2000 Bentley Arnage Finished In Midnight Metallic Blue With Ivory Leather on 2040-cars

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Ford GT Mk II at Goodwood, Bentley EXP 100 GT concept EV and driving the Hyundai Veloster N | Autoblog Podcast #588

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale. To kick things off, they talk about driving the Porsche Cayenne S, Hyundai Veloster N and Nissan Armada. Then they recap the Goodwood Festival of Speed, including the Ford GT Mk II that debuted there. Next up is news: the Bentley EXP 100 GT electric concept car, Ford canceling diesel for the Transit Connect and Elon Musk dismissing talk of a refresh for the Model S and Model X. Finally, they take to Reddit to help pick between a 2016 Audi S3 and a 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia. Autoblog Podcast #588 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: 2019 Porsche Cayenne S 2020 Hyundai Veloster N 2019 Nissan Armada Ford GT Mk II debuts at Goodwood, and other impressions from the event Bentley unveils EXP 100 GT electric concept car Ford cancels diesel engine for Transit Connect Tesla Model S and X wonÂ’t get a refresh Spend My Money: Audi or Alfa? Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:    

Bentley re-creates one-of-a-kind sports sedan destroyed in 1939

Bentley's Mulliner division specializes in making one-off (or few-off) projects for clients willing to foot the bill. They're the folks you'd want to talk to if you want a long-wheelbase Flying Spur, a Bentayga-based dually pickup, or anything in between. The division only works on new models, but it stepped outside of its comfort zone to re-create a one-of-a-kind Bentley manufactured and destroyed in 1939. The project is part of Bentley's on-going centennial celebration, and finishing it in time was easier said than done. It made building a concept car like the EXP 100 GT look like assembling a Lego kit. The original Corniche disappeared after getting bombed by the German army, and a majority of the people who saw it in person are dead, so the men and women tasked with resurrecting it only had a handful of period, black-and-white photographs and technical drawings to work with. The final product looks stunning, and Bentley claims it's identical to the original in every way. Parts like the chromed headlight bezels, the droplet-shaped fenders, and the wooden dashboard were exclusive to the Corniche, so they had to be manufactured from scratch using the correct materials, and the right production techniques. The British firm could have saved itself the trouble of re-creating this unique part of its history if another car hadn't pulled out in front of it 80 years ago. Bentley made the original Corniche during tumultuous times as it explored the possibility of releasing a more powerful variant of the Mark V scheduled to make its debut in October 1939. It asked French designer Georges Paulin to draw a futuristic, streamlined body, and it commissioned Paris-based coachbuilder Carrosserie Vanvooren to build it using thinner-than-normal steel to save weight. The Corniche lapped the Brooklands track for the first time in May 1939 and quickly reached over 100 mph, an impressive speed at the time. Testing continued in rural France, where the big Bentley blended in as well as a flying saucer. In August 1939, one of the company's test drivers swerved to avoid another car, rolled, and wrapped the aerodynamic front end around an unsuspecting tree. Bentley separated the body and the chassis. It immediately shipped the chassis to its headquarters in Crewe, England, and curiously asked a local shop to repair the body instead of sending it back to Vanvooren in Paris.

Volkswagen breaks 40-year-old sales record in 2012

The last time Volkswagen moved this many vehicles in America in one year, Richard Nixon was still a President in good standing, Let It Be was a radio hit and each car wearing the VW badge boasted an air-cooled engine. That's right, with a grand total of 580,286 vehicles sold in the US last year, the VW Group has broken its own four-decades-old sales record by 2,899 vehicles.
Of that 580k total sold, 438k were Volkswagens and 139k were Audi products - increases of 35.1 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, in year-over-year sales. The ultra-premium members of the VW group also fared well; Bentley delivered 2,315 vehicles for a 23.3-precent increase, and Lamborghini delivered 520 units for a 52.9-percent jump. Bugatti, we're told is "right on track."
Jetta (pictured) sales paced the marque with 170k models sold, and Passat also finished very strong with sales of 117k total. Tiguan also racked up its best year on file, with 31,731 models shifted.