2004 Bentley Continental Gt on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Bentley considering smaller coupe

Only halfway through the year, Bentley reports that it's on track to post record sales. Thanks in no small part to the introduction of its new V8 engine in the Continental family, sales are up nearly a quarter over last year. And they only stand to increase even more with the introduction of new models currently in the pipeline. The upcoming SUV will surely form a large part of that, but it won't be the end of the story for the storied marque.
Car and Driver reports that, after the SUV, Bentley plans to introduce a new coupe line below the Continental to square off against the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Details are few and far between at this point, but considering how much Bentley manages to do with the relatively heft Continental GT, a lighter and more nimble sports car sounds promising.
In related news, rumors are gathering pace that Bentley is planning to introduce a new Mulsanne Speed at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, its Jurassic-era 6.75-liter V8 massaged from 505 horsepower - already the most that engine has produced in its half-century history - up to around 550.

Bentley releases new details on Continental GT3 racer

Porsche's new LMP1 Prototype isn't the only motorsports news coming out of Volkswagen AG this week. After unveiling its new Continental GT3 at the Paris Motor Show last year, Bentley has released some new images and details as this racecar continues its development. Similar to the Porsche announcement, Bentley's new GT3 marks a significant return to motorsports, only in this case, Bentley hasn't raced a car since 2003 - a winning effort at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
From street to race form, the Continental has dropped about 2,200 pounds by shedding many of the luxury and tech features that make the street-legal Continental GT the car that it is - including 50(!) electronic control units. The Continental GT3 uses the same 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 as the road car, but we're guessing output has been tweaked a bit from the standard 500 horsepower. Except for the carbon fiber hood, decklid and doors, Bentley says that the body of the GT3 is a direct carryover from the Continental GT.
Inside, even a stripped interior and full roll cage won't stop Bentley from being Bentley as it gives this racecar the same attention to detail as its road cars - the seats, steering wheel and door pulls all receiving the hand-crafted treatment from the factory in Crewe. There is no word as to when the Continental GT3 will make its racing debut, but more details about the car can be found below in the official press release.

Bentley CEO says Mulsanne Convertible isn't going to happen [w/poll]

Bentley and Rolls-Royce may be as direct as competitors get, but that doesn't mean they go head-to-head on every model. Bentley is arguably more focused on its Continental line, with the pricier Mulsanne branching off of it. Rolls-Royce, meanwhile, only recently expanded (relatively) down-market with the Wraith and the Ghost on which it's based. For Rolls, it's long been about the Phantom and its coupe and convertible variants. And Bentley doesn't pose much of a challenge in that stratospheric segment.
Crewe discontinued the old Arnage-based Brooklands coupe and Azure convertible in 2009 and 2011, respectively, and hasn't rolled out a successor for either in the few years since. The high-end British automaker revealed a conceptual convertible based on the Mulsanne at Pebble Beach Concours last year and was said to be moving ahead with production plans, but the latest intel suggests that Bentley has taken it off the development table.
This according to Car and Driver, which spoke with Bentley's new chief exec Wolfgang Schreiber at the Frankfurt Motor Show. According to Schreiber, there just isn't enough demand worldwide to justify the development costs - even if it is based on the existing flagship sedan. Apparently Bentley has evaluated that beyond the US and Europe, they couldn't sell enough of them in other markets to make it worthwhile. We'd imagine some Middle-Eastern sheikhs might like to get their hands on a few, but apparently the higher priority is getting the Falcon sport-ute out the door.