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Bentley will now sell you a model Continental GT for over $9,000

Bentley just announced a 1:8 scale Continental GT model car that costs GBP6,995. That’s $9,123 for a toy. But really, is the cost all that bad? A 1:1 scale Bentley Continental GT V8 (you know, the real thing) has a base price of about $220,000. One-eighth of that is a whopping $27,500. Bentley is surely leaving some money on the table here. OK, sure, you could buy a couple of old Miatas for the same price as this model car. But thatÂ’s not the gift that the one percenters want to give to their children at Christmas. No, an exact replica of the Bentley Continental GT in the garage is a much more applicable gift in that situation. Bentley will reproduce your Bentley or make anything else you can imagine with these 1:8 scale models, too. Customers will need to commission their own car, just like theyÂ’re buying a full-size Bentley.  You choose the colors of the paint, exterior trim, seats, interior stitching, trim veneers, wheels, leather and a number of other materials going into the car. Every last option is matched to an option available on the actual car, so there will be zero differences between the model and full scale car. The Bentley Design Studio oversees the creation of every car to ensure complete accuracy. Over 1,000 pieces are put together by hand to build it. Bentley says each car takes about 300 hours to complete. (Rolls-Royce offers a similar model of the Cullinan that takes 450 hours to build.) Each Bentley will sit on a “majestic varnished plinth.” The car itself measures 30.7 inches in length, 15.7 inches in width and 9.6 inches in height. Smaller, pre-made models are available for far less cash, too. You can pick up a 1:43 model for $110 and a 1:64 model goes for just $15. If uh, you want the $9,123 model, the link to place an order is right here. Bentley recommends using the actual Continental GT configurator to personalize the model. Regardless of price, that is extremely cool. Related Video:

2017 Bentley Mulsanne defines the latest in handcrafted luxury

It takes 144 craftsmen roughly 399 hours to build a Bentley Mulsanne. In today's world of automation and just-in-time parts delivery, such statistics sound ridiculous. But this old-school approach to vehicle assembly earns this beast its status as Bentley's flagship. It takes about a third of that time to assemble a Continental GT, for instance, which is one reason the Mulsanne is so expensive. It's also why Bentley moves more than five Continental models for every Mulsanne it sells. Bentley has a brand-new crown jewel coming soon to dealerships as a 2017 model, and it will debut next week at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. An Extended Wheelbase version joins the base Mulsanne and the Speed, pushing the lineup to three for the first time. Although Bentley officials take pride in the fact they are the largest producer of 12-cylinder engines in the world, the Mulsanne continues to soldier forth with the long-serving 6.75-liter V8. While this L-Series engine traces its roots all the way back to 1959, as evidenced by its cam-in-block overhead-valve design, it's been fully modernized with electronic controls and twin turbochargers. The result is 505 horsepower and 752 pound-feet of torque (or 530 hp and 811 lb-ft in the Speed), routed through a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels. This is the same engine that has powered flagship Bentleys since 2010, and it's effortlessly capable of pushing the Mulsanne from 0-60 in 5.1 seconds and all the way up to a top speed of 184 miles per hour. The upgraded Mulsanne Speed improves those figures to 4.8 seconds and 190 mph. That's plenty of performance for this kind of vehicle, weighing as it does nearly 6,000 pounds. With that kind of power and heft, a solid chassis is a must. Active engine mounts join new suspension bushings for 2017, and the air suspension system has been updated. Continuous Damping Control and a Drive Dynamics Control System with three factory and one custom setting are standard. Also new are tires codeveloped with Dunlop that have foam-filled cavities to reduce interior cabin noise. Where the styling of the outgoing Mulsanne is smooth and stately, the new one is more angular and modern. At the front, the traditional upright grille remains, but it's over three inches wider than before, and is slatted with vertical vanes in polished stainless steel that are meant to recall Bentley classics from the 1930s.

Rhys Millen will drive a Bentley Bentayga at Pikes Peak

Despite Bentley positioning its Bentayga SUV as a luxury vehicle, Bentley doesn't want us to forget that it's also a storied motorsport brand. Even the Bentayga can be used for record hunting, as Bentley is eager to show. It has hired two-time Pikes Peak hill climb winner Rhys Millen to take a Bentayga to the mountaintop. With the production SUV record in its sights, Bentley's Motorsport wing in Crewe has prepared a Bentayga for the attempt (which will be used as a benchmark for the Lamborghini Urus). The vehicle has been kept as stock as possible, as per the rules, and for safety reasons it features a full roll cage, a fire suppression system, racing seats and a harness. Still, Bentley has also enlisted exhaust crafters Akrapovic to give it a custom setup; Akrapovic has also done the exhaust for the Continental GT3-R. But the air suspension with its electric anti-roll control is kept stock, and the Pirelli rubber is also off-the-shelf stuff. The W12 engine's 600hp/664 lb-ft power figures also match the unmodified versions. We reported on Bentley's inclusion at the June 24 event earlier, but at that point the driver had not yet been announced. Millen, 45, from New Zealand, is reportedly the second-most-prolific Pikes Peak competitor in the world. The current production SUV record stands at 12:35.61, set by Paul Dallenbach with a Range Rover Sport in 2013. The Pikes Peak Bentayga's exterior has been finished with an unmistakable Radium Satin hue, but other than that and the carbon fiber body kit, it appears more like an everyday, run-of-the-mill Bentayga, not a wild Pikes Peak racer with a bookcase for a rear wing. Related Video: