2016 Bentley Continental Gt on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Baby Bentley studied for 2020, but it might not be cheaper

Bentley may step down a segment with a new, smaller luxury car that it hopes to have ready by 2019. The British luxury marque's fifth model line, assuming that its SUV ever makes it to market, though, is still in the earliest planning stages.
Kevin Rose, Bentley's head of sales and marketing, spoke with Autocar at the Geneva Motor Show about the proposed new vehicle. "At the moment, our line of thinking is for a smaller car. But smaller doesn't necessarily mean cheaper," he said. The brand believes the price floor of its models should be 100,000 pounds ($167,240).
The smaller Flying B isn't the only project being worked on. Rose hinted that it is considering an even more expensive model above the Mulsanne priced at around 300,000 pounds ($501,735) that would compete with the Rolls-Royce Phantom. "The twin pillars of the Bentley brand are performance and luxuriousness. Any car that offers something unique, with both of those bases well covered, is on the table," he said.

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:

Ultra-luxury automakers like Bentley and Rolls-Royce need to hurry up with EVs

In the five years that I've worked at Autoblog, I've read a lot of press releases. They're all pretty flowery and self-serving, but the ones that go the extra distance with lavish words and pompous phrasing tend to come from the most luxurious brands, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. And something that they both love talking about is sustainably sourced materials for their vehicles. The descriptions read like they've seen the light about using resources responsibly. That would be great, except for one thing: There's nothing sustainable about multi-ton land yachts with eight or more cylinders. Only one of Bentley's models can be had with fuel economy better than 20 mpg combined when running on gasoline, and guess what, it's not one of the brand's two plug-in hybrids (which are to be commended, but still seem half-hearted when we're talking serious sustainability). And Rolls-Royce is even worse without a single model even hitting 15 mpg combined. These automakers should have at least one EV model apiece. Apparently, there are some coming, but they're still years away, and that frankly shocks and frustrates me for a number of reasons. One of the big ones is that these brands couldn't be better suited to electric propulsion. What makes these cars impressive is their refinement and performance. You can't get much better in either of those categories than with beefy electric motors, which provide nearly silent operation with no gear changes and enormous power and torque ratings. And it's all achievable with a lot less effort than making an 8- or 12-cylinder internal combustion engine quiet and smooth. Sure, battery technology is complicated, and it's expensive and heavy, but all of that is covered by these brand's typical products. They can command prices that would easily absorb the cost of batteries. And the size and weight of current cars mean that loading them up with batteries to achieve range comparable to their gas models wouldn't be a problem, either. Heck, that's the exact strategy being used by GM and Ford to get huge range in their electric trucks. 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S View 41 Photos And the cost of the EV technology shouldn't even be that great for Bentley or Rolls-Royce, since they're both owned by companies that are leaders in electric car development with existing technology and the ability to spread costs out over various brands.