by famed jets - Handcrafted models take Mulliner customisation to new heights - Continental GT Speed is fastest production Bentley ever - Models to debut at Boeing Seafair Airshow, Seattle, July 31 (Crewe, 30 June 2015) Bentley is taking its fusion of luxury and performance to new extremes with the launch of the Continental GT Speed Breitling Jet Team Series. This exclusive series is limited to just seven cars, each inspired by one of the seven Breitling Jets.