2011 Bentley Mulsanne Sedan 4d on 2040-cars

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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:    

2022 Bentley Flying Spur gets more standard features

Adding more standard features tends to be something we see with more affordable vehicles during model year changes. It's a way to add more value and tempt buyers. The Bentley Flying Spur on the other hand, has a lot more to entice buyers than its standard feature list. Nevertheless, Bentley has updated the 2022 model with a number of now included items that make the nearly $200,000 sedan more attractive. All of the features are relatively minor convenience items. They include auto-dimming mirrors, surround-view camera, traffic sign recognition, hands-free trunk opening, welcome lighting and air ionizers for keeping the cabin clear of dust and such. For the price of a Flying Spur, it's a little surprising some of these features weren't already standard, but it's better late than never. Bentley has also introduced two new customization options. For the exterior, the Flying Spur is now available in Cambrian Grey, shown at the top of the post, which brings the color option total to 63. Inside, Bentley now offers open-pore wood veneers. To achieve the look, Bentley applies a matte lacquer just 0.1 mm in thickness, versus the 0.5-mm thick gloss finish. It's available on Crown Cut Walnut, Dark Burr Walnut and Koa wood veneers. Finally, Bentley did some virtual testing of the interior design that led to some reworking of noise insulation around the cabin. The result, the company claims, is an even quieter interior while driving. Exact timing and pricing haven't been given for the 2022 Flying Spur. We don't expect the base price to change much from the $196,000 of the current Flying Spur V8. It should also be available sometime this year. Related Video:  

Bentley EXP 100 GT could become an ultra-exclusive topless two-seater

By most standards, Bentleys are already pretty expensive, but as the global economy funnels more and more wealth to the very top, the luxury automaker plans to cater to an ever-richer clientele with ultra-exclusive, even-more-expensive models. Britain's Autocar reports that one such proposed model is an open-topped two-seater that borrows heavily from the EXP 100 GT concept (pictured), which, if approved, would sell for 1.5 million pounds ($1.9 million) or more. Although the EXP 100 GT concept, which debuted this past summer in celebration of the brand's 100th anniversary, had a configurable two- or four-seat interior and a mostly glass roof, the proposed model is a two-seater with no roof whatsoever — practicality, evidently, not being much of a consideration for the ultra rich. Exclusivity, however, is very important, and it's said that only 12 examples would be built, with Bentley's in-house coachbuilder Mulliner tasked with the construction. Whereas the concept was an EV, the Mulliner-built car would ditch that idea in favor of a traditional Bentley W12 borrowed from the Continental GT — which currently makes 626 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. From the concept, the new model borrows its styling, as well as some of it exotic materials, which included 5,000-year-old wood salvaged from peat bogs and infused with copper, synthetic leather created from wine-making byproducts, and crystal trim elements. If approved, the two-seat barchetta could arrive as soon as 2021. Bentley Convertible Luxury