2007 Bentley Arnage R Sedan 4-door 6.8l on 2040-cars

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Luc Donckerwolke named Director of Design for Bentley

Bentley has announced Luc Donckerwolke will take over as the automaker's Director of Design. Donckerwolke started with Volkswagen in 1992 as a designer for Audi. Since then, he's worked with Škoda, Lamborghini and Seat in various design roles. His resume includes helping sketch out both the Lamborghini Murciélago and Gallardo among other notable models.
The designer steps into the vacancy left by Dirk van Braeckel, who has moved on to work with Volkswagen Group design under Walter de Silva.
As you may recall, van Braeckel is responsible for a number of Bentley's most successful models, including both the Continental GT and the Mulsanne. He joined the ultra luxury automaker in 1999. You can take a look at the official announcement below for more information.

A diesel V8 is the perfect engine for the Bentley Bentayga

Endless, effortless torque is something that's so often taken for granted. Sure, horsepower figures make all the headlines, but the sensation that comes with immediate and readily available thrust is something that can't be overstated, especially in luxury vehicles. High-strung, high-horsepower engines are great in certain applications, but Bentley owners don't want to work for the power, they just expect it to be there. That's why the 4.0-liter diesel V8 from the Audi SQ7 and its 664 lb-ft of torque make perfect sense for the new Bentley Bentayga. We've known for a while that Bentley is planning a diesel variant of the Bentayga, but it wasn't clear from where the engine was being sourced. According to Telegraaf in Holland, Bentley is pulling the diesel from the heart of its sibling Audi, and it won't be an effort to improve fuel efficiency. The all engine features two exhaust-driven turbos plus a 48-volt compressor that effectively cuts lag to nothing and propels the SQ7 TDI to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds. Expect a similar number in the Bentley. This engine is exactly what the Bentayga needs. There is nothing wrong with the W12 in the standard model, and you could argue a 12-cylinder engine is a better fit in a Bentley. But that's just because W12 sounds better than diesel. While the gasoline engine may more powerful and therefore make the vehicle quicker (leading to that " fastest SUV" claim Bentley loves), no owner will actually be racing their Bentayga to its theoretical top speed of 187 mph. They will be racing away from stoplights, though, in an effort to leave more plebeian cars and SUVs behind. All that low-end grunt is what those owners really want. It's unclear if Bentley will bring the Bentayga diesel to the United States, and given the current state of diesel here, the proposition seems unlikely. Expect an official debut at the Paris motor show in October. Related Video: News Source: Telegraaf Rumormill Bentley SUV Diesel Vehicles Luxury bentley bentayga audi sq7

Recharge Wrap-up: Panasonic, Tesla on Gigafactory deal?

Bentley has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reductions of carbon, water use and waste production in manufacturing. The Carbon Trust is an organization that helps groups such as businesses and governments reduce carbon emissions, use of energy and resources, and waste output. From 2011 to 2013, Bentley reduced CO2 emissions by 16 percent per car manufactured, curtailed water use by 35.7 percent, and saw significant waste reductions. Darran Messem of Carbon trust says, "Bentley is clearly passionate about continuing to improve its environmental performance, which is reflected by the fact the company has consistently invested in new technology." Read more in the press release below. Chevrolet is giving 12 Volts to MBAs Across America. The organization will use the range-extended electric cars in its efforts to help MBA students learn from and work with small business owners. As part of the MBAs Across America program's first year, four students drove 8,000 miles to provide entrepreneurs with free business counseling. The program has expanded, and this year, teams of MBAs will use the Volts to travel to 25 cities to offer their services. Learn more about the partnership between Chevrolet and MBAs Across America in the press release below. A professor from the University of Michigan has found fuel cycle analysis to be too flawed to be relied upon for measuring CO2 impacts of transportation fuels. Professor John DeCicco of the university's Energy Institute feels that the flaws in calculating the carbon footprint of liquid fuel production and combustion make such lifecycle analysis impractical. He suggests, instead, to focus to carbon capture. Since capturing CO2 directly from a vehicle is probably never going to happen, DiCicco believes the solution is to capture carbon from the atmosphere in sectors outside of transportation. Says DiCicco, "Research should be ramped up on options for increasing the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and on programs to manage and utilize carbon fixed in the biosphere, which offers the best CO2 removal mechanism now at hand. Such strategies can complement measures that control the demand for liquid fuels by reducing travel activity, improving vehicle efficiency and shifting to non-carbon fuels." Read more at Green Car Congress. Global transportation energy consumption is expected to increase by 25.4 percent by 2035, according to a report by Navigant Research.