2013 Bentley Continental Gt V8 Mulliner Beluga Over Beluga 2684 Miles As-new! on 2040-cars

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Bentley Bentayga flops around on the 'Ring

Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer said the coming W12 Bentayga SUV will be the fastest SUV on the market, drawing a response from Porsche R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz that the next-generation Porsche Cayenne will outdo the Bentley on the road, and with a smaller V8 engine. We're going to assume that post and riposte is over top-speed honors, because judging by video of a prototype Bentayga lapping the Nurburgring, it won't be a Continental GT with a lift kit and it won't even be a current Cayenne GTS. In this video the Bentayga looks built for luxury, not cornering speed, as the body rolls over to the outside and the nannies shift the nose back into line when the driver pushes it through curbs. Or it could be that like the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the Bentayga comes with some intense off-road chops that preclude tight-ship turning. And admittedly, we have no idea how this prototype is set up, but Porsche will probably take it as more reason to be smug anyway. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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.

Bentley Continental GT commemorating Pikes Peak win is one green machine

Back in June, the Bentley Continental GT set a production-car record for the Pikes Peak hill climb, and now there's a limited edition to celebrate. Maybe the wait was so the brand's Mulliner division could work up a batch of the car's special green paint, which Bentley calls Radium. The green hue is taken from the hill climb car's livery, and it appears not only on the body, but also on the Pirelli P Zero tires and inside as contrast stitching, floor mat edging, and embroidery of Pikes Peak on the headrests. The not-quite-matching color on the brake calipers is Bentley's Acid Green. Besides Radium, the model also is offered in black. The special edition also features Pikes Peak graphics on the front fenders, a carbon fiber body kit, a black roof panel, black side mirrors, and 22-inch wheels also in black. Buyers can opt for Bentley's "100" grille (honoring the brand's centenary year), as pictured here. Besides the Radium green accents, the interior also comes with carbon fiber and gloss-black trim. A graphic showing one of five different sections of the track appears above the glove box, along with the record time of 10:18.488. Bentley's rotating center display also is included along with comfort-spec front seats and deep pile floor mats. All of the cars will be fitted with the 626-hp W12 engine. Pricing for the Pikes Peak limited edition depends on buyer specification, so there's no official MSRP. Nor is there a specific model name. But Bentley is saying that only 15 cars with this special set of extras will be built, and even without a name, it shouldn't be hard to distinguish them from other Continental GTs.