White Red Top Financing Convertible Navigation Speed Mulliner Certified Used on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volkswagen Group previews its wares on eve of Geneva show

The Volkswagen Group is comprised of 11 brands producing 240 vehicles across 49 factories throughout the world. So the best way to show off the range of the VW family is to cram a few thousand journalists and VIPs into a massive makeshift stand to outline the Group's goals, what's in the pipeline and what you'll be able to buy later this year.
To that end, VW pulled out all the stops on the eve of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, bringing along 10 vehicles from across the range. We'll be delving into the details of each over the next two days of show coverage, but before that happens, you can read all about what we saw tonight from the cheap seats after the break.

2014 Bentley Flying Spur brings new design to four-door Continental

After showing us a couple teasers recently, not to mention the leakage of official shots earlier today, Bentley has finally pulled the cover off the all-new 2014 Flying Spur, which will receive its global debut next month at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The big, bespoke sedan not only promises plenty of luxury in its full redesign, but Bentley is also saying that the new Flying Spur will be the "fastest, most powerful four-door" model it has ever produced.
To make sure it comes through on that bold statement, the 2014 Flying Spur is powered by the same twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 engine used in the Continental GT Speed. In the Flying Spur, this 12-cylinder engine produces 616 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, and it sends that power to the ground through a new eight-speed automatic transmission and a rear-biased (40/60) all-wheel-drive system. Launching the 5,451-pound sedan from 0-60 miles per hour will take just 4.3 seconds and 100 mph comes in less than 10 seconds; overall top speed is rated at 200 mph. Even with all that power and mass, Bentley is still expecting the next-generation Flying Spur to return better EPA fuel economy than the current model with projected (but not certified) estimates of 12 miles per gallon in the city and 20 mpg on the highway.
Befitting of its more powerful engine, the Flying Spur also gets a more athletic appearance with a more upright face, arched front and rear fenders and horizontal taillights that better distinguish it from the Continental GT. The new roofline also gives the car a sportier shape and the side windows add a more contemporary look, but this car is almost identical in size to the current model including the massive rear overhang, which helps accommodate 16.8 cubic feet of cargo.

Bentley unveils 202-mph Continental GT Speed Convertible

That purple haze all in your eyes is the 2013 Bentley GT Speed Convertible. The cynical view is, "Bah, take a GT Speed and cut the top off. There. Pass the salt, please...". But when you're Bentley, more than 90 years old, and charging these kinds of ducats, there's no reason to take the cynic's shortcut. So of course the GT Speed Convertible gets all of the Speed-family accoutrements: matrix radiator grille hiding a twin-turbocharged, 6.0-liter W12 with 616 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, eight-speed ZF transmission enabling 15 percent better fuel economy, beefier lowered suspension, larger rifled exhaust tips, inlet manifold finished in black crackle and a Mulliner Driving Specification cabin.
Among the many refinements added to the convertible, though, are neck warmers in the seats, the 21-inch wheels unique to this car, class-leading stiffness - admittedly, it's a very small class, but its torsional rigidity of 22,500 Nm/degree is only 500 Nm below that of the Lamborghini Gallardo coupe. The stiffening required to achieve that number will undoubtedly have something to do with the 485-pound weight gain over the GT Speed Coupe.
Still, when the GT Speed Convertible weighs 5,500 pounds, what's a few hundred between friends? More importantly, the weight doesn't scuttle performance: 0-60 comes in 4.1 seconds, a tenth shy of the coupe. The gap stretches as you approach The Ton, the GT Speed Convertible needing just 9.7 seconds to get there, the coupe just nine seconds. Trust us, though, everyone will be too busy blasting along to notice. Everyone will want to pack light, however, because the Speed Convertible loses 3.5 cubic feet of trunk space. It remains the fastest four-seat convertible in the world with a 202-mph top speed.