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Bentley planning to rejuvenate and modernize its design language

The sold-out Bacalar moves Bentley's design language in a sharper, bolder direction. It's limited to 12 units, so the odds of seeing one in the wild are low, but its head-turning lines will influence the company's future models. "It was appreciated very well by its target audience, but also by our traditional customers. I was surprised and happy to get positive remarks. I feel encouraged to really push the subject of rejuvenating and modernizing Bentley's design language," Stefan Sielaff, Bentley's lead designer, told Autoblog. He added his team will accelerate this process in the coming years. "We will take steps forward," he affirmed. Bentley remains a relatively small company, and it recently overhauled a large chunk of its range by releasing the new Continental variants, so don't expect to discover its next design language in the coming months. It's more of a long-term goal for the firm. Luckily, it has plenty of projects in the pipeline. Company boss Adrian Hallmark strongly hinted at "an even more luxurious and even bigger" version of the Bentayga, likely to succeed the Mulsanne (pictured) at the top of the line-up, and he suggested Bentley is tentatively planning to release its first electric model -- possibly with a cutting-edge solid-state battery pack -- about halfway through the 2020s. Speaking of, electrification technology will give stylists the opportunity to explore new design avenues. "I think that, when we talk about an electric car, and only from the design point of view, we have to work on efficiency first of all. This has a certain impact on our design language. It means we need to focus more on aerodynamics and on lightweight design, and this has a direct impact on the styling. I personally think it is a big chance for us; it will help us push the design language forward," he concluded.

2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible

Loses its Head, Keeps its Bespoke Cool
This is the 10th anniversary of the Bentley Continental GT, the 5,500-pound shim that pried open the market for bespoke luxury at $150K. We're into the second generation of the supercoupe that is still - and we think unfairly - derided as a grossly exaggerated Volkswagen, which to us is like saying the Hulk is just Bruce Banner in a tizzy. There are credible grounds for both statements, but in neither case do they accurately convey the chasm between the alpha and the omega.
Nevertheless, checking off the list of updated models brings us to the Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible, the moderately augmented version of the non-Speed GTC. Back to the notion of unfairness, it's probably just that to say the GT Speed Convertible is only "moderately" changed. It did, after all, take Bentley three years to engineer the changes that separate your 'basic' Bentley from the Speed variant, and although they might be imperceptible, they are numerous.

2019 Bentley Continental GT First Drive Review | A grand tourer learns to dance

The Austrian Alps are a curious venue to show off that great hunter of the highways, the Bentley Continental GT. With deep green forests and soaring thrusts of exposed rock, the Alps are one of those few places where the natural world still reigns supreme. Humanity isn't going to change this place much. You can forget about six-lane freeways blasted through rock — the only way to get around is on narrow, twin lanes. True to its name, the coupe is perhaps the truest grand touring car on the market — comfort happily married to speed. I once logged a personal best time between New York City and Boston in a base GT, despite a pounding nighttime rain. Even that miserable East Coast route felt easy in the GT, which eats through highway miles in a peculiarly relentless fashion. It was born for distance. This is our first drive of the new, third-generation car, which won't be sold in North America for another year, at a starting price of $214,600. We've been told it is a changed machine — a GT still, but with more nimbleness. And now we're about to find out, having left behind quaint Austrian villages for a steep mountain road that switchbacks up toward the clouds. It's everything you hope and dream when you fantasize about the Alps. Before me is a straightaway interrupted by a quick left-right bend and an uphill switchback. A small twist of hands on the nicely weighted steering wheel and the Bentley jukes through the left-right fluidly; no need to brush the brakes until we're right up to the hairpin. Then a firm push on the stoppers and a full lock of the steering wheel and — listen to that! — tire noise from the 21-inch Pirellis as we get back on the gas early. The car stays remarkably flat despite the camber of the turn. I snap open my hands and flat-foot the accelerator. Another hairpin beckons just beyond. And so it goes, the Conti welcoming a full-throated uphill attack. We get to the top and begin the fall back down the mountain, which is even more illuminating. This is the model with the W12 — the only one available at launch, notorious for carrying too much weight in its nose. Take a previous generation on a tight downhill route and you wrestle the grille through the turns, giving up entry speed to mitigate inevitable front-end push. It was a point-and-shoot car, relying on good brakes and ample power to make up lost time through the turns. This new generation is a momentum machine. There is a newfound rhythm and flow. It is deft and it is nimble.