2014 Bentley Continental Gt Speed on 2040-cars

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Autoblog Podcast #343

George Kennedy from Boldride.com, BMW i3, NACTOY long list, Bentley SUV
Episode #343 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Steven Ewing are joined by George Kennedy, Autoblog alum and Editor-in-Chief of Boldride.com. Topics include the unveiling of the BMW i3, the 2014 North American Car and Truck of the Year long list, and the green-lighted Bentley SUV. As always, we start with what's in the garage, but then answer some of your questions before diving into the week's news. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #343:

For a pot of gold, you could have this Bentley Mulliner Bacalar

You’re looking at the winning entry in an online competition Bentley held recently for colleagues and their families to design their own Mulliner Bacalar, a two-seat roadster of which only 12 will be built. No, there are no plans to build this one, and the rainbow motif on the livery is a nod to the symbol of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, itÂ’s fun to imagine the head-turning you could do driving it. WeÂ’re told only that the winning design comes from someone named Eleanor, and Bentley adds the disclaimer that “anyone is able to imagine their dream specification from BentleyÂ’s unrivaled spectrum of interior and exterior colours,” so technically, we guess itÂ’s possible that one of the customers whoÂ’ve signed up for one could order this for production. There are also lots of other ways to customize the topless car, inside and out. The colors in the rainbow include Dragon Red II, which features on the launch of the Continental GT V8 back in 2012, and the Orange Flame used to introduce the Bentayga Speed more recently. Bentley used Yellow Flame to launch the Bacalar.  Bentley also held a contest for interior design but hasn't yet shared that winning entry.  The competition was judged by design boss Stefan Sielaff, who previously told Autoblog about how the Bacalar coachbuilding project grew out of requests from well-heeled customers for an ultra-exclusive, customizable product and arrived in just nine months. Inspired by the EXP 100 GT electric concept, the Bacalar uses a 650-horsepower 6.0-liter W12 engine. All 12 are already spoken for at a reported starting price of a cool $2 million. Related Video:    

The renowned Bentley Blower returns to race again

Defining the Bentley Blower as a monumentally classic racing machine is a massive understatement. And now a modern example of the Blower — called Car Zero — has been built by hand, a copy of the 1929 4 1/2 -liter supercharged car, and it will race yet again. The indomitable Blower, so named for the Roots-type supercharger (built by Amherst Villiers) bolted in at the front of the magnesium crankcase, has been resurrected and will compete at the Circuit de la Sarthe  — translated: Le Mans — in June, as well as at Donington Park in England and at Spa in Belgium later this year. The car has already run a six-hour full-race-pace trial at the historic Goodwood track south of London to test its competition readiness. According to a history published in AutoEvolution, the original car was intolerably unreliable — it did not win any of the 12 races it entered – and was mightily inefficient. “At full steam, the Blower would burn four liters (1.1 gallons) of fuel every minute," the story said. "But its speed was the downright jaw-dropping act of the small, supercharged engine and the four-speed unsynchronized gearbox.” Several so-called Continuation Series Blowers have been commissioned and have been or will be built for sales to customers. All have already been already sold, with few modifications for modern safety, including a rain light and a fire extinguisher. Autoblog contributor Andrew English has driven the $2 million Car Zero, and it's a hell of a tale. A photo gallery of his exploits appears below. About three years ago, Bentley initiated the process of rebuilding the replica of the original Blower with a laser scan of all its parts. Engineers spent about 40,000 hours on the project, using original drawings and blueprints to create “high-fidelity copies” of the original parts. Nor was the interior ignored. Bentley used 22 pounds of horsehair to stuff the seats, the frame is made from ash, and the upholstery is red leather. ItÂ’s still, after all, a Bentley. Bentley Continuation View 13 Photos