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Bentley and Italdesign tease Geneva reveals

With five weeks to go until the Geneva Motor Show on March 5, automakers have begun the tease campaign. But because there are still five weeks to go, the teases are a little stingy. Bentley and Italdesign, two brands owned by the Volkswagen Group - Audi, specifically, owns Italdesign - break the seal with what look like two sports cars, the segment Geneva's best known for. Bentley, surprise, surprise, will celebrate its centenary year at Geneva with something inspired by its Le Mans history. The English carmaker's teaser video contains a number of historical elements that we don't know how to line up with the grille of the modern Bentley featuring a "9" graphic. The narrator detailing the early Le Mans race mentions 60 entries, but Le Mans never fielded exactly sixty entries during Bentley's fame-making days. The closest we could get was the 1925 race, the year after Bentley's first win, which saw 55 cars line up. But in 1925, the No. 9 Bentley had to retire after 13 hours when it caught on fire during a fuel stop. Instead, Bentley could be referring to the next evolution of its race cars. The brand won Le Mans with the Speed 6, and used the Speed 8 to win the 2003 race. Italdesign has gone even more cryptic with its teaser. The styling house most recently known for the Lamborghini Huracan-based Zerouno in 2017, and the Zerouno Duerte and Nissan GT-R50 in 2018, is promoting something else with serious wing. We'll guess it isn't another Zerouno derivative because of the wing stanchion. Freezing a few of the frames reveals background lines that make whatever's coming look highly racy. We'll get answers in the city by the lake. And most likely, a few more teasers before then. Related Video:

Ferdinand Piech (1937-2019): The man who made VW global

Towering among his peers, a giant of the auto industry died Sunday night in Rosenheim/Upper Bavaria, Germany. Ferdinand Piech, a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who conceived the original Volkswagen in the 1930s, was the most polarizing automotive executive of our times. And one who brought automotive technology further than anyone else. Ferdinand Porsche had a son, Ferdinand (called "Ferry"), and a daughter, Louise, who married the Viennese lawyer Anton Piech. They gave birth to Ferdinand Piech, and his proximity to two Alfa Romeo sports cars — Porsche had done some work for the Italians — and the "Berlin-Rome-Berlin" race car, developed by Porsche himself, gave birth to Piech's interest in cars. After his teachers in Salzburg told his mother he was "too stupid" to attend school there, Piech, who was open about his dyslexia, was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. He subsequently moved on to Porsche, where he fixed issues with the 904 race car and did major work on the 911. But his greatest project was the Le Mans-winning 917 race car, developed at breathtaking financial cost. It annihilated the competition, but the family had had enough: Amid growing tension among the four cousins working at Porsche and Piech's uncle Ferry, the family decided to pull every family member, except for Ferry, out of their management positions. Piech started his own consultancy business, where he designed the famous five-cylinder diesel for Mercedes-Benz, but quickly moved on to Audi, first as an engineer and then as CEO, where he set out to transform the dull brand into a technology leader. Piech killed the Wankel engine and hammered out a number of ambitious and sophisticated technologies. Among them: The five-cylinder gasoline engine; Quattro all-wheel drive and Audi's fantastic rally successes; and turbocharging, developed with Fritz Indra, whom Piech recruited from Alpina. The Audi 100/200/5000 became the world's fastest production sedan, thanks to their superior aerodynamics. Piech also launched zinc-coated bodies for longevity — and gave diesel technology a decisive boost with the advent of the fast and ultra-efficient TDI engines. Less known: Piech also decided to put larger gas tanks into cars. Customers loved it. Piech's first-generation Audi V8 was met with derision by competitors; it was too obviously based on the 200/5000.

Bentley Bentayga Field Sports by Mulliner is the perfect SUV for rich hunters

Though it's primarily used for wagon versions of two-door cars now, the term " shooting brake" originally referred to a vehicle that was used for people to go out hunting and shooting. As such, the new Bentley Bentayga Field Sports by Mulliner is a literal shooting brake, as it's been customized for hunters. Bentley and Mulliner received assistance from ultra-custom gun manufacturer Purdey to help design this Bentayga to be useful for hunters. The results are centered around additional storage. In the cargo area, there's now a large sliding storage unit that contains several compartments that can house all variety of supplies from first-aid kits to additional rounds of ammunition. Of course since this is a Bentley, there is plenty of focus on luxury as well, hence the quilted leather interior, and the space for champagne flutes and your choice of high-class alcohol. In addition to the main storage, there's an additional locking case for a pair of guns. This case is also leather-covered, and it fits in a space between the rear seats. It seems that this special Bentley is currently just a one-off. But we suspect that if there's enough demand, Bentley might consider offering these options. If Bentley does go through with creating hunting variants for customers, we'd like to make a few suggestions to improve on the design. First off, Bentley has prominently featured a hunting dog in the promotional photos. Anyone with dogs knows that when they're outside, they're at risk for tracking in dirt and mud. That's not something you'd want in your leather-clad six-figure Bentley. So perhaps Bentley should consider some kind of cover, like what came with the Honda Element Dog Friendly Edition but fancier, or even custom rear seat storage for the dog. It could even feature a hose and drier for cleaning up your dog, similar to the Nissan Rogue Dogue. And, though the storage solution that Bentley, Mulliner and Purdey came up with is quite nice, they could go a step further, such as with Bentley's own Bentayga for falconry, or the Holland & Holland Range Rover. The former featured beautiful cork chests in the back for storage, and a custom wood inlay dash. The latter also came with a lovely wood cabinet for guns and liquor, but on top of that, buyers would get free refills on liquor. Those are seriously luxurious features, and would be perfect for a hunter's Bentayga. Feel free to use these ideas, Bentley.