Bentley News
Riding Shotgun with Juha Kankunnen. Yes, THAT Juha Kankunnen.
Feb 14th
The name Juha Kankkunen should immediately resonate with all you rally fans out there. Just in case you’re not a rally fan and you’ve never heard of Kankkunen before, here’s the skinny. He’s a former rally driver for Toyota, Peugeot and Lancia and has won 23 individual rallies and has earned four world driver’s champion titles. Needless to say, the man can drive.
What you may not know is that Kankkunen is a big fan of Bentley. Such a big fan, in fact, that he set the world speed record on ice in 2007 with his own Bentley Continental GT. You read that right – he drove his own car at nearly 200 miles per hour on ice. In 2011, Kankkunen beat his own record in a factory-provided Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible averaging 205.48 miles per hour (one run in each direction on the track). Both records were set in largely stock vehicles, save minor aerodynamic improvements, the addition of roll cages, studded Nokian tires designed specifically for the task, and that’s it.
To see what it’s like to drive a 5000-plus pound car at insane speeds on a frozen fjord, Bentley invited some of its best-performing dealers to attend a driving event in Finland. Our General Manager was the fortunate one from Bentley Minneapolis to make the trip. Bentley provided lots of seat time for Matt and the other folks who were there, but the best part may have been the ride along with Juha himself.
Luckily for us, Matt brought a camera with him to capture the experience. Check out the video to see what it’s like to ride with a world-champion rally driver in a 621 horsepower Bentley on nothing but ice and snow.
Note: the car in the video is the very same Continental Supersports Convertible that set the 205-MPH record in 2011 (shown in the photo above).
Rendered Speculation: Bentley looking to expand with entry coupe, crossover? (from Autoblog)
Mar 4th
It’s no secret that Bentley’s sales have lagged a bit in the past couple of years. To combat that decline, the folks in Crewe have put a great deal of focus into strengthening their line-up with cars like the Continental Supersports, the Mulsanne, and the soon-to-be-released 2012 Continental GT. It looks like they aren’t going to stop there, however. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but we may see something along the lines of a Mercedes CLS competitor, as well as a crossover to fight the likes of the Porsche Cayenne and Maserati’s upcoming SUV.
Here’s what Autoblog had to say:
Rumors continue to swirl that incoming Bentley boss Wolfgang Dürheimer, who previously served as head of research and development at Porsche, is looking long and hard at how to expand the luxury marque’s product line. Considering Dürheimer’s experience making magic happen at Porsche, it seems likely that Bentley would tap into the platform used for the Panamera sedan, and that’s exactly what the blokes from Auto Express are suggesting.
The first new model may be an ultra-luxe machine that would fit into the burgeoning four-door-coupe segment. If so, expect a price tag in the mid-$250,000 range and engine choices ranging from the tried-and-true W12 to a new turbocharged 4.0-liter V8.
Those powertrains may also find their way into the engine bay of a Bentley crossover, says Auto Express. As much as some may protest, a Porsche Cayenne-based Bentley with a price near the $200K mark would seem a very real possibility… as would an optional diesel engine, which would be new territory for the brand.
Finally, the long-rumored entry-level (can anything with a $150,000 price tag be called entry-level?) Bentley coupe that would slot below the Continental GT is still a talking point. Branching out into any or all of these segments are seen as a way to get back to the 10,000-unit peak sales year of 2007, as compared to just 4,616 units in 2009.
Head on over to Auto Express to see some rendered speculation on what these vehicles could potentially look like.
via [Autoblog]
source [Auto Express]
Autoblog: Bentley Mulsanne Review
Jan 20th
2011 Bentley Mulsanne
The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne is, on paper at least, everything a big Bentley should be. Beautiful? Powerful? Luxurious? Yes, yes, and yes. ”Great,” you may be thinking, “but does it drive like a big Bentley should?” Well, thanks to Old Man Winter, none of us here at Twin Cities Luxury Auto have actually driven the car on U.S. soil. Thankfully, the good folks over at Autoblog just published their own review of Bentley’s new ultra-luxury sedan.
What did they think? In their words, “Let us reassure you that the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne is worth every single copper-plated zinc cent of one-third of a million dollars.”
Head on over to Autoblog.com or click here to read the entire article. Oh, and follow that starting procedure carefully. Like the best dessert at your favorite restaurant, this car is best when savored. Sensible bites, everyone.
source [Autoblog]
2011 Bentley Continental GT is TopGear’s Grand Tourer of the Year!
Jan 6th
2012 Bentley Continental GT
Can’t say we disagree. Top Gear had this to say:
“”Aargh! A Camel!” is not what you want to hear while travelling at speed around a corner in a £130k GT. If you were to provide some sort of macabre menu of final phrases to hear before you die, it would also come very close to the bottom of my personal list, somewhere between “I think that’s poisonous” and “What are you doing with that hammer?” Nevertheless, here we are, my German friend Juergen and I, both trying desperately to push the brake pedal of the new Bentley Continental GT into and past the shag pile and regretting the car’s not-inconsiderable 2,350kg mass. To make matters even more bizarre, Juergen is a passenger. Juergen doesn’t even have a brake pedal. ”
via [TopGear]
source [Top Gear Magazine, Awards Edition]
Bentley Superleggera Flying Star at Geneva 2010
Mar 4th
Bentley Continental Flying Star
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera has unveiled a shooting brake version of the Continental GT, custom built for an avid collector, and have announced they will build up to 20 examples. Carrozzeria has been better known for their work with Maseratis over the past few years, but according to AutoExpress this car has proven to be one of the favorites at Geneva this year.
This car is based on the Bentley Continental GTC Speed, with extensive modifications from the A-pillars back, including widening the rear bodywork, re-skinning the doors, and re-working the rear compartment to include two folding rear seats. With the rear seats folded flat, the car can hold about 42 cubic feet of cargo. Touring Superleggera claims that four sets of golf clubs can be accommodated with the rear seats up.
Touring Superleggera and Bentley Motors have developed a special mutual warranty program, which safeguards warranty clauses for both the basic car, and the transformation by Touring. The car will be serviced at Bentley dealers.
source: [Carrozzeria Touring][AutoExpress]
Bentley Announces Supersports Convertible
Feb 22nd
Bentley Supersports Convertible
Bentley has announced they will produce the Continental Supersports in a convertible body, and adoption of their flexfuel technology across the Continental range of cars.
From the release:
“The Continental Supersports Convertible further strengthens Bentley’s supercar range, following the introduction of the Continental Supersports Coupé in 2009. The new Supersports Convertible, with the same 630PS (621bhp/463kW) twin-turbocharged W12 engine, is the fastest, most potent drop‑top Bentley has ever built, offering the ultimate Bentley driving experience in the world’s most dramatic convertible.”
“All models in the Continental model range, including the new Supersports Convertible are now capable of running on both petrol (gasoline) and E85 bioethanol or any combination of the two, reaffirming Bentley’s ongoing commitment to make all its cars bio-fuel compatible by 2012. Pioneered by the Supersports Coupe, this FlexFuel technology offers a reduction of up to 70 per cent in CO2 emissions on a ‘well-to-wheel’ basis, a measure of a fuel’s net contribution to the atmosphere, not just tailpipe emissions.”
source: Bentley Press Release
