2013 Bentley Gt V8 Coupe. Le Mans Edition. Black Over Black. 4,500 Miles on 2040-cars

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VW Group plan puts Porsche in charge of a 'super-premium' division

An Automobile report looks into what's happening on the organizational and technical sides of the Volkswagen Group, and what those changes could mean for the premium brands. The wide-angle view is that Porsche appears to have been anointed to "coordinate the future activities" at Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. Audi would cede Lamborghini guardianship to Stuttgart, and Ducati — via a new concern called Ducati Enterprises — would become the shepherd for VW's other Italian investments. Executives target Jan. 1, 2019, to complete the reshuffle. VW wants to save a boodle by tying up four of its five top-tier brands, and putting the one with the highest ROI in charge. Porsche, within its own house, wants to reduce expenditures by $2.3 billion per year over for four years, the savings already earmarked for improving internal processes like R&D and production. Having Porsche share those gains as well as lead development of platforms, components and future-tech strategies for the sister sports car brands could benefit everyone. In the near-term, the brands have their own plans: Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann is said to want a Chiron Superleggera, a roofless and "completely reskinned" Chiron Aperta, and a track-only Chiron SS. The Superleggera could take the Chiron Sport's and Divo's Jenny Craig routines even further. The Aperta seems a natural successor to the Veyron Grand Sport, a natural evolution of the recently introduced Sky View roof, and a reskin might include numerous Divo cues. It's also said Bugatti's considering "an all-electric high-end model" in conjunction with Porsche, Rimac, and Dallara, but name one supercar or hypercar manufacturer that isn't considering a lightning-fast EV. Lamborghini, deep into work on follow-ups for the Huracan and Aventador, might get a bit of a bump with the new plan. The carbon "monofuselage" for the next V12 flagship is said to be too far developed and too complex to scrap. It puts two electric motors on the front axle, batteries in the middle, and a naturally aspirated V12 with around 770 horsepower plus another e-motor with 402 horsepower in back. The Huracan is said to get a version of the same carbon architecture at the moment, but the corporate reorganization might press pause on it. Automobile says options include continuing the Huracan/ Audi R8 twinning, but that depends on Audi saying "Ja" to a third-gen R8 with Lamborghini bones.

Bentley Continental GT3 grows wings to conquer the Pikes Peak Hill Climb

Apparently, this is a Bentley. That may not be obvious at first glance on account of the … everything, but this winged beast does have a Bentley logo on it. You see, Bentley is headed on back to Pikes Peak for a third (and final) time. The companyÂ’s first two visits saw the production SUV record achieved with the Bentayga W12 and the outright production car record taken with the Continental GT. This time, Bentley is targeting the “Time Attack 1” record, and the Continental GT3 Pikes Peak is its steed of choice. Leading the car's superlative features is what Bentley claims to be “the biggest rear wing ever fitted to a Bentley.” We heartily approve. The aerodynamic package is fully in vogue with other cars built specifically for Pikes Peak. Maximum downforce is generated with the huge wing, a gigantic diffuser, two-plane splitter and aggressive dive planes. ItÂ’s more track rat than elegant race car with the numerous scoops and venting throughout. The exhaust cutouts just aft of the front wheels complete the hooligan package. This Continental may have Bentley lights on it, but the similarities between it and the road car donÂ’t go much further. Details about the engine are limited, but Bentley says itÂ’s a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 racing engine, not a production V8 or W12. Modifications were made to make it more powerful for this Pikes Peak run, but Bentley also made adjustments for the fuel it will be running in the car. Instead of running this Continental on race fuel, itÂ’s going to be using biofuel-based gasoline. WeÂ’ve heard Porsche make waves about the potential of greener biofuels helping to drastically reduce emissions, and now Bentley is making some noise about the tech, too. In coordination with Porsche (all in the same VW Group house), Bentley is researching how it could use biofuels and “e-fuels” to potentially power both past and future Bentley cars. As of today, Bentley is saying that using these fuels could result in greenhouse gas emissions reductions of up to 85%. Put simply, thatÂ’s huge, if it can be made to work at a large scale. Bentley expressly states that this research into biofuels doesnÂ’t affect its plan to become an electric-only automaker by 2030. Instead, Bentley sees it as a way to allow the brandÂ’s past and current gasoline-powered vehicles to be driven far into the future — just over 80% of all Bentleys ever built are still on the road, according to BentleyÂ’s internal tracking.

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.