2007 Bentley Continental Gtc Convertible 2-door 6.0l on 2040-cars

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40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.

2015 Bentley Continental GT3-R First Drive [w/video]

Racecars break. F1, NASCAR, IndyCar, GT3 – you name it – every go-fast machine built for the track is living on borrowed time. So it wasn't a complete surprise when, after traveling halfway around the world to drive Bentley's Continental GT3 racecar, the darn thing unceremoniously blew its rear differential on someone else's hot lap. While mentally recalibrating to the idea that my only takeaway from the three day commitment might be frequent flier miles, I realized an alternate vehicle on hand could make the trip worthwhile: the roadgoing, not-so-evil twin to the all-out race machine, the 2015 Bentley Continental GT3-R. You can hardly blame Bentley for the failure to proceed. The Flying B has been performing swimmingly well in the Blancpain Endurance Series, scoring three wins in its debut season and racking up a respectable 2015 so far. The dropped, spoilered, and severely trimmed-down GT3 racer reflects a ruthless abandon of all things luxurious and civilized. Over 50 ECUs were ditched from the road car; the doors alone, which typically weigh a lofty 125 pounds apiece, have been trimmed down to a wispy 15. Yes, the race version is a fearsome, sexy beast – and yes, this was quickly proving irrelevant because that drive was simply not meant to be.The Next Best Thing It's hard to call a $339,725 exotic a consolation prize. Climbing into the roadgoing GT3-R reveals a dramatic departure from the standard issue Conti: Not only is the color scheme unexpected (acid green on black and grey), so is the choice of materials (carbon fiber, Alcantara, not an inch of wood veneer in sight). Some pesky legacy remnants remain (antiquated navigation system, some weirdly pedestrian VW-sourced buttons and switches), but there's also a smattering of sweet details (those famous organ stop air vents, the green center indicator on the steering wheel, the pleasantly gripped Alcantara shifter). In all, 300 examples are being built, 99 of which are destined for the US. Unlike the somewhat sonorous GT V8 S upon which it's based, the GT3-R's titanium exhaust enables an even more exuberant, unapologetic, voluminous roar. Those exhaust gases are summoned from the 592-horsepower, 553-pound-foot, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8, which gains 71 hp and 51 lb-ft over the V8 S model it's based on.

Bentley Bentayga to add gasoline V8 before plug-in hybrid powertrains bows

The Bentley Bentayga offers exactly one powertrain in the US: a 6.0 liter W12 with 600 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. Overseas buyers get the additional option of a 4.0 liter diesel V8 with 429 hp and 664 lb-ft - the same oil burner from the Audi SQ7, denied us after Volkswagen Group pulled diesels from the US market. Auto Motor und Sport reports that Bentley will add two more powertrains to the mix over the next year, but it's unclear whether any of them will come here: a 4.0-liter gasoline V8, and a plug-in hybrid. The German publication expects the Porsche-developed 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 to get the nod for Bentley use. That engine serves in the Porsche Cayenne Turbo (550 hp/567 lb-ft) and Lamborghini Urus (650 hp/627 lb-ft), which both share their MLB platform with the Bentayga. Making sure not to step on the toes of the W12, the 4.0-liter petrol V8 will get something like the Cayenne Turbo's 550 hp. We've seen spy shots of the Bentayga PHEV testing at the Nurburgring, but we weren't sure what the SUV used for motivation. Porsche again donates equipment for the plug-in hybrid Bentayga, the forthcoming powertrain swiped from the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid. In the Porsche, total output comes to 462 hp and 516 lb-ft. Spy shooters captured a photo of an "EV Mode" button inside the Bentayga, so we know it will do silent running; the 14.1 kWh battery in the Panamera E-Hybrid provides 31 miles of electric-only range. Both powertrains will provide a lower price point for the Bentayga compared to the W12, a stat line that should increase the big Bentley's appeal even though sales already qualify as gangbusters, considering the vehicle. According to AMS, the 4.0-liter gas V8 Bentayga should show up sometime around summer 2018, the PHEV to follow. Related Video: