2007 Bentley Continental Gtc Beluga Beluga Superb & Original With 15,736 Miles! on 2040-cars

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Bentley orders are up by 50% thanks to Chinese buyers

LONDON — Bentley began the year with 50% more orders than the start of last year and built more luxury cars in January than the same time in 2020 as China boosted demand despite challenges from the pandemic, its boss told Reuters on Wednesday. The Volkswagen-owned brand said it had not faced major disruption from Britain's exit from the European Union nor from a shortage of semi-conductor chips, which has forced some automakers to halt or reduce production. Based in Crewe, northern England, the over century-old marque made a small profit in 2020, when its factory was forced to close as Britain entered its first national lockdown, and hopes to build on that this year. "The order bank at the beginning of this year was 50% higher than it was at the beginning of last year," Chief Executive Adrian Hallmark said in an interview. "China, by far, is the most outstanding performance in the world in respect of level of orders compared with normal expectations." The firm sold 11,206 cars in 2020. Related Video:

2023 Bentley Bentayga EWB Azure First Edition on sale for one year

The 2023 Bentley Bentayga EWB has added a third flavor. Above the standard spec, the Azure trim adds distinguishing features like elongated quilting and perforation on the numerous leather surfaces, jeweled caps for the fuel and oil fillers, fancier wheels, and Azure badging. For the first model year of production the craftspeople at Crewe will build an Azure First Edition trim. The First Edition makes normally optional frills like Bentley Diamond Illumination and the Naim for Bentley stereo standard equipment. That stereo pumps 1,720 watts of playlist through 20 speakers. There are also a heated steering wheel, folding picnic tables, and additional driver assistance systems  The cabin is sewn up with exclusive contrast stitching and embroidery, and of course there's First Edition badging outside, on the C-pillar, and inside on the seats. Should the customer decide that isn't enough advertising, buyers can request handcrafted metal overlays. This version of the SUV shows off brighter grilles in the lower bumper and sits on 22-inch, 10-spoke, directional wheels, an inch larger than the hoops on the standard Bentayga.  The Bentayga EWB marks the return of the Azure name for the first time since 2010, and the Bentayga's second First Edition after the 2017 Bentayga W12 which was limited to 608 units. The W12, by the way, is said to be forbidden to the EWB. Pricing hasn't been announced, but since the EWB starts at around $230,000 and Bentley's already said it expects "that people will option them beyond $300,000," the Azure First Edition can be expected to push that well higher. Related video: 2019 Bentley Bentayga Exterior Walkaround, Drive Modes, V8 Engine, Front Seats and Rear Seats

Pre-Race notes from the 2015 Nurburgring 24-Hours

Autoblog has come to the German countryside to watch the Nurburgring 24-Hour race, and just one day in, we have to say it's outstanding. Le Mans has been the highlight of our summer racing schedule for the past few years, the 'Ring 24-Hour event being the appetizer we always skipped. Earlier this year, however, while visiting Miami to check out the Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S, we met Scott Preacher. He oversees digital marketing for both Cigarette and AMG during the week, then comes to Germany to compete in the VLN race series on the weekends, driving an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for Team Mathol. If Le Mans is the Oscars of endurance racing, the Nurburgring 24-Hour race is the Screen Actors Guild award – the one voted on by the actors, for the actors. In this case it's the race by the teams and fans, for the teams and fans, even though the increasing manufacturer presence has altered the team equation. We were told that it wasn't so long ago that true privateers could win the overall, but that's not really the case anymore. Front-running teams have heavy factory involvement – Audi Sport Team Phoenix, for instance, which finished in first and third last year, has its own 'Ring race center and is running the 2016 R8; Aston Martin is represented by Aston Martin Racing and Aston Martin Test Center, and Bentley has a Bentley Motors team and uses HPT to run another team. The fan component hasn't changed, though, and you can't talk about the race for more than 60 seconds before someone brings up the battalions of spectators. Every driver we spoke to cited them as the most incredible part of this race after the track itself. It feels to us like a giant German Sebring, with thousands of people camped out in the ginormous, forested infield, many of whom have been here since Monday erecting their ornate camping compounds. There will be parties everywhere Saturday night, and so much bratwurst on the grill that the drivers can smell it when as they're blasting full speed through Wehrseifen. Even when we drove a Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe on a lap before the race, the fans waved like it was a competition. Scott Preacher's Australian co-driver Robert Thompson said, "You come around a corner and it's like you're driving full speed through the middle of a carnival." The race field itself could also be called a carnival, with an officially invited field of more than 170 cars. Even on a track that's 24.4-km long, that's like racing on the 405 at midday.