2011 Bentley Continental Gtc Speed on 2040-cars

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VW Group shareholders demand Bentley return to profit

The Volkswagen Group's main shareholders are giving British ultraluxury division Bentley an ultimatum to turn around its finances and start earning a profit. The Piech and Porsche families did not say what would happen if the brand fails to return to the black, but they said it should happen within two years. "The important thing is for every (VW Group) brand to generate a reasonable contribution again," Wolfgang Porsche told the subscription-only Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, as relayed by Automotive News. "That is not currently the case at Bentley, and we are not satisfied." Volkswagen Group has not yet issued its report for full-year 2018, but Bentley had lost the equivalent of $157 million through the first nine months on an 11 percent decline in sales. In 2017, Bentley sold 10,566 vehicles globally, with revenue down 9.2 percent from 2016. VW Group apparently cites the slow rollout of the Continental GT and the British pound's lower value amid Brexit talks, which makes the many parts it sources from continental Europe more expensive, as among the reasons. A German study last summer claimed that Bentley lost a little more than $19,000 on each car. Adrian Hallmark started as CEO in February 2018 after heading global brand strategy for Jaguar. Bentley in 2018 released the all-new 2019 Continental GT after a nine-month delay, and it revealed the GTC convertible version in Los Angeles. Hallmark has said 2019 "is a conversion year to a better business model" after a year plagued by problems that also included European WLTP certification. He announced last year the luxury brand would no longer build new sports cars, though the brand says it's still committed to the idea of the two-door GT. Bentley has also said it wants electrified versions of all its models by 2025, which will be an expensive proposition and will likely including plug-in hybrid versions of current models.

New 2020 Bentley Bentayga Speed tops out at 190 mph

To the surprise of no one, Bentley is applying the Speed treatment to its SUV offering, the Bentayga, which has become the brand's bestseller. Ever since it first appeared on the 2007 Continental GT, Bentley's Speed variants have denoted higher performance, and the 2020 Bentley Bentayga Speed becomes the top-performing Bentley SUV. It wrings an additional 26 horsepower out of the W12 engine, for a new total of 626 hp.The torque figure of 664 pound-feet (at 1,350 rpm) is unchanged. Those extra ponies are enough to help the new model live up to its billing, with a stated top speed of 190 mph, against 187 mph for the standard W12. With that figure, Bentley claims the mantle of fastest SUV, although Volkswagen Group corporate cousin Lamborghini might have something to say about that, since it claims the same 190-mph V-max for the new Lamborghini Urus. Bentley's factory 0-to-62-mph time is 3.9 seconds, down from 4.1 for the standard Bentayga W12. (That pesky Urus claims 3.6 seconds for the same measure.) Bentley says the W12 engine in the Speed also has a more extroverted exhaust note at start-up and during downshifts. The 48-volt electronic anti-roll system (Bentley Dynamic Ride) is standard. Just as in other Bentaygas, there are four on-road drive modes — and an additional four off-road — with the most aggressive, Sport, recalibrated for Speed duty. The suspension tune is also firmer. As on the V8 and standard W12 models, carbon-ceramic brakes are optional, although there may be a greater call for them here given the Speed's performance capabilities. Visually, the Speed is denoted by darkened front grilles, headlamps, and taillamps. The body also features rocker panel extensions and a liftgate-mounted rear spoiler. Speed-specific 22-inch 10-spoke wheels are available in three finishes. Inside, the Speed debuts Alcantara upholstery (with all-leather a no-cost option), and also features more extensive contrast stitching, illuminated door sill plates, and various "Speed" logos. Both the four- and five-person seating configurations are available. Pricing has not been released, but if you have a need for the Speed, expect to pay more than the $229,100 you'd cough up for a standard W12 Bentayga. Dealers are taking orders now, with U.S. deliveries set to start in the third quarter of 2019. Related Video:

Enhance this football field-sized photo to find the Bentley

"Enhance! Enhance! Enhance!" Zooming in on this photo of the Golden Gate Bridge feels like taking part in a 2000s crime lab cop show, with their seemingly endless capabilities to zoom in a photo to catch a suspect. But it's not a grainy safety camera shot we are looking here, but a composite image stitched together using the same space age technology NASA uses to create panorama shots from Curiosity Rover images. Keep zooming, and a Bentley Mulsanne will appear. Keep zooming, and you can get close enough to see the stitching on the Bentley logo on the tan leather headrest. According to Bentley, the image was created by combining 700 separate photographs, and the image consists of 53 billion pixels, or 53 gigapixels. The starting point is nearly half a mile away, and if you decided to play a prank on whoever runs the nearest inkjet printer, you would produce enough material to fill a football field. Bentley says that the point of the zoomable image is to show just how much they pay attention to detail when crafting these $330,000 luxury cars. The particular car is a Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase finished in Rose Gold over Magnetic duo-tone. The image is viewable in its entirety over at Bentley's Look Closer website created for the occasion. Marketing/Advertising Bentley Luxury bentley mulsanne