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Ares Design Coupe for the Bentley Mulsanne is the grand tourer we dream about

Bentley exited the grand coupe business when it made the last of 550 Brooklands models in 2011. The UK carmaker said it will make 19 examples of the Mulsanne Grand Convertible, but that doesn't count as a coupe. So when a U.S. Mulsanne owner wanted his Bentley with a roof but a touch less four-door-y, he went to Italian coachbuilders Ares Design. And not only did Ares do the thing, they did it magnificently. The resulting two-door is called the Ares Design Coupe for the Bentley Mulsanne, and the first of them was just handed over in Beverly Hills in time for a Pebble Beach appearance. Modena-based Ares started with a three-dimensional scan of the sedan, then reworked that CAD file into the coupe they sought by changing just about everything behind the A-pillars. A reprofiled roof replaces the old one, and it falls into a new backlight and longer rear decklid. The engineers moved the B-pillars rearward to install longer front doors, and fabricated new side impact protection for the portals and rear quarter panels. New chrome surrounds on the windows maintain the look as if from Crewe. Yet because the roof and doors are made from carbon fiber, they contribute to the coupe's 992-pound overall weight loss compared to the donor four-door. Inside, Ares replaced the front seats with more rakish thrones, redesigned the interior trim panels to flow with the body style, and matched the wood and leather as if all were factory original. Under the unchanged hood, a tuned ECU means the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8 produces more than 591 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque, both healthy improvements on the stock 505 hp and 752 lb-ft. Completing the transformation, the coupe sits 20 millimeters lower on "a sportier suspension." One report said that a friend of the California owner likes the car so much that a second two-door has already been commissioned. Ares charges $460,000 for the service, to start, and it takes about six weeks. And no, that price doesn't include the donor Bentley. However, that's a lot less than Bentley would charge to make the swap, since the carmaker won't make the actual car. The Italian firm said it wants to keep volumes "ultra-low," yet, "As long as [Bentley] don't make one, we will continue." Although we haven't spoken much of Ares here outside of their Tesla Model S wagon, the firm led by ex- Lotus boss Dany Bahar has kept busy in its four years of operation.

2020 Bentley Continental GT V8 coupe and convertible – the frugal Bentleys

The Bentley Continental GT is getting its V8 option for the 2020 model year now. Released last year with the monster 6.0-liter W12, this will be the cheaper and less powerful version of the big Bentley coupe and convertible. That doesn't mean the Continental GT V8 will be a slouch, though. It's packing a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine that makes 542 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. A 0-60 mph time of 3.9 seconds is claimed by Bentley, with a top speed of 198 mph. For comparison, Bentley claims the W12 Continental goes 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds and tops out at 207 mph. The V8 lags behind the W12 in brute force by 84 horsepower and 96 pound-feet of torque. Truly, the difference in driving these two engines will be minimal. There's nothing like the silky, effortless torque of a 12-cylinder engine, but this high-powered V8 is just half a step behind it. Bentley says you'll be able to audibly tell a difference between the two easily, because the V8 has a louder, burbling exhaust note. The quad exhaust tips look different on the V8, in addition to new 20-inch wheels. Subtle V8 badging is applied, but we're sure you can forego that for fear of advertising that you bought the cheap one. Another reason to take the V8 over the W12 is efficiency. Your wallet probably won't be hurting at the pump if you can afford either, but you'll be making less stops with the V8 due to its better gas mileage — Bentley says the V8's cylinder deactivation helps in that department to give the V8 better range with a full tank for those long European vacations. Bentley says customer deliveries begin in the U.S. in the third quarter. Prices for the V8 start at $203,825 for the coupe and $223,675 for the convertible. That ain't cheap, but it's cheaper than the $214,600 sticker on the W12. It's tough to say no to four more cylinders at that price point, especially when you'll then be able to brag about having all 12 of them.

Bathurst 12-hour gallery is GT3 heaven [w/video]

The 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race was run this weekend at the Mt. Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, Australia. Race photographer Joel Strickland sent us a huge batch of photos, all of which make us salivate for the switch to GT3 rules in the United SportsCar Championship; the top seven finishers at Bathurst were of seven different makes: Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, Audi R8-LMS Ultra, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Bentley Continental GT3, Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, Ferrari F458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo. It was a sweet victory for the No. 35 car driven by the NISMO Athlete Global Team after it crashed in Saturday qualifying, and then was only in third place on the penultimate lap. The three-man driving team included two GT Academy winners, one of whom, Florian Strauss, has only been a professional race car driver for 18 months. It's the first time the GT-R has won at Panorama since the original R32 "Godzilla" took back-to-back wins in 1991 and 1992. Second place went to the No. 15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8-LMS Ultra, 2.4 seconds behind the winners, third to the Craft Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage not even half a second behind the Audi. The Bentley Motorsport team, in its first Bathurst 12-Hour with two cars, had its No. 10 Continental GT3 in the lead until the penultimate lap and in second place until the final corner, but crossed the line in fourth after some rubbin'-is-racin' action from chasers. And if pictures aren't enough, as of writing you can still watch the live stream of the entire race at the Bathurst 12-Hour site. Or, if you don't have the time, at least be sure to check out the last five minutes, below. Enjoy. Featured Gallery 2015 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour View 118 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Joel Strickland / AOL Motorsports Aston Martin Audi Bentley Nissan Coupe Racing Vehicles Videos aston martin vantage gt3