2005 Bentley Gt Coupe on 2040-cars

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Bentley readying four-door coupe for 2018

Bentley purists have probably been tearing their hair out since we got our first glimpse of the EXP 9 F SUV Concept. "A Bentley SUV? " you could almost hear them saying, incredulous to the idea that an automaker actually wants to make money. Now, word is that the British brand might be jumping on the four-door-coupe bandwagon. The car, which would slot in below the Continental GT, and act as the new base model, would compete with the BMW M6 Gran Coupe and Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG, according to Car.
Size-wise, Car thinks it'd be in line with the Continental GT, at just over 15.5 feet long. It'd wear a price tag of 125,000 to 150,000 euro, which converts to $168,650 to $202,380. In reality, the US-spec baby Bentley would need to retail for no more than $130,000 to $170,000 if it wanted to truly capture the M6, Porsche Panamera and CLS63 crowd. Speaking of that Porsche, Car thinks the Bentley will ride on the same platform.
As is pointed out, the question of which platform this new model will ride on is an important one. The two possibilities are the D5 architecture of the next Audi A8 or the MSB platform, which will underpin the next-generation Panamera. Expect a 3.0-liter V6 and a 4.0-liter V8, both of which will receive special outfittings for duty in the Bentley, when it arrives in 2018. What do you think? Is there room in the Bentley family for a car below the Continental GT V8, and if so, is a four-door coupe the right choice? Let us know down in Comments.

2014 Bentley Flying Spur

Redefining Super Luxury On A Shrinking Planet
Anyone on Earth with access to the Internet, a television or radio for the last 20 years knows that China is no longer the poor stronghold for strict Communist ideals that it was for much of the 20th Century. (Well, at least not in some places.) Traveling to China twice in less than a month - first to Shanghai for a very international auto show and now to Beijing to drive and review the 2014 Bentley Flying Spur - I've learned that there's no lack of personal wealth, at least in two of the world's largest cities.
And yet, even I think the scene before me is a little bit ridiculous. Here I am, slowly climbing up a hillside to reach a fortification at something called Zhuanduo Pass, where roughly a dozen pristine examples of Western decadence sit idling their hand-built 12-cylinder engines in the shadow of China's revered and awesome Great Wall. Not five kilometers south of here, I'd passed an old man in traditional all-black garb, literally carrying a bundle of sticks on his back from one side of a village to the other. Now as I look through the snug-fitting and silent side glass of the my $200,000+ palace on wheels, I'm more apt to see fat German tourists crisping in the hot Chinese sun while blowing the equivalent of an average Chinese monthly paycheck on lunch and a few Great Wall souvenirs.

'Rich Kid of Instagram' victim of supercar arsonists

A 19-year-old in the UK is smarting after the possibility that his prolific social media use may be at the heart of four family-owned supercars going up in flames in barely a week. Aleem Iqbal has thousands of followers on Twitter and Instagram paying attention to his frequent posts about the high-priced cars he's driving. He's even been featured on the Tumblr page Rich Kids of Instagram. It appears that some people might not be so smitten with him, though.
According to his Twitter profile, Iqbal owns Platinum Executive Travel, a luxury car rental company in the England, and UK newspaper The Telegraph claims the company is also owned by Iqbal's father. On June 6, cameras caught three hooded men setting fire to a Lamborghini Aventador Roadster leased by the company for a wedding. A few days later, two Audi R8 Spyders and a Bentley Continental Flying Spur from Platinum also got the torch, and two men were caught on camera setting the blaze. Nobody was hurt in either of the attacks, and the Aventador appeared to be repairable with the fire causing most damage to the passenger seat and dashboard. Police are still investigating both of the crimes.
According to The Telegraph, Iqbal believes that the arsons could have stemmed from jealousy towards him and his family's business. Regardless, setting fire to a bunch of cars that are likely insured isn't a great way to show displeasure.