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Bentley recalls 27,640 Continental, Flying Spur models

Even the world's most luxurious automakers aren't immune to recalls. Bentley is proving this point with a campaign on 27,640 of its posh models worldwide for a loose battery cable connection, Reuters reports. The problem affects all examples of the Continental GT, GTC, and Flying Spur with build dates between February 2011 and June 2014, and there are 7,778 of them in the US, according to company spokesperson Erin Bronner to Autoblog. "On a limited number of cars, a bolted connection for a battery cable joint could be loose where it passes through the front bulkhead," Bentley said in a statement. According to Bronner, there were four incidents were this electrical joint overheated, but there have been no reports of any injuries. As a repair, dealers will install a new connection system, which will take around two hours. Scroll down below for the entire statement. Related Video: Bentley Statement: Bentley Motors is conducting a precautionary voluntary recall of all Continental GT/GTC/Flying Spur and new Flying Spur models built between February 2011 and June 2014. On a limited number of cars, a bolted connection for a battery cable joint could be loose where it passes through the front bulkhead. To address this, we will replace the components with a new connection system for all vehicles, which will take approximately two hours per car. All Bentleys built outside of these dates, and all Mulsanne models, are unaffected. The safety of our customers is Bentley's foremost priority and we pride ourselves on the highest standard of quality and service. We are working quickly to ensure that all vehicles are checked and resolved efficiently and effectively. Customers are being contacted by their local Bentley dealer to arrange an appointment. This is a voluntary recall and is in no way connected to any other recalls from other automotive manufacturers.

Bentley designing SUV to reach 200 mph?

The 200 MPH Club was once populated entirely by exotic sports cars. These days it has expanded to include convertibles, sedans and even station wagons. But an SUV? Unthinkable, what with their aerodynamic profile approaching that of a barn door. Bentley, however, is out to change that with its forthcoming new sport ute.
Not only is the British automaker aiming to make its first SUV fully capable off road, it's also engineering it to be one of the fastest on the road as well. According to emerging reports coming in from the UK, Bentley is streamlining the SUV's shape with a lower roofline and reprofiled rear end and fitting it with advanced underbody aerodynamic aids in order to compensate for its over-six-foot width and get it up to the magic 200-mph mark.
Reaching out to Bentley for comment, its communications office wouldn't divulge such performance targets: "The SUV is in the engineering development stage, so unfortunately it's too soon to discuss performance figures," we were told via email. "It will of course have all the power and performance that one would expect from a Bentley!" If the information proves correct, however, at that speed, it would be able to keep pace with the faster members of the Continental family, but leave the Mulsanne flagship sedan (which is already approaching the size of an SUV) and its 185-mph top speed in the dust - not to mention the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S that is quoted at "only" 175 mph.

New Bentley boss nixes any new sports cars in its money-losing lineup

Adrian Hallmark took over the helm at Bentley on February 1 this year. Volkswagen poached him from Jaguar, where he headed the brand's global strategy. Or perhaps we should say re-poached him, since Hallmark served as Bentley's board member in charge of sales and marketing from 1999 to 2005, and helped guide the original Continental GT to market. He's now responsible getting Bentley in better shape financially and sales-wise, and positioning it for growth. Among the products necessary to do that, Hallmark recently told Autocar that flashy coupes won't cut it. "I'll tell you what we won't be building," he said, "and that's sports cars." That means we can forget about the gorgeous EXP 10 Speed 6 coupe that had a rumored place in the lineup after a sub-Bentayga CUV, and the EXP 12 Speed 6e battery-electric convertible. Hallmark cited a few issues with the segment, the first being that the segment hasn't yet recovered from the recession, and the buyer demographic that's left goes up in age every year, clearly a losing game. The kinds of younger buyers who would buy Bentleys, athletes and entertainers, are deterred from the purchase by contractual limitations like injury clauses or aversion to paparazzi photos. As well, in China, wealthy buyers get SUVs or limousines, but Hallmark believes Bentley hasn't adopted the the proper strategy there to take advantage. This is far more than about sports cars for Bentley, though; a recent article in German newspaper Handelsblatt outlined a number of situations the carmaker needs to rectify, including the finding that Bentley's "losing money hand over fist instead of racking up the hefty margins more typical of the class." A German study claimed that whereas Ferrari makes around $80,000 on every car it sells, and Porsche makes a little more than $19,000 on each car (last year it was a little more than $17,000) Bentley loses a little more than $19,000 on each unit. The English manufacturer has posted an operating loss of roughly $92 million through the first six months of 2018, the latest figures in a decline that began in 2014. That financial timeline, however, coincides with Bentley's $1.1B investment in new technologies, which the carmaker cites as the reason for profitability woes.