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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 shifting W12 engine production to UK

Who would you think would be the largest producer of 12-cylinder engines in the world? Mercedes? BMW? Ferrari? Think again: as you might have guessed from the headline, it's Bentley. The thing is that, while all Bentley automobiles are manufactured in the UK, its engines aren't: while the 6.75-liter V8 in the Mulsanne is made at home, the innovative 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 engine in Continental models so equipped (like the newer 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8) is shipped in from Germany. But that won't be the case any longer.
Bentley has just announced that production of the W12 engine is moving to its home base in Crewe by the end of this year. The shift in production (which follows the migration of the Flying Spur from Dresden to Crewe in 2007) will create 100 jobs in the UK - a country which employs some 142,000 workers in the automotive sector - and produce as many as 9,000 engines per year. That in and of itself would account for the vast majority of the 10,000-plus cars Bentley made last year, but will also make Bentley an exporter of engines for the first time in its history.
Right there at the factory, Bentley will fit the engines into twelve-cylinder versions of the Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur, and send some back to Germany for use in the Audi A8. Applications within the Volkswagen brand itself like the Phaeton and Touareg no longer use the W12 engine, but could conceivably use it again in the future - they'll just have to bring them in from England is all.

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.