2006 Bentley Continental Gt 2dr Cpe on 2040-cars

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Bentley installing 10,000 solar panels in HQ parking lot

Bentley has started construction on what it says will be the U.K.'s largest solar-powered car port at its factory headquarters in Crewe, England. When completed, the array will have a capacity of 2.7 megawatts, enough to cover 24 percent of the company's energy requirements on the site. Crews will install 10,000 solar panels in the employee car port in a project that's expected to take six months. They'll add to the 20,815-panel, 5mW rooftop solar power system that Bentley finished installing at the factory in 2013. The combined output will be enough to power the equivalent of 1,750 homes. The car port will cover 1,378 parking spaces and be installed and operated by British firm FlexiSolar, which is also designing and manufacturing the system. The new green energy system adds to plaudits in recent years for reducing its water usage at the Crewe HQ. Bentley has also been awarded the Carbon Trust Standards for carbon, water and waste. While Bentleys aren't exactly known for their fuel efficiency — the Mulsanne sedan gets a woeful 11 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway — its vehicles no longer appear on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's "meanest" list of gas-guzzlers, as they once did. It also just showed its forthcoming and long-promised Bentayga plug-in hybrid in Geneva, promising 31 miles of all-electric range and a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 paired with an electric motor. The brand is also promising a full-electric model in the near future. "We continue to focus on new initiatives that reinforce our commitment to the environment, whether this is introducing alternative powertrain technologies in future models, or our award-winning work to reduce the environmental impact of our factory," Peter Bosch, Bentley's member of the Board for Manufacturing, said in a statement. Related Video:

2017 Bentley Mulsanne Speed First Drive

You can hear it loud and clear – that is, the sound of nearly nothing at all – when hurtling along at 160 mph. The quiet part isn't surprising; after all, this is a $300,000 ubersedan. But the speed? The sensation is disarming and utterly intriguing. It's safe to say that three tons of mass have no right to move through space so effortlessly. Welcome to the latest ultraluxe, four-wheeled hyperloop from Bentley. In case you missed the engraved announcement, the Mulsanne is the higher-priced, handcrafted flagship that plays big brother to the Flying Spur, the (relatively) more ubiquitous sedan that shares a good amount of parts with the Continental GT. Imagine the snooty older sibling that studied at Wharton, wears tailored suits to breakfast and an ascot to supper, and dangles a pipe from the corner of his mouth, and you've got a good idea of what distinguishes the more finely finished Mulsanne from its stablemate. Not only does a base Mulsanne command a $100,000 premium over the Spur, it's a more laboriously assembled specimen that takes a staggering 400 man-hours to build. Unlike the Spur, whose top model boasts a W12, the Mulsanne is powered by a 6.75-liter pushrod (!) V8. Less is usually less in this stratospheric segment, but this humungous eight-cylinder has a history stretching back six decades – precisely the sort of tweedy legacy stuff that appeals to old money. This is the last Bentley to use this engine, and it will be replaced by a new twelve-cylinder. For 2017, the big, bad platform reaps its first significant series of updates since its 2009 debut (the Speed variant was introduced 18 months ago). Upgrades to the Mulsanne were focused on refinement, among them a smoother ride, revised styling, an updated interior, and yes, a quieter cabin. Despite its undercurrents of old-world opulence, the Mulsanne's face has been modernized with flusher features, LED headlamps, and a wider grille. Though it retains the delightfully anachronistic Flying B hood ornament, the winged capital letter can now be ordered in a refreshingly modern smoked black hue. Mean. Revisions at the rear include a redesigned bumper and subtle Bs incorporated into the tail lamps. Inside, new seats with revised foam offer greater comfiness. Perhaps more notably, the infotainment system gains a much-needed upgrade with an 8-inch touchscreen, a 4G LTE WiFi hotspot, and Apple Carplay functionality (for front passengers).

2014 Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible

There are few things in this world I enjoy more than an enthusiastic drive down tree-lined backroads on a warm summer evening. If you're familiar with the geographic location of Detroit, you won't be shocked to learn that we don't have the sort of very-involving roads found all throughout California and other gorgeous parts of the country, but we still have some stretches of pavement that can be pretty darn fun when driven in the right car. The vast majority of our scenic roads, however, are of a more relaxed nature. And that's why, despite my tendency to prefer high-strung hot hatches above all, I will never say no to a big, fast convertible during the warm season.
As far as said big, fast convertibles go, perhaps none is more exquisite than the 2014 Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible, pictured here in the striking shade of St. James Red. Not long after returning from my trip across the pond to drive Bentley's V8-powered Flying Spur sedan, I was given the chance to sample another one of its eight-cylinder wares, this one carrying less heft, offering a smidge more power, and, oh yeah, a roof that neatly stows behind the rear seats.
As luck would have it, the weather for my Conti weekend was the absolute definition of perfection. And so I took to those sweeping, tree-lined roads way outside of Detroit to see how this Bentley's "S" badge improves upon the lovely GT V8 Convertible I drove last year. Hard work, but somebody's gotta do it.