1978 Bentley Continental Gt on 2040-cars

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Bentley Bentayga strips a little more at the Nurburgring

Engineering its first SUV undoubtedly poses a number of challenges for the team at Bentley. It's got to ride cushy enough to satisfy upscale customers, the performance capabilities to live up to its claims, and the off-road chops to keep up with a Range Rover. It's a heck of an occasion to rise to, but the crew from Crewe is hard at work to bring it all together, as you can see from this latest batch of spy shots. Spied entering the Volkswagen Group's test facility at the Nurburgring, this pre-production prototype for the upcoming new Bentayga is still wearing some light camouflage – particularly around the head- and taillights – but looks about ready to hit showrooms. It's even got its brightwork in place. We'll still have to hold on a while longer to see all the finished details, but it's already abundantly clear that Bentley has gone to some lengths to make sure it looks better than the EXP 9 F that first dipped the company's toes in the crossover waters.

Bentley hits two milestones nearly a century apart at the same time

Bentley's Mulliner division completed two customer cars that couldn't be more different. It finished the first Bacalar, a futuristic-looking roadster related to the Continental GT, and it wrapped up the first Blower continuation car. Each limited to 12 examples, the Bacalar and the Blower are customer-configured special projects that are built largely by hand, so signing off the first examples is a major accomplishment. Bentley isn't able to reveal the identity of the person who purchased either. The first Blower is painted in Birkin Green as a tribute to one of original Blowers, which was built and raced by Sir Tim Birkin. Its wire wheels are also green, and its soft top is black. Mechanically, the first continuation Blower is identical to the 1929 car, meaning it's powered by a supercharged, 4.4-liter four-cylinder engine, but Bentley made a handful of small changes in the name of safety and convenience. First, it fitted electric fuel pumps and added a foam baffle to the fuel tank. Second, it added a dynator that it describes as "a reworked alternative to the original dynamo." Everything inside the four-cylinder is a re-creation of the original engine, down to the aluminum pistons. It develops 240 horsepower, which was amazing in 1929. Back in the 21st century, the first Bacalar is finished in Atom Silver with Moss Green and gloss black exterior accents. It rides on 22-inch wheels. Beluga leather upholstery dominates the cabin, and the owner commissioned a sprinkling of black and green to create a visual link between the exterior and the interior. Bentley delivered the car with a set of leather-upholstered luggage, and it placed the key in a box that's upholstered with the same leather. Power for the Bacalar comes from a twin-turbocharged, 6.0-liter W12 that delivers 650 horsepower and 667 pound-feet of torque. It spins the four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission connected to shift paddles. While this is an existing powertrain, Bentley nonetheless put the Bacalar through extensive durability tests in 2020. Both models are on their way to their new home. Keep your eyes peeled at the next cars and coffee event; who knows, one might make a surprise appearance. Bentley previously said the Bacalar would be sold in America under the Show and Display rule, so some of the production run will likely end up here. In the meantime, the men and women in Bentley's Mulliner workshop have already started building the next three examples in each series.

Cheap shots in the 'cheap' Bentley: What can you get away with in a Flying Spur V8?

You know the feeling when you think you've finished something brilliant, then you sit down and take a look at it with fresh eyes and realize that, not only is it crap, but it was never really a good idea in the first place? That was me, a couple of weeks ago, as I was looking through the footage I shot while driving the 2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8. Yes, after seeing reactions to the car on social media, I actually thought it would be funny to do a tongue-in-cheek bit where I suggested that Bentley provide owners with a feature designed to help keep "poor" people away. It was a half-baked idea, conceived to be lighthearted and in a vague nod to British humor. The point was not to make fun of anybody's financial situation (except my own, in a round-about self-deprecating way), but the product turned out a bit, well, cringe-inducing. Out of selfish desire not to lose the work that went into it (or another opportunity to talk about this gorgeous car), I decided to repurpose it with some help from "Dr." Byron. As you can see, he's doing house calls now.  I've been reviewing cars for more than a decade now, and even with that much time under my belt, I can still count on my hands the number of truly remarkable cars I've had the chance to drive. This Flying Spur stands out as the most expensive, the most exclusive, and, well, pretty much just the most car I've ever experienced. As I alluded to in my initial write-up, this is the kind of car that causes somebody like me — a person of comfortably modest means — to rethink even the most fundamental aspects of an otherwise conventional road trip.  Over the years, I've had people compliment, degrade and otherwise question my life choices based on cars I barely put 100 miles on. It's part of the gig. I was once rather directly approached and asked for money while gassing up a 2012 Porsche Cayman; no "hello," no preamble, no sugar-coating. Just, "Can I have some money?" So no, that tweet didn't actually make me self-conscious about cruising around in such a valuable and exclusive automobile, but the mere act of driving it did, and the discomfort was even further juiced by my knowledge that what I was driving wasn't even the "expensive" Flying Spur. I found myself wanting to tell people, "Look, you really shouldn't be that impressed. This is the cheap one." The question follows thusly: What is a cheap Bentley, and why does it need to exist?