2013 Bentley Continental Gtc Convertible - 12 Cyl - Mulliner $239k Msrp on 2040-cars

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Car-crazy 5-year-old boy writes automakers for treasures, gets big response

Part of the beauty of children is that they can find worth in something adults might deem unworthy or overlook entirely. Five-year-old Patch Hurty didn't see garbage or a broken piece of a car when he spotted a Ford badge lying on the side of a road. He saw an artifact, a souvenir, a start to a collection he could only dream of. Ezra Dyer of Popular Mechanics tells the story of Patch and his quest to turn that one lost badge into a museum of manufacturer logos. According to the article, Hurty is a car fanatic through and through, even using car names as a way of learning to read. After finding the Ford badge near his Connecticut home, he and his mom put together a plan to reach out to dozens of automakers, confessing his love of things on four wheels. In each letter, Patch assembled a picture of himself standing next to one of the cars, and a penny to pay for whatever he hoped was sent his way. The response was unexpectedly and overwhelmingly positive. Of the more than 50 letters he sent out, including to obscure or defunct companies such as Bugatti, Suzuki, and Saturn, a majority responded with warm notes and some type of souvenir. Two of the coolest responses came from Lincoln and Bentley. Lincoln sent a sketch of a Continental (all car lovers enjoy drawing cars, right?), and Bentley sent a wheel center cap. How awesome is that? The story reminds us of something that can easily be lost in all of the negativity involved with the auto industry: Everybody is in this because of a common infatuation with automobiles. For more details on the souvenirs Patch received and accompanying photos, read the rest of the story. Related Video: News Source: Popular Mechanics Read This Bentley Bugatti Ford Lincoln Saturn Suzuki

2019 Bentley Continental GT breaks Pikes Peak production car record

Bentley has made good on its promise to capture the production car record at Pikes Peak this past weekend. Pikes Peak expert Rhys Millen took a stock 2019 Bentley Continental GT (save for mandatory safety equipment) up the roughly 12-and-a-half-mile route in a time of 10:18.488 and an average speed of 70 mph. The final time was an impressive 8.4 seconds ahead of the previous record. That previous record holder was a stock 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S driven by David Donner. That car's twin-turbo flat-6 made "just" 560 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque to the Bentley twin-turbo W12's 626 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. Of course the Bentley is much heavier, which would be evident in a straight drag race, as the Porsche had a claimed 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds to the Bentley's 3.6. We're interested to see if other manufacturers will start heading to Pikes Peak in search of production class glory. In the meantime, Bentley can relish in owning not one, but two production car record times. It set the production SUV record last year with a Bentayga. The Bentayga was a little over 30 seconds slower than the Continental GT with a time of 10:49.9. Bentley set the record on Sunday, June 30, the same day that Carlin Dunne was killed in a crash while attempting to set a different record aboard a Ducati Streetfighter V4 prototype. Related Video:    

Bentley Azure could return for limited edition

Once upon a time, Bentley had two convertibles in its lineup – there was the Continental GTC, which you can still enjoy today, and the Azure, which you can't. The bigger offering, based on the Arnage sedan, went out of production several years back, much to the disappointment of those with ostentatious tastes and bottomless pockets. But if Wolfgang Durheimer has his way, the 20-plus-year-old nameplate could return in a limited run based on the Mulsanne. The last Azure demanded ridiculous wealth to purchase, but this new model would be on an entirely different level. According to Car and Driver, Durheimer said a reborn Azure "would be built in [a batch of] 20 units and sold to absolute connoisseurs at a very high price." He stopped short of actually confirming the vehicle or its cost, but that hasn't stopped Car and Driver from suggesting a price of $1 to $1.5 million per vehicle. The timing here is fascinating, largely because Bentley's arch-rival, Rolls-Royce, is preparing to phase out its Phantom Drophead Coupe – the Mulsanne Convertible's most natural rival – due to slow sales. Whatever this limited-edition vehicle is called, it'd be all on its own. This is not the first time this particular rumor has cropped up. In his first tour as Bentley CEO, Durheimer brought a full-size convertible, called the Mulsanne Vision (shown above) to Pebble Beach in 2012. The idea was shelved by his successor, Wolfgang Schreiber, in 2013. But with Durheimer back in his old position in Crewe (and heading up efforts at Bugatti, too), it wasn't long before Bentley was back in the convertible Mulsanne game with the Grand Convertible, a Speed-based droptop. When the Grand Convertible debuted, we said the company is "watching customer reaction to the car." And the press release says the luxury droptop was "developed to signify Bentley's intentions for the future." Consider this most recent story a reinforcement of that report, then. News Source: Car and DriverImage Credit: Bentley Bentley Convertible Luxury Performance wolfgang durheimer bentley azure bentley grand convertible