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Bentley resumes restoration of the first T-Series sedan

Bentley has shifted one of its on-going restoration projects into high gear. Found after spending decades undriven, the first T-Series sedan built is being brought back to life by the British company's apprentices and specialists and it should be back on the road by the end of 2023. Manufactured on September 28, 1965, about a week before the model's official unveiling at that year's Paris auto show, the oldest T-Series was finished in Shell Gray with a blue interior. Bentley initially kept the car and used it as a test mule around the world. The big sedan later ended up in private hands with a blue California plate and a "Beverly Hills Motor Cars" plate frame attached to its rear end. It was last registered in 2015, according to the sticker on the plate, though Bentley notes that it has spent decades off the road and in storage. Bentley bought the car and shipped it back to its headquarters in England. It started tearing down the sedan in October 2016: A group of apprentices removed the exterior trim and began preparing the body for new paint, but the project stalled. See, this happens even to luxury carmakers — don't feel bad about the Fox-generation Mustang lingering in the back of your garage. For collectors, projects tend to get delayed when, for better or worse, life happens. Bentley ran into different hurdles: It put the T-Series on the backburner to launch its current range of models, including the Flying Spur and the Continental GT. Nearly six year later, the firm is returning to the garage to wrap things up. It sounds like the T-Series was stored indoors, and being out of the elements might be its saving grace. Mechanics managed to fire up the 6.2-liter, 225-horsepower V8 engine, and they gave it a clean bill of health; the automatic transmission is in good condition as well. There is still some body work that needs to be completed and the interior is almost completely taken apart. Bentley estimates that the project will take approximately 18 months, so it should be finished by late 2023, and it plans to add the car to its Heritage Collection when it's done.  While it's a relatively obscure classic in 2022, the T-Series remains a hugely important part of Bentley's heritage.

Bentley tests next next-gen Flying Spur on Porsche Panamera Turbo body

At first glance, the prototype in the gallery above looks like a blacked-out version of the new Porsche Panamera Turbo. But this is actually Bentley's tester for the next-gen Flying Spur. And since the upcoming Flying Spur, among other Bentley vehicles, will utilize the same MSB platform as the new Porsche, seeing the British automaker using a Panamera makes a lot of sense. The Flying Spur is essentially a four-door version of the Continental GT, which has design cues from the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. It's safe to assume that the next-gen Flying Spur will get the same treatment as well. Other than the fender flares, the prototype is identical to the Panamera Turbo. So how do we know that this is Bentley's prototype? According to our photographers, the prototype's license plate is registered as a Bentley with the UK's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. With the Flying Spur sharing the same platform as the Panamera, we expect the luxury sedan to get the same choice of engines, including the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 and 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine. A concept is anticipated to come out in 2017 with a production variant coming a year later. Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley Flying Spur Spy Shots View 10 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Bentley Porsche Luxury Performance Sedan bentley flying spur

Bentley considering diesel engine for new SUV

Turns out, in case you didn't know, the rich are just like regular people. They too are concerned about the environment, even when tooling around town in their super-luxurious Bentleys. So the automaker is weighing the idea of offering a diesel engine in its SUV offering, which could help satisfy customers' demands for more fuel-efficient engines.
Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Schreiber told Autoblog in a roundtable interview at the Geneva Auto Show that the automaker is researching whether or not a diesel engine makes sense for the brand. Bentley, owned by the Volkswagen Group, could in theory use a diesel engine from anywhere in the Volkswagen Group family. We at Autoblog have hopes they'll revive the V10 TDI used in the VW Touareg until 2010, but ever-stricter emissions laws would likely make that problematic.
But rich people aren't so much like us that they'll be worried about petty things like pricing. Schreiber admitted the diesel engine could be a $15,000 option, which he said customers would probably find "acceptable." Given that the cheapest Bentley today starts at $177,000, typical customers probably won't be diddling around worrying about an extra 15 grand.