2019 Bentley Bentayga V8 on 2040-cars

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Bentley Bentayga V8 Design Series embraces the darkness

It is a truism that designers love the color black, and the hue features prominently in the Bentley Bentayga V8 Design Series. Outside, the Design Series comes standard with the Bentayga's optional Blackline package, which includes black trim, black exhaust outlets, and a body-color lower front fascia. The Design Series also gets a special set of seven-spoke Paragon alloy wheels in dark gray. In a trick seen also on — ahem — Rolls-Royce, the wheels feature self-leveling center badges, which means the "B" is never at an incorrect angle. Designers hate that. While the exterior is offered in colors other than black, the interior comes exclusively in black (Bentley's "Beluga"), but with a contrasting accent color — red, orange, white, or blue — that runs across the dash and on the sides of the center console. It is also seen in the seat leather perforations and in the binding of the deep-pile floor mats. Carbon-fiber trim on the dashboard and door panels has a special diamond-weave pattern, while gloss-black center console trim provides still more blackness. A Breitling clock in the dash is not black — it has a mother-of-pearl face. Other included goodies are "Comfort" seats, door sills with an illuminated "Bentley" treadplate, and drilled-alloy pedals. The Design Series is exclusive to the eight-cylinder Bentayga, which is powered by a 542-hp V8. We'd say that buyers of the 12-cylinder model or the Bentayga Hybrid are out of luck but they can probably lean on Bentley's Mulliner in-house customizing operation to approximate something close. But then, if you're going the full Mulliner route, why not get a little more imaginative? Maybe with something like the Bentayga for falconry or this paean to fly fishing? Just be sure to spec those self-leveling wheels — after all, one's B should always be upright.

Bentley's Ultra Performance Hybrid succeeds the 6.0-liter W12

The twin-turbo 6.0-liter W12 engine composed the soundtrack to dreams around the world once it found a home in the Bentley Continental GT, which entered a production in 2003. That engine will sing its final encore in the Bentley Batur Convertible before the curtain comes down, tuned to its highest-ever output of 739 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. The Englanders in Crewe have lifted the hood on the successor, without providing all the details. What we know for now is that the powerplant debuting this summer is called the Ultra Performance Hybrid, a V8 PHEV with "more than 750 PS combined output" and an all-electric range of 50 miles on the WLTP cycle.   We haven't been given a displacement figure, nor did Bentley use the word "turbo" in its release. However, looking around the Volkswagen Group, the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 PHEV in the Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid and Lamborghini Urus SE seems a solid fit for this application. We're told to expect "the highest output ever offered in a Bentley," Since the 740 hp in the droptop Batur equals 750 PS — achieved without electrical assistance — there's reason to hope for something closer to 800 hp than 750. The Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid makes a combined 670 hp and 680 lb-ft, the Urus SE a combined 800 hp and 699 lb-ft. Both of them also hide a 25.9-kWh battery. [video width="2000" height="720" mp4="https://s.aolcdn.com/os/ab/_cms/2024/05/09084632/bentley-hybrid-sound.mp4"][/video] In the Bentley, the e-motors will also spread torque across a wider swath of the rev band than the non-hybrid W12. The company released a short sound clip, and yep, this things sounds like a Bentley engine, from purr to growl never leaving the basso profondo range. The Ultra Performance Hybrid will take its place at the top of the Bentayga, Continental GT, and Flying Spur ranges before the summer ends. We find out closer to that time what happens to the other engines on the menu, the twin-turbo 4.0-liter non-hybrid V8 and the twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter and 3.0-liter V6 plug-in hybrids for the Flying Spur and Bentayga, respectively. 

Xcar spots the differences of refreshed Bentley Continental GT

Bentley unfurled the details about the refresh of its second-generation Continental GT earlier this year and gave the high-speed cruiser an official unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show. Even with the tweaks, the British brand kept its most popular model very refined, though. If you're still having a problem spotting all the differences for this posh coupe, Xcar is here to help with an informative new video. Rather than putting the focus exclusively on driving impressions, Xcar really leans heavily into listing the specific updates for the latest Conti GT. Beyond the updated front end, likely the most obvious change for the refreshed model are the big, B-shaped pieces of chrome trim around the side vents. If not obvious already, they make it exceedingly clear that this is a Bentley. A neat touch is the nip and tuck at the rear to create a spoiler on the trunk lid, which does a great job of communicating the intent of the company's sporty model. Xcar ranks the Continental GT as Britain's best grand tourer, although this video doesn't really explain why in much detail. If you learn about all of the coupe's changes from this clip but still want to know how the vehicle drives, check out Autoblog's First Drive of both the V8 and W12 models for a much more thorough impression. Related Video: