2012 Bentley Gt Convertible Hallmark/magnolia, Nav, Contrast Stitching, on 2040-cars

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2022 Bentley Flying Spur Odyssean Edition launches the hybrid in style

The 2022 Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid will be the second plug-in hybrid in the company's lineup. And the brand is bestowing it with a special model called the Odyssean Edition to kick it off. It has some unique interior features that Bentley claims are more sustainable, but we would argue they don't do much to make the big sedan particularly green, at least not beyond its hybrid nature. Set that aside, though, and the Odyssean Edition is still a nice machine. The interior is the highlight of the Odyssean Edition, and in particular, the contrast stitching used on the seats. They've been dyed so that they start dark on the outer edges and fade to a lighter tone in the center. Bentley says this is the first time this stitching design has been used on a production car, with it originally appearing on the EXP 100 GT concept car. The rest of the interior is covered in natural leather (supposedly for its longevity), natural finish Koa wood (supposedly for less lacquer use) and some 100% wool spun into tweed panels on the backs of the front seats. You can get other Bentleys with leather and natural-finish wood, so they aren't really an extra step toward sustainability. On the outside, the Odyssean Edition is distinguished by champagne-colored accents on the 21-inch wheels, as well as the lower chrome and headlight and taillight surrounds. A badge also appears on the rear pillar. Bentley recommends six paint colors to match the accents, but if you really want to, you can pick from anything in the Bentley color range. Customers can also add options to the Odyssean Edition. We're a little surprised that some of those options include fairly common features such as ambient lighting, puddle lights, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control and a head-up display. But less common options include a leather headliner, light-up hideaway hood ornament, 3D diamond upholstery on door panels (shown in the gallery), revolving center display, wool carpeting and night vision. Availability and pricing were not announced. We would expect it to go on sale by the end of the year like regular Flying Spur Hybrids. And like those standard cars, the Odyssean Edition gets the same twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 hybrid making 536 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. Range from its 14.1-kWh battery is estimated at more than 25 miles. Related Video: Byron plays rich in the 2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8 | Autoblog

Set your Bentley Bentayga apart with Mountain Marquetry trim

One of the best things about the ordering process at Bentley has got to be the sheer level of customization on offer. We're especially fond of the wood veneers. But if none of them meet your high standards, the company's Mulliner division now offers this intricate Mountain Marquetry dashboard design. The hand-crafted artistic vista depicts the Roque Bentayga, the mountain formation located on Gran Canaria in Spain's Canary Islands from which the company took the name for its new sport utility vehicle. The time-intensive installation is made of 32 layers of wood taken from six different species of tree. We don't know just what woods Bentley's artisans use to weave the wooden tapestry, but as it is, the Bentayga alone is available with an array of seven such options, including chestnut, eucalyptus, ash, madrona (a type of Ericaceae indigenous to our West Coast), two types of burr walnut, and a piano-lacquered walnut. If you're not into the whole wood thing, Bentley has also been known to offer trim in alternative materials like carbon fiber, aluminum, and even stone. It goes without saying, of course, that all of this comes at a price. We wouldn't be surprised to discover that said price could get you an entire second automobile. But cost is seldom an object for many Bentley customers who want their automobile to stand out from all the other Bentleys parked at the country club, racquet club, yacht club, or whatever other kind of club the rest of us probably haven't even heard of. Related Video: News Source: Bentley via YouTube Bentley Luxury Videos bentley bentayga Mulliner

Audi: record profit as 'biggest product initiative' in its history gets underway

Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann   Even as the Audi Group (VOW.DE), VW’s luxury division, is in the midst of a huge EV transformation it still needs to perform where it counts — the bottom line. And so it is doing just that.  On Thursday the Audi Group - which is dominated volume-wise by Audi, but also includes Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati - posted record revenue and operating profit in 2022. That shouldnÂ’t be a surprise given what the industry has been seeing at the highest end of the market - record performances despite macroeconomic jitters across the globe. But that it's happening as the group is noteworthy.  “We are on the verge of the biggest product initiative in our history,” Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann said at a news conference earlier on Thursday. “By 2025, we will have launched around 20 new models, more than 10 of which will be all-electric. We have set the course to go 100% electric. By 2027, we seek to offer an all-electric vehicle in each core segment.”   This is all part of Audi GroupÂ’s Vorsprung 2030 plan, which seeks to have all of the groupÂ’s new models be electric by 2026 — and to end traditional gas-powered engine production by 2033. To that end, the group saw EV deliveries jump 44% (in 2022) compared to 2021 to over 118,000 vehicles, with the share of EVs rising to 7.2% from 4.8% in the prior year. Audi is also launching its first EV using the PPE (premium platform electric), which was developed together with Porsche. That EV, the Audi Q6 e-tron, will be unveiled later this year. (Past Audi EVs shared corporate parent VWÂ’s electric platform.) “With the Audi Q6 e-tron, e-mobility is coming from Ingolstadt (Audi HQ) for the first time,” Duesmann said in a statement. “To this end, weÂ’re also building a dedicated battery assembly facility on site. This will enable us to retain important know-how here in Germany and train our employees in future fields.” AudiÂ’s German rivals of course are also leaning in hard on their EV transformations. That makes it all the more important that Audi get its EV strategy right—and launched in a timely manner.