2005 Bentlry Continental Gt on 2040-cars

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VW pulls Lamborghini and Bentley from the Paris Motor Show

It's been slightly more than a year since the news that Volkswagen had intentionally cheated on diesel emissions testing broke. Since then, the company's reputation and image have suffered and it has struggled to regain its footing and composure. The automaker is shelling out billions in fines, so cost cutting is inevitable. Today, Reuters reports that Volkswagen subsidiaries Lamborghini and Bentley won't bring their elaborate displays to the Paris Motor Show next week. Auto shows can cost automakers millions of dollars, especially for supercar and luxury car brands that constantly try to compete and one-up with each other. Much of the money and fanfare goes to catering the media, and if an automaker has nothing new to reveal it can be difficult to justify the expense. The company told Reuters that it plans to attend smaller events that focus more on potential buyers. The Volkswagen group as a whole has shifted it's focus, both when it comes to products and auto shows like Paris. Next week, the automaker will be focusing on electric vehicles and electromobility. The company plans to reveal a new EV with 373 miles of range, eclipsing both the Tesla Model 3 and Chevy Bolt. Volkswagen has plans for 30 new electric vehicles by 2025. Lamborghini and Bentley aren't the only major automakers skipping Paris. Ford, Volvo, and Aston Martin have all decided to save money and focus their efforts elsewhere. Related Video:

2020 Bentley Continental GT V8 First Drive Review | 8 is the new baker's dozen

Certain objects are so well known for arriving in groups of twelve that their dodecameralism is almost presumed. This list includes eggs, donuts, roses, inches, hours, months, human ribs, days of Christmas and, correlatively, drummers drumming. We can add to that group the number of cylinders under the hood of a contemporary Bentley. Since 2003, when the venerable British brand rolled out its modern Continental GT, it has sold more than 70,000 of these models, a notable number with an inventive, twin-turbocharged 12-cylinder engine, arrayed in a W configuration. Unfortunately, the flying-B brand has been having some difficulty meeting certification requirements for its alluring, all-new, 12-cylinder-equipped Continental GT coupe and convertible, which have yet to appear in the States, despite a full two years having lapsed since their unveiling. Fortunately, to stem the tide of demand, the crew from Crewe has certified a version of the Porsche-designed 542-horsepower, 568 pound-feet 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 from the Panamera for use in their new two-door, backed up by an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. It will be available for purchase here, this fall — before it is offered to any other market — by those with 220,000 spare dollars. Even more fortunate, we just had the chance to drive it through the coastal, mountainous and curvy vineyard regions of Northern California, and we can assure you that, while we still believe Bentley GTs deserve twelve cylinders, eight is the new baker's dozen. Unless you've spent extended time piloting the Continental GT W12 through some of the most beautiful mountainous regions of Europe and America, as we have, you might not notice the one-third reduction in cylinders, or the 84-horsepower depreciation in output. According to Bentley, the less powerful but lighter motor adds only 0.2 seconds to the 0-60 run (3.8 versus 3.6 for the coupe, 3.9 versus 3.7 for the convertible) not enough of a differential to tip our own internal accelerometer. It also foregoes cresting 200 mph like its bigger brother can, not that there's anywhere you can hit these speeds safely in America anyway. The V8 also, as referenced above, subtracts a couple hundred pounds from the total weight of the GT, not that this matters all that much in a vehicle that weighs 2.5 tons, but it does take a modicum of gravitational pressure off the front axle. Is it noticeable on first blush?

Best new convertibles for 2024 and 2025

If you’re here, then youÂ’re already in the right mindset. Convertibles rule, and we have all the best convertibles listed for you further below. Driving around with the top off is an experience you need to live to fall in love with. When the weatherÂ’s right, youÂ’re on a proper bit of road, and the car youÂ’re in is a good one, few automotive experiences can top it. The experience is extra special when you have a musical exhaust note filtering directly into your ears and echoing off the landscape around you. And while rolling the windows down and opening a moonroof can get you part of the way there, it's nothing like feeling the wind wash over you with absolutely no roof overhead. The downsides can be just as harsh as the upsides when youÂ’re in the wrong conditions, though. Convertibles are typically worse to live with in cold climates, and driving around with the top up frequently means you might be subject to more road noise and worse visibility than an equivalent coupe. And when it comes to pure performance, convertibles are inherently compromised from a weight and structural rigidity perspective. All that said, we still think the upsides outweigh the compromises if your number one objective is to simply have fun. ItÂ’s a good thing then that there are a ton of great convertibles for sale these days. And no, the list of possibilities isnÂ’t as long as it used to be. Long-running standbys like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and C-Class Convertibles are gone (replaced by the one CLE-Class). And so are others like the Audi TT Roadster, Fiat 124 Spider and Nissan Z Roadster. Nevertheless, opportunities abound from the ultra-cheap and fun, to physics-defying supercars and everything else in between. WeÂ’ll give you options for which new convertibles we think are the best below, so read on to find out.   Mazda MX-5 Miata Pros: Lightweight and compact; great engine and transmission combo; one of the most raw and pure driving experiences out thereCons: Not great for tall people; infotainment is dated; tiny trunk Read our Mazda MX-5 Miata Review Miata is always the answer, right? In this case, that rings even more true than usual. In fact, you could stop reading this list right here and go buy a Miata and youÂ’d likely be just as happy driving it around as you would be in any of the more expensive offerings that follow. ThatÂ’s just the magic of the MX-5.