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Bentley wants to get into the coachbuilding business

There was a time when a customer would buy a chassis from an automaker like Bentley and then take it to a coachbuilder to have whatever bodywork they wanted put on it. The practice was particularly prevalent in Bentley's earlier days, but the industry has progressed in such a way - with tighter regulations and unibody construction - that such a practice is no longer feasible. But Bentley wants to get back into that business.
Speaking to UK trade publications recently, Bentley sales chief Kevin Rose indicated that the company is looking into setting up a special division within itself to meet the demands of extremely wealthy customers who want to commission their own coachbuilt custom creations. It's an emerging trend that's seen Ferrari Special Projects build one-offs like the F12 TRS and SP12 EC and McLaren Special Operations the outlandish X-1, and Bentley wants to get in on the action.
It wouldn't be the first even to rebody a contemporary Bentley in recent years. Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera offers the Flying Star (pictured above) that turns the Continental GT into a shooting brake, and Dany Bahar's new coachbuilding outfit Ares plans to do the same. By bringing it in-house, however, Bentley would be able to pick the chassis up off the assembly line at the right time and provide the necessary support and factory backing.

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:

Bentley designing SUV to reach 200 mph?

The 200 MPH Club was once populated entirely by exotic sports cars. These days it has expanded to include convertibles, sedans and even station wagons. But an SUV? Unthinkable, what with their aerodynamic profile approaching that of a barn door. Bentley, however, is out to change that with its forthcoming new sport ute.
Not only is the British automaker aiming to make its first SUV fully capable off road, it's also engineering it to be one of the fastest on the road as well. According to emerging reports coming in from the UK, Bentley is streamlining the SUV's shape with a lower roofline and reprofiled rear end and fitting it with advanced underbody aerodynamic aids in order to compensate for its over-six-foot width and get it up to the magic 200-mph mark.
Reaching out to Bentley for comment, its communications office wouldn't divulge such performance targets: "The SUV is in the engineering development stage, so unfortunately it's too soon to discuss performance figures," we were told via email. "It will of course have all the power and performance that one would expect from a Bentley!" If the information proves correct, however, at that speed, it would be able to keep pace with the faster members of the Continental family, but leave the Mulsanne flagship sedan (which is already approaching the size of an SUV) and its 185-mph top speed in the dust - not to mention the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S that is quoted at "only" 175 mph.