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Xcar luxuriates in the Bentley Mulsanne Speed

The difference between a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce, they say, is that you drive a Bentley, but you're driven in a Rolls-Royce. In this latest video, however, Xcar drives a different kind of Bentley. One that aims to challenge that notion. We're speaking of the Mulsanne, but not of just any ordinary Mulsanne – as if a $300k limousine could ever be considered "ordinary." No, this is the Mulsanne Speed, the amped-up version of Bentley's rival to the Rolls-Royce Phantom. In creating the Mulsanne Speed, the crew at Crewe took a vehicle in which you'd want to be driven, then tunes it for the driver. The ultimate Bentley, then? We certainly found enough to love (and then some) when we drove it this past November, but to find out what the cinematographical artisans at Xcar have to say about it, you'll want to watch the video above.

Volkswagen names new chief designer for Bentley

The Volkswagen Group has named one of its own to head up the design department at its Bentley division. The role now falls to Stefan Sielaff, who has been with the group (off and on) since 1990. Sielaff is principally an interior designer, but has been tasked with setting up numerous overall design offices for Volkswagen and Audi over the years. In his new capacity he'll be reporting to the group's chief engineer Rolf Frech (and oddly not to Bentley chief Wolfgang Durheimer), but at the same time, Sielaff will retain his role as head of interior design for the entire VW group, reporting to its chief designer Walter de Silva. Sielaff replaces Luc Donckerwolke, who has headed up Bentley design since 2012 and is leaving the company. We'll be on the lookout to see where Donckerwolke lands next. Crewe/Wolfsburg, 04 June 2015 Stefan Sielaff to head design at the Bentley brand • Sielaff also responsible for Group Interior Design Strategy Stefan Sielaff (53), currently Head of the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam, will assume responsibility for design at the Bentley brand effective July 1, 2015 in addition to his present post as Head of Group Interior Design Strategy. As Director of Design at Bentley, Sielaff succeeds Luc Donckerwolke (49), who held this function since 2012. Stefan Sielaff joined the Volkswagen Group in 1990, beginning his career in the interior design department at Audi. From 1995 the design graduate was entrusted with setting up the Group's Design Center Europe in Spain. In 1997 he was placed in charge of the Design Studio in Munich and was appointed Head of Audi Interior Design in the same year. In 2003 Sielaff moved to DaimlerChrysler as Design Director of the Interior Competence Center, returning to the Volkswagen Group in 2006 to become Head of Audi Design before being appointed Head of the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam und Head of Group Interior Design Strategy in 2012. In his new function as Director of Design at Bentley, Sielaff reports to Rolf Frech, Board Member for Engineering. In his function as Head of Group Interior Design Strategy he continues to report to Walter de Silva, Head of Group Design. Luc Donckerwolke has decided to leave the company. De Silva said: "Luc Donckerwolke has played a key role in the design of various Group brands. We would like to thank him for his work." Related Video: News Source: Volkswagen Design/Style Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Bentley Volkswagen

What it's like to drive a brand-new, 92-year-old Bentley Blower

“Vivid” doesnÂ’t even begin to describe this; neither does “damn cold.” The throttle is pinned to the firewall, the needles behind the glass in the dashboardÂ’s 10 dials are twitching and dancing, the supercharger boost gauge is nailed to the lock stop, and the dark-green scuttle is shuddering with the ripples of the concrete banking. Think World War II airplane over the storm-tossed North Atlantic – I even slid a picture of my wife into my breast pocket this morning Â… IÂ’d be grinning, but the freezing blast over the leather-strapped bonnet gives me a rictus grimace. ThereÂ’s a lot to do in this 92-year-old supercharged Bentley as its fish-tail exhaust blares seal-honk indifference at a shoal of insignificant super cars fluttering in its wake; at 100 mph this is motoring at its zenith. They donÂ’t make ‘em like they used to and I used to think that was indubitably true of this car: Sir Henry ‘TimÂ’ BirkinÂ’s Blower Bentley. This was his favorite out of the five Blowers built at the Welwyn factory between 1929 and 1930. It was bankrolled by Dorothy Paget, the Whitney family heiress, and serial race-horse owner and gambler. How famous? This car, known as Number Two, was entered in the 1930 Le Mans 24-hour race. Birkin drove it like a bat out of hell in the initial stages of the race with the tacit approval of the Bentley factory, which had entered a team of "6 1/2 litre" naturally aspirated cars and was looking for its fourth-consecutive Le Mans victory and the marqueÂ’s fifth overall. They used Birkin and this lovely old machine as “the hare,” testing the potential and reliability of the astonishing Mercedes-Benz works supercharged, 7-liter SSK driven by Rudolf ‘RudiÂ’ Caracciola (ironically Paget also owned one of these rare and exotic beasts). The fast and courageous Birkin was sent out to poke a stick at the German ace – it was like poking a waspsÂ’ nest. Twice Birkin overtook Caracciola at over 120 mph at the end of the Mulsanne/Hunaudieres straight, with one wheel on the grass and the rear tire down to its canvas. By all accounts Caracciola was so startled simply because he couldnÂ’t believe that anyone would be actually overtaking him. Legend has it that in pursuing Birkin, Rudi Caracciola damaged the engine by over using the supercharger, which could be clutched in and out, but the truth is more nuanced. Birkin drove his car so hard he twice lost a tireÂ’s tread and had to pit early.