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The Bentley Bacalar went from a sketch to a 650-hp roadster in nine months

Bentley's Mulliner division cemented its status as a modern-day coachbuilder when it unveiled the Bacalar, a two-seater roadster loosely based on the Continental GT. Nearly every part that drivers will see and feel is specific to the model, including the body panels and most of the interior, yet the company created it in just nine months. Mulliner has worked on many one- and few-off models in the past, it notably turned the stately Mulsanne into a six-seater limousine in 2016, but the Bacalar (pictured) takes customization to an entirely new level. Repeated requests from its most loyal clients convinced Bentley to expand the scope of its coachbuilding division. "We felt a strong demand from our high-end customers. They asked again and again, 'can you do something very special?' They weren't talking about one of a hundred, but one of 10 or even one of one," explained Stefan Sielaff, the company's lead designer, in an interview with Autoblog. He added the Bacalar project started shortly after Bentley introduced the EXP 100 GT in 2019 to celebrate its 100th birthday. This explains some of the visual parallels between the two cars. While the concept was electric, the sold-out production model receives a mighty, 650-horsepower W12 engine because Bentley couldn't create a suitable battery-powered drivetrain in the short amount of time it had to make the roadster a reality. Sielaff stressed the effort his team put into making the Bacalar in nine months shouldn't be underestimated. "We had to make sure the car was road-legal, homologated, and certified. The car you would have seen at the Geneva auto show is literally what the customer will get. It's not a crazy show car. The only difference will be the colors and the materials, because we will work with each customer to make an individual statement," he said. In the United States, the Bacalar will be imported under the Show and Display law, like the McLaren Speedtail. The expedited design process meant the 12 future Bacalar owners signed the dotted line after seeing only digital renderings of the car. They weren't shown the final product until much later. Their enthusiasm is encouraging; it tells Sielaff there's a tremendous appetite for one- and few-off Bentley models among wealthy clients.

Bentley to debut Flying Spur S at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Bentley Flying Spur isn’t short on power or performance, but itÂ’s not the most focused driverÂ’s car at its price point. Bentley hopes to change that with a new S variant of the car, which will follow the lead set by the Continental GT S as a sharper, more exciting version of the posh four-door. Bentley offers two powertrains in the Flying Spur S, including a surprisingly capable hybrid. The V8-powered car gets a 4.0-liter mill that makes around 542 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. With the engine on board, the 5,000-plus-pound Flying Spur S takes just 4 seconds to run from 0-62 mph, and the car can go on to a top speed of 198 mph. The hybrid powertrain features a 2.9-liter V6 engine paired with an electric motor that makes a combined 536 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. The system can deliver an all-electric range of 26 miles, and the car still sees scorching acceleration just a tenth of a second behind its V8-powered counterpart. Keeping the Flying SpurÂ’s weight in check is BentleyÂ’s Dynamic Ride suspension system, which can apply up to 1300 Newton-meters of anti-roll torque to aid in cornering. All-wheel steering is also standard and can turn the rear wheels opposite the fronts by up to 4.2 degrees, giving the almost 17.5-foot long Flying Spur a much tighter turning radius than it would have otherwise. Looking at the Flying Spur, itÂ’s hard to see anything other than a stately Bentley, but the automaker gave the S a few styling touches to designate it as “the fast one.” Gloss black replaces polished metal and provides accents for the exhaust, grille, and wheels. The car comes with 21- or 22-inch wheels, red brakes, and exclusive “S” badges.  The Flying Spur SÂ’ cabin is every bit as plush as weÂ’d expect at a Bentley price point. A two-tone color scheme comes standard, with leather and synthetic suede upholstery called Dinamica. The material also covers the steering wheel and gear shift lever. Bentley embroiders the seats with an S logo and offers its logo as a no-cost embroidery option. Bentley will debut the Flying Spur S at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place later this month in England. The festival features a popular hill climb event that has featured everything from VolkswagenÂ’s electric ID.R race car to boutique supercars from little-known constructors. Bentley intends to field several vehicles in the event, including the new Flying Spur S and versions of the Continental GT S and GTC S cars.

Updated Bentley Bentayga spotted testing in the snow

It seems that the Bentley Bentayga is up for a refresh. These spy shots, fresh in from frigid-looking Europe, show us a Bentayga that’s adopted a front end thatÂ’s much closer to the Flying Spur and the slinkier Continental GT. That means larger secondary lamps up front, a revised lower fascia, and slimmer taillights with a pronounced oval element thatÂ’s echoed in the dual exhaust pipes. Unlike the last Flying Spur we spotted, which was a prototype of a likely plug-in hybrid variant, this Bentayga doesnÂ’t appear to have dual filler doors, one for gas and one for a plug. ThatÂ’s not to say one isnÂ’t coming; the Bentayga will almost certainly get an updated version of the PHEV powertrain that failed to win us over on our last drive. Hopefully that, too, will get an update to make its groaning V6 less sad-sack and provide a little more oomph to its pure EV mode. As with the expected PHEV variant, we think that the Bentayga will get the rest of the Flying SpurÂ’s engine options Â… which for now is a singular W12 sporting twin turbos. We believe a V8 should follow in both models. Inside, expect changes to mirror the tech and interior features of the latest Bentley models. Maybe itÂ’ll even get the quilted leather found on the $15,000 Mulliner package. WeÂ’ll know for sure when Bentley pulls the sheet off the revised Bentayga soon.