1998 Bentley Brooklands R - Very Nice Car Priced To Sell, Make Offer on 2040-cars

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Bentley re-creates one-of-a-kind sports sedan destroyed in 1939

Bentley's Mulliner division specializes in making one-off (or few-off) projects for clients willing to foot the bill. They're the folks you'd want to talk to if you want a long-wheelbase Flying Spur, a Bentayga-based dually pickup, or anything in between. The division only works on new models, but it stepped outside of its comfort zone to re-create a one-of-a-kind Bentley manufactured and destroyed in 1939. The project is part of Bentley's on-going centennial celebration, and finishing it in time was easier said than done. It made building a concept car like the EXP 100 GT look like assembling a Lego kit. The original Corniche disappeared after getting bombed by the German army, and a majority of the people who saw it in person are dead, so the men and women tasked with resurrecting it only had a handful of period, black-and-white photographs and technical drawings to work with. The final product looks stunning, and Bentley claims it's identical to the original in every way. Parts like the chromed headlight bezels, the droplet-shaped fenders, and the wooden dashboard were exclusive to the Corniche, so they had to be manufactured from scratch using the correct materials, and the right production techniques. The British firm could have saved itself the trouble of re-creating this unique part of its history if another car hadn't pulled out in front of it 80 years ago. Bentley made the original Corniche during tumultuous times as it explored the possibility of releasing a more powerful variant of the Mark V scheduled to make its debut in October 1939. It asked French designer Georges Paulin to draw a futuristic, streamlined body, and it commissioned Paris-based coachbuilder Carrosserie Vanvooren to build it using thinner-than-normal steel to save weight. The Corniche lapped the Brooklands track for the first time in May 1939 and quickly reached over 100 mph, an impressive speed at the time. Testing continued in rural France, where the big Bentley blended in as well as a flying saucer. In August 1939, one of the company's test drivers swerved to avoid another car, rolled, and wrapped the aerodynamic front end around an unsuspecting tree. Bentley separated the body and the chassis. It immediately shipped the chassis to its headquarters in Crewe, England, and curiously asked a local shop to repair the body instead of sending it back to Vanvooren in Paris.

2020 Bentley Flying Spur First Drive Review | Take off your shoes and stay awhile

MONTE CARLO, Monaco — The all-new Bentley Flying Spur solves one of the principal dilemmas I faced in the principality of Monaco. Despite the tiny tax havenÂ’s prime location on the Mediterranean, and its reputation as a desirable seasonal seaside resort, the prim government there purportedly outlaws the practice of wandering around town topless, or bottomless. However, chauffeur-driven and ensconced in the right rear throne of the flying-B brandÂ’s second-best four-door sedan, with the power-operated privacy screens covering the gun-slit back windows, the seat coolers set to chill, and the front passenger seat pushed forward for maximum reclinage, I was able to abide my favorite Bentley motto: shades up, pants down. (Remind me never to drive with Berk on a press launch. -Ed) This is just one of the many seemingly unforeseen problems that this Bentley's latest and most-wonderful Flying Spur remedies in Monte Carlo (and, probably, elsewhere.) Other examples? Do you need to demonstrate to everyone that you are extremely rich, but prefer to do so in a way that does not involve revving your matte cloud-cover Lamborghini Aventador for the clots of cruise-ship-engorged, selfie-stick tourists bunging up Casino Square? Do you prefer to experience the golden seaside sunlight through the filter of a pair of sunroofs rather than through the searing defenselessness granted by the retracted roof of Bentley's Continental GT? When pulling away from toll stops, do you enjoy utilizing launch control, putting 626 hp and 664 lb-ft to the ground and freaking out surrounding BMW douchery with consistent 3.7-second blasts from 0-60? Again, the Flying Spur being a sedan, all of this can be accomplished from the back seat, where newly expanded legroom, newly ubiquitous knurling, and newly introduced quilted leather — part of the optional $15,000 Mulliner spec — can cosset your every body part. Well, maybe not your feet, but the carpets are quite good for going shoeless. (Geez, he took his shoes off, too? -Ed). Of course, if youÂ’d rather drive than be driven in the third-generation Spur, you can also accomplish all of this from the front seat too. It is hard to say which is preferable, but I typically lean toward taking the wheel. And this position has many merits.

Bentley's next Mulliner-developed model will celebrate the W12 engine

Bentley demonstrated what Mulliner, its in-house coachbuilding division, is capable of when it unveiled the limited-edition Bacalar in 2020. The convertible was well received, so the British firm is reportedly planning a follow-up model to celebrate (and send off) the W12 engine. Citing an anonymous inside source, British magazine Autocar wrote that Mulliner's next car will arrive as a coupe based on the Continental GT. That doesn't mean it will look like the Continental GT; the Bacalar is an evolution of the convertible Continental yet it wears a different design. Instead, the model will allegedly borrow styling cues from the EXP 100 GT concept (pictured) that Bentley introduced in 2019. While the EXP 100 GT was electric, Mulliner's next car will receive the same 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W12 that powers the Bacalar. The mighty engine will be tuned to send about 650 horsepower and 667 pound-feet of torque to the four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission, and it will pelt the coupe from 0-60 mph in well under four seconds and on to a top speed of over 200 mph. Several improvements, like a firmer suspension system and huge carbon ceramic brakes, will let drivers make the most of the W12's power. Hand-built, the coupe will carry a base price of at least $2 million before buyers begin personalizing it; nearly every visual part of the car, including the upholstery and the paint, will be customizable. That figure will make it the most expensive car Bentley has ever released. The report adds that production will be limited to 25 units, and we wouldn't be surprised if the full batch is spoken for before the model is unveiled — even if, like the Bacalar, it's only granted "show and display" status in America. If the rumor is accurate, we'll learn more about the car in 2022 and deliveries will begin the following year. This project could move fast; it took Bentley nine months to make the Bacalar a reality. Few-off projects serve several purposes: they generate profit and they help luxury carmakers elevate and solidify their image. This coupe will also represent Bentley's way of sending off the venerable W12 engine and give the world of a preview of the firm's next design language. Related Video: