Beluga Linen Burr Walnut Veneers Call Roland Kantor 847-343-2721 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Bentley to show Mulsanne Le Mans Limited Edition at Pebble Beach

We already knew Bentley was planning a new Le Mans Limited Edition for its flagship Mulsanne, but we finally have our first info and images for this new model that celebrates the 90th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fortunately, since these two studio images surely don't do the Mulsanne proper justice, it will be unveiled this week at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and we'll be there to check it out.
As a refresher, the Bentley Mulsanne Le Mans Limited Edition stands out with diamond-quilted leather on the seats and door panels, sport-tuned steering and suspension, special quad exhaust finishers and two-piece alloy wheels with a dark accent and triple-spoke design. Along with this commemorative Mulsanne, Bentley will also have the Continental Le Mans Limited Edition and the Continental GT3 racecar on hand for the festivities in Monterey.
Scroll down for more info on the Mulsanne, as well as some information on a few of the ultra-rare Bentleys that will be auctioned off this weekend.

The UK votes for Brexit and it will impact automakers

It's the first morning after the United Kingdom voted for what's become known as Brexit – that is, to leave the European Union and its tariff-free internal market. Now begins a two-year process in which the UK will have to negotiate with the rest of the EU trading bloc, which is its largest export market, about many things. One of them may be tariffs, and that could severely impact any automaker that builds cars in the UK. This doesn't just mean companies that you think of as British, like Mini and Jaguar. Both of those automakers are owned by foreign companies, incidentally. Mini and Rolls-Royce are owned by BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors of India, and Bentley by the VW Group. Many other automakers produce cars in the UK for sale within that country and also export to the EU. Tariffs could damage the profits of each of these companies, and perhaps cause them to shift manufacturing out of the UK, significantly damaging the country's resurgent manufacturing industry. Autonews Europe dug up some interesting numbers on that last point. Nissan, the country's second-largest auto producer, builds 475k or so cars in the UK but the vast majority are sent abroad. Toyota built 190k cars last year in Britain, of which 75 percent went to the EU and just 10 percent were sold in the country. Investors are skittish at the news. The value of the pound sterling has plummeted by 8 percent as of this writing, at one point yesterday reaching levels not seen since 1985. Shares at Tata Motors, which counts Jaguar and Land Rover as bright jewels in its portfolio, were off by nearly 12 percent according to Autonews Europe. So what happens next? No one's terribly sure, although the feeling seems to be that the jilted EU will impost tariffs of up to 10 percent on UK exports. It's likely that the UK will reciprocate, and thus it'll be more expensive to buy a European-made car in the UK. Both situations will likely negatively affect the country, as both production of new cars and sales to UK consumers will both fall. Evercore Automotive Research figures the combined damage will be roughly $9b in lost profits to automakers, and an as-of-yet unquantified impact on auto production jobs. Perhaps the EU's leaders in Brussels will be in a better mood in two years, and the process won't devolve into a trade war. In the immediate wake of the Brexit vote, though, the mood is grim, the EU leadership is angry, and investors are spooked.

You can ice the Bentley Bentayga for $13 grand

Want to drive the new Bentley Bentayga? You'll be able to place your order soon enough, assuming you've got the scratch. And then you'll be able to drive it pretty much anywhere. But if you want to drive it on ice, and don't want to wait for delivery, then check out Bentley's Power on Ice program. The British automaker has been hosting ice-driving events for years now. But this winter, it's adding the new Bentayga to the mix. Participants will be invited to drive it on 10 ice tracks created atop frozen lakes in Finland. The tracks were designed by four-time World Rally Champion and ice-speed record-setter Juha Kankkunen, who also serves as lead instructor for the program. Of course, while the Bentayga may have the most advanced traction system on board, it's not the only all-wheel-drive Bentley lined up for the program. As you can see from the video above - in which the Bentayga appears only in parts starting around the halfway mark - there'll be Continentals, Flying Spurs, and even the GT3-R on hand as well. The event is based at the Chalet Ruka Peak in northern Finland. It also includes fine Scandinavian cuisine, saunas, and a nighttime dog-sled expedition to an old reindeer farm. Of course none of that comes cheap, with prices depending on the level of accommodation specified. But the experience starts off at ˆ11,900 per person – or about $13k at current exchange rates. BENTAYGA MAKES POWER ON ICE DEBUT Oct 29, 2015 - Bentley's extraordinary ice-driving event returns for 2016 - Bentayga to demonstrate prowess on frozen lakes of Finland - Former World Rally Champion, Juha Kankkunen, leads tuition team (Crewe, 29 October 2015) The most powerful, most luxurious, most exclusive and fastest SUV in the world, the Bentley Bentayga, makes its ice-driving debut in 2016 at Bentley's flagship customer event, Power on Ice. Power on Ice is an unforgettable four-day experience that provides the opportunity to push a full range of Bentley cars to their limits. Running throughout February next year, guests will be among the first to explore the Bentayga's extraordinary capabilities in one of the most beautiful and challenging environments in the world. Two days of exhilarating ice driving training are provided by the vastly experienced Bentley Ice Driving Team. Leading the tuition will be four-time World Rally Champion and two-time ice-speed record holder, Juha Kankkunen – who personally designs each of the ten ice tracks.