One Owner, Only 17k Miles, 19 Whls, Heated Steering Whl, Veneer Door & Rear Qtr on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Bentley creates buzz with 'flying bees,' enters honey business

Bentley’s Crewe factory has bees now. Yes, itÂ’s the same Bentley as the one youÂ’re thinking of. TheyÂ’re called “flying bees.” WeÂ’ll hand it to Bentley, thatÂ’s a solid name. This means the British luxury car maker is officially getting into the honey business. We joke, but there will definitely be Bentley-branded honey as a by-product of this nature venture. The bee announcement came in a press release. In total, Bentley is adding 120,000 honey bees to live in two massive (Bentley-branded) hives. Bentley says that amount of bees is capable of producing about 33 pounds of honey per year, which Bentley claims is about 50 jars worth. How much will a jar of Bentley honey cost? Considering how exclusive itÂ’ll be, we imagine itÂ’s more than you can afford, pal. Onwards to the real reason Bentley is doing this. ItÂ’s part of a biodiversity initiative Bentley continues to work toward. “Bee populations are in decline in the U.K., so installing two hives to help boost biodiversity is a great way to make use of the grassland at the edge of the site. Our ‘flying beesÂ’ are honey bees that have been bred by local beekeepers with over 50 yearsÂ’ experience. With their help, weÂ’re checking on them every week and itÂ’s great to see that theyÂ’re already starting to produce the first Bentley honey,” Bentley said in a statement. The hives were installed far from the actual manufacturing facility on site, so you likely wonÂ’t be met with any unexpected guests upon taking delivery of your Bentley. You might remember that Ford hopped on the bee game first a few years back. Even if itÂ’s a small effort, itÂ’s always cool to see anyone trying to save the bees. We donÂ’t want to be caught in a Black Mirror-like situation with mechanical, autonomous bees doing the work for us after all.

Bentley putting Mulsanne-based Azure, Brooklands back on the table [w/poll]

Big plans are afoot at Bentley. The quintessentially British automaker has just about signed off on the final version of its new SUV, and will surely roll out more versions of the Continental in the coming years, but that's not all. It's said to be considering a new sports coupe smaller than the Continental GT, but the latest reports coming in from the UK suggest that it also has plans for the Mulsanne's platform.
Currently, the Mulsanne is only available in one configuration, but Bentley is widely expected to be bringing a new, more powerful Mulsanne Speed to the Paris Motor Show this fall with around 550 horsepower. That's not all, however, as word comes in that the Flying B marque is planning to re-introduce both the Azure and the Brooklands as competitors to the Rolls-Royce Phantom DHC and Phantom Coupe, respectively.
For those who don't remember, the Azure and Brooklands were a pair of two-doors based on the Arnage that preceded the Mulsanne at the top of Bentley's range. The Azure was a convertible and the Brooklands a fixed-roof coupe, both of them larger than the Continental GT and powered by the company's evergreen (yet decidedly un-green) 6.75-liter V8.

The Bentley Flying Spur V8 shows even a basic Bentley is a nice place to be

While it is hard to call any Bentley entry-level, the Flying Spur V8 that's debuting at the Geneva Motor Show is technically the lowest rung among Bentley's four-doors. However, if our experience with the Continental GT V8 is anything to go by - the Spur and the Conti still share a platform, despite the former dropping "Continental" from its branding - the loss of a few cylinders won't harm the overall experience.
The latest model uses the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with cylinder deactivation that produces 500 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque. It is capable of accelerating to 60 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds to a top speed of 183 mph. Power is sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, and it rides on an air suspension.
Buyers wanting a little more luxury (and who doesn't?) can opt for the Mulliner Driving Specification that adds diamond-quilted leather, a leather headliner, power rear seats and 20-inch wheels. The Flying Spur V8 will join the Flying B's lineup this spring.