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Bentley Bentayga dives deep into luxury with touches of pearl

As some of the most luxurious vehicles on the planet, Bentleys are inspirational (and aspirational) to thousands of customers and fans around the globe. But sometimes, Bentley is the one finding inspiration in its customers. As a special commission for a Middle Eastern client, Bentley and in-house specialty shop Mulliner have created the limited-edition "Pearl of the Gulf" Bentayga, complete with pearl trim and a fingerprint safe. Only five examples, each different from the one before it, will be made. The Pearl of the Gulf proudly ties in the cultural history of the Middle East. For centuries, pearl diving and harvesting has been a major economic key to cities around the Arabian Gulf. And it just so happens, the gleaming stones are beautiful enough to complement the Bentayga's high-class personality. On the car shown here, Bentley artistically integrated a mother-of-pearl-laced dhow diving boat within the Dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus wood dashboard. Mother of pearl is also seen on the Breitling clock in the center of the dash. Furthering the elevated feel of the cabin is a special technological add-on. Bentley installed a high-pressure die-cast aluminum storage unit that only unlocks with the touch of the owner's finger. The biometric fingerprint sensor is intended to secure any valuables while the car is left in an exposed environment or handed off to drivers. The rest of the cabin is a two-tone blend of light Linen and dark Brunel leather, a theme meant to evoke the coloring of a pearl and its shell. The quilted seats and door paneling have Camel and Brunel contrast stitching, and gold embroidery adds extra sparkle. Linen lambswool rugs turn the floor into a delightful rest area for the feet, and door sills highlight the car's "1 of 5" status. The remaining examples will be built by Mulliner's crew in Crewe, England. Featured Gallery Bentley Bentayga Pearl of the Gulf by Mulliner View 10 Photos News Source: Bentley Bentley SUV Luxury bentley bentayga Mulliner

What it's like to drive Bentley's Continental GT3 racecar

I'm gliding across the back roads of Napa in a Bentley Flying Spur V8 S, and all is right with the world. Two and a half tons of metal, leather, and hubris provide insulation, while the audio system's eleven speakers smother me with the syrupy sounds of Katy Perry as the landscape floats past. My guilty pleasure is mine alone, because this bank vault on wheels is practically soundproof. But I'll soon be harnessed into a fearsome hellion that would terrify all but the edgiest of Bentley owners. I'm headed to Sonoma Raceway to drive the 2,800-pound, 600-plus-horsepower Bentley Continental GT3 racecar. Goodbye swankiness, hello madness. Bentley probably isn't the first brand you associate with racing, but the Flying B's competition highlights include Le Mans wins in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, and, most recently, a top finish at the fabled endurance event with the brand's 2003 return. The 1-2 victory in '03 came in the wildly engineered LMGTP prototype class; it wasn't until a more relatable, Continental GT-based car was campaigned eight years later that Bentley unlocked the full potential of its rich history. "Motorsports is essentially a business tool," Bentley race boss Brian Gush told Autoblog at the GT3's race debut three years ago, reinforcing the industry's familiar "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" mantra. But let's also tip a hat to the intangible: There's something undeniably cool about watching a beefed-up version of your daily driver battling it out on a world-class track, especially when that car is a fat-cat luxury coupe that seems better suited to the boulevard than the race circuit. After swapping blue jeans for a Nomex jumpsuit, I watch as the GT3 emerges from the transporter, and the sight is downright intimidating. It's wide and low, with an impossibly big wing. There's another source of intimidation: While a small group of journalists has sampled Bentley's media car, I'm about to get behind the wheel of a privateer-owned car. No pressure. "Ever met the owner?" a Bentley rep asks, referring to Team Absolute's Adderly Fong. "He's a big guy, mean, with a really short temper," he quips, which is essentially shorthand for "don't wreck his car." I crack a tentative smile, acknowledging the not-so-veiled message. Bentley test driver Butch Leitzinger gives me the lowdown on this particular GT3, which happens to be coming fresh off a top-ten finish at the weekend's Pirelli World Cup Challenge.

Bentley plotting rear-drive Continental GT3-R?

Coupe, convertible or Flying Spur sedan: no matter what body-style you get, or what engine you specify, the Bentley Continental comes with all-wheel drive. It's been that way since the model line was first introduced a dozen years ago. But that looks poised to change... at least for one notable exception. According to Autocar, Bentley is all but certain to launch a rear-drive version of the Continental GT3-R sometime next year, ditching the front half of the drivetrain to cut a good 440 pounds off the curb weight to make it the lightest Conti yet. The Continental GT3-R launched last year with less weight and more power, along with a stiffer suspension, upgraded brakes and a titanium exhaust. It drew its inspiration from the Continental GT3 racer, but unlike the competition version, kept the AWD drivetrain in place. "A lot of people expected the GT3-R to be a proper rear-wheel-drive sports car," Bentley's chief engineer Rolf Frech said to Autocar, "but the problem was timing. We needed the car at the end of the first season of our GT3 racing car, and to do a proper change of the complete powertrain needed longer than we had. But we have the concept in our mind, so why not?" Denuded of its all-wheel drive, the Conti GT3-RS – assuming Porsche doesn't mind lending the name to its sister company – would be the most hardcore version of the go-to luxury coupe, and would promise to cut its already blitzkreig 3.6-second 0-60 time down even further. Especially if the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 were tuned to deliver even more than the 572 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque it already kicks out in the existing GT3-R. Chances are it'd be even less accessible, though: the 99 examples of the Conti GT3-R that are coming to the States out of the 300 total to be made already carry a $337k sticker price, and the rear-drive model would likely push the production:price see-saw even higher to the right.