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Baby Bentley studied for 2020, but it might not be cheaper

Bentley may step down a segment with a new, smaller luxury car that it hopes to have ready by 2019. The British luxury marque's fifth model line, assuming that its SUV ever makes it to market, though, is still in the earliest planning stages.
Kevin Rose, Bentley's head of sales and marketing, spoke with Autocar at the Geneva Motor Show about the proposed new vehicle. "At the moment, our line of thinking is for a smaller car. But smaller doesn't necessarily mean cheaper," he said. The brand believes the price floor of its models should be 100,000 pounds ($167,240).
The smaller Flying B isn't the only project being worked on. Rose hinted that it is considering an even more expensive model above the Mulsanne priced at around 300,000 pounds ($501,735) that would compete with the Rolls-Royce Phantom. "The twin pillars of the Bentley brand are performance and luxuriousness. Any car that offers something unique, with both of those bases well covered, is on the table," he said.

Ferdinand Piech (1937-2019): The man who made VW global

Towering among his peers, a giant of the auto industry died Sunday night in Rosenheim/Upper Bavaria, Germany. Ferdinand Piech, a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who conceived the original Volkswagen in the 1930s, was the most polarizing automotive executive of our times. And one who brought automotive technology further than anyone else. Ferdinand Porsche had a son, Ferdinand (called "Ferry"), and a daughter, Louise, who married the Viennese lawyer Anton Piech. They gave birth to Ferdinand Piech, and his proximity to two Alfa Romeo sports cars — Porsche had done some work for the Italians — and the "Berlin-Rome-Berlin" race car, developed by Porsche himself, gave birth to Piech's interest in cars. After his teachers in Salzburg told his mother he was "too stupid" to attend school there, Piech, who was open about his dyslexia, was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. He subsequently moved on to Porsche, where he fixed issues with the 904 race car and did major work on the 911. But his greatest project was the Le Mans-winning 917 race car, developed at breathtaking financial cost. It annihilated the competition, but the family had had enough: Amid growing tension among the four cousins working at Porsche and Piech's uncle Ferry, the family decided to pull every family member, except for Ferry, out of their management positions. Piech started his own consultancy business, where he designed the famous five-cylinder diesel for Mercedes-Benz, but quickly moved on to Audi, first as an engineer and then as CEO, where he set out to transform the dull brand into a technology leader. Piech killed the Wankel engine and hammered out a number of ambitious and sophisticated technologies. Among them: The five-cylinder gasoline engine; Quattro all-wheel drive and Audi's fantastic rally successes; and turbocharging, developed with Fritz Indra, whom Piech recruited from Alpina. The Audi 100/200/5000 became the world's fastest production sedan, thanks to their superior aerodynamics. Piech also launched zinc-coated bodies for longevity — and gave diesel technology a decisive boost with the advent of the fast and ultra-efficient TDI engines. Less known: Piech also decided to put larger gas tanks into cars. Customers loved it. Piech's first-generation Audi V8 was met with derision by competitors; it was too obviously based on the 200/5000.

Bentley Azure could return for limited edition

Once upon a time, Bentley had two convertibles in its lineup – there was the Continental GTC, which you can still enjoy today, and the Azure, which you can't. The bigger offering, based on the Arnage sedan, went out of production several years back, much to the disappointment of those with ostentatious tastes and bottomless pockets. But if Wolfgang Durheimer has his way, the 20-plus-year-old nameplate could return in a limited run based on the Mulsanne. The last Azure demanded ridiculous wealth to purchase, but this new model would be on an entirely different level. According to Car and Driver, Durheimer said a reborn Azure "would be built in [a batch of] 20 units and sold to absolute connoisseurs at a very high price." He stopped short of actually confirming the vehicle or its cost, but that hasn't stopped Car and Driver from suggesting a price of $1 to $1.5 million per vehicle. The timing here is fascinating, largely because Bentley's arch-rival, Rolls-Royce, is preparing to phase out its Phantom Drophead Coupe – the Mulsanne Convertible's most natural rival – due to slow sales. Whatever this limited-edition vehicle is called, it'd be all on its own. This is not the first time this particular rumor has cropped up. In his first tour as Bentley CEO, Durheimer brought a full-size convertible, called the Mulsanne Vision (shown above) to Pebble Beach in 2012. The idea was shelved by his successor, Wolfgang Schreiber, in 2013. But with Durheimer back in his old position in Crewe (and heading up efforts at Bugatti, too), it wasn't long before Bentley was back in the convertible Mulsanne game with the Grand Convertible, a Speed-based droptop. When the Grand Convertible debuted, we said the company is "watching customer reaction to the car." And the press release says the luxury droptop was "developed to signify Bentley's intentions for the future." Consider this most recent story a reinforcement of that report, then. News Source: Car and DriverImage Credit: Bentley Bentley Convertible Luxury Performance wolfgang durheimer bentley azure bentley grand convertible