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Bentley producing Grand Convertible in grandiose exclusivity

The Googology wiki that celebrates numbers has entries for 42, 151, SpongeBob's Number, and Three Hundred Billion Gazillion. The wiki has no entry for the number 19, which means it doesn't commemorate Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen," Paul Hardcastle's song "19," or the official production run of the Bentley Grand Convertible. That's right, the abundant and abundantly luxurious Mulsanne-based Grand Convertible will arrive on public roads in 2019. However, Bentley plans just 19 examples of the droptops, and none of them will come to America; only Europe, the Middle East, and Russia have deemed the Grand Convertible roadworthy. Retail price for the Grand Convertible, as if you could buy one in the store, is said to start at $3.5 million - roughly ten times more than the recently-facelifted Mulsanne Speed donor vehicle. ( YouTube gearhead Shmee150 captured the new production look in video taken this month at the Bentley showroom in Dubai.) Actual prices will surely run much higher since Bentley's Mulliner division will oversee the builds. That means custom two-tone colors, shape-shifting diamond quilting inside, Beluga leather, color-matched contrast stitching, and a Burr Walnut tonneau that's the largest veneer ever used on a Bentley. All of that comes before appending every fanciful option an owner consents to fund. Why the wee production run, when Bentley could certainly sell more than 19 specimens? Walter Owen Bentley founded his car company in August, 1919. Even though Walter's first Bentley 3-Litre didn't arrive until 1921, the 19 Grand Convertibles honor the centenary of the company's official founding. Bentley foreshadowed the minuscule production last year, though in a different guise: in March 2016, when Bentley CEO Wolfgang Duerheimer suggested the return of the Azure convertible, the boss said a potential Azure "would be built in [a batch of] 20 units and sold to absolute connoisseurs at a very high price." Give or take a digit, sounds like promises kept. Related Video:

Bentley hits two milestones nearly a century apart at the same time

Bentley's Mulliner division completed two customer cars that couldn't be more different. It finished the first Bacalar, a futuristic-looking roadster related to the Continental GT, and it wrapped up the first Blower continuation car. Each limited to 12 examples, the Bacalar and the Blower are customer-configured special projects that are built largely by hand, so signing off the first examples is a major accomplishment. Bentley isn't able to reveal the identity of the person who purchased either. The first Blower is painted in Birkin Green as a tribute to one of original Blowers, which was built and raced by Sir Tim Birkin. Its wire wheels are also green, and its soft top is black. Mechanically, the first continuation Blower is identical to the 1929 car, meaning it's powered by a supercharged, 4.4-liter four-cylinder engine, but Bentley made a handful of small changes in the name of safety and convenience. First, it fitted electric fuel pumps and added a foam baffle to the fuel tank. Second, it added a dynator that it describes as "a reworked alternative to the original dynamo." Everything inside the four-cylinder is a re-creation of the original engine, down to the aluminum pistons. It develops 240 horsepower, which was amazing in 1929. Back in the 21st century, the first Bacalar is finished in Atom Silver with Moss Green and gloss black exterior accents. It rides on 22-inch wheels. Beluga leather upholstery dominates the cabin, and the owner commissioned a sprinkling of black and green to create a visual link between the exterior and the interior. Bentley delivered the car with a set of leather-upholstered luggage, and it placed the key in a box that's upholstered with the same leather. Power for the Bacalar comes from a twin-turbocharged, 6.0-liter W12 that delivers 650 horsepower and 667 pound-feet of torque. It spins the four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission connected to shift paddles. While this is an existing powertrain, Bentley nonetheless put the Bacalar through extensive durability tests in 2020. Both models are on their way to their new home. Keep your eyes peeled at the next cars and coffee event; who knows, one might make a surprise appearance. Bentley previously said the Bacalar would be sold in America under the Show and Display rule, so some of the production run will likely end up here. In the meantime, the men and women in Bentley's Mulliner workshop have already started building the next three examples in each series.

Bentley reveals One-of-One Continental GT Speed at The Quail

Monterey Car Week is the place and time to debut super-rare, exclusive vehicles, and the Bentley Continental One-of-One GT Speed is precisely that. This single Continental GT Speed was made to celebrate 20 years of the Continental GT, which started production in 2003. The very first one off the line (pictured alongside the new car here) was painted in Cypress Green paint, had Saddle leather upholstery and Burr Walnut wood trim. So of course, this 2023 GT Speed is finished in Cypress Green paint, features Saddle leather upholstery and Burr Walnut trim. However, Bentley enhanced the new one to make it appear even more special. The Saddle leather is broken up with “Special Green” accent hides, and contrast stitching is done in the same green throughout. Plus, there is both glossy and open-pore wood trim instead of the single type to jazz things up further. To call this out as an especially unique Continental GT Speed, it also gets sill plates that read “20 years of the Continental GT by Bentley Mulliner.” YouÂ’ll also see outlines of the 2003 and 2023 Continental GTs on the center console, dash trim and outer door sill. And lastly, “One of One by Bentley Mulliner” is etched into the cupholder cover alongside a wheel. As youÂ’d expect, this particular car has pretty much every package and option one can spec for the Continental GT Speed. And because itÂ’s the Speed, it has the W12 engine and all the other performance goodies that go along with it. Bentley says the car was handed over to its owner at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Related video: