2016 Bentley Continental Gt Gt V8 S on 2040-cars

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Bentley and Skoda capitalize on the coronation

Most likely, King Charles won’t be riding in a Czech-made Skoda this weekend when he is crowned king of England, even though the car company has introduced a Coronation Edition in a “Royal Green” color “in honor of the Coronation.” However, should they ride to the fancy investiture at Westminster Abbey in a home-grown Bentley, the royal tushes of he and Queen Camilla may be resting on bespoke, handcrafted “cabin cushions” created by BentleyÂ’s “Dream Factory” to celebrate the occasion (not likely, since the royal couple is expected to travel in the 260-year-old Gold State Coach). The upcoming, day-long event has inspired lots of tchotchkes of course — chocolate Charleses, crowns for dogs, Lego kings — as well as an outpouring of affection by the public and commercial opportunities to sell them things royalty-related. On the matter of the new KingÂ’s rear end, the Bentley cushions are described as being quite fabulous. It took craftsmen three days to embroider them with the special “Coronation Emblem,” which consists, according to the firm, "of two separate thread colours ... three different colourways of the emblem were used, to contrast the individually-selected hides for different colours of cushions to match the interiors of the Bentleys that will use them." The colors of the cushions include Cricketball and Cumbrian Green, accented by piping of Beluga, Porpoise, Newmarket Tan and Imperial Blue respectively. Should they require more modern transportation, a fleet of Bentleys will be on hand for special guests.  Regarding the Skodas, the Royal Green color will be available to order by commoners as well as by the royal couple, available on selected Superb, Kodiaq and Octavia models in the UK.

Bentley teases new Flying Spur's 3D diamond leather upholstery

Playing the long game before unveiling the new Flying Spur, Bentley's published the second teaser for the new "luxury grand touring sedan." The last one homed in on the retracting "Flying B hood" ornament. This one focuses on what Bentley says is "an automotive world-first," three-dimensional textured leather lining the cabin. Created by Crewe's craftsmen and demonstrated on the door panel, the leather adopts a diamond-quilted pattern, but without stitches indicative of quilting. Up close, it looks like the leather simply adheres to a complex relief form. That's trick we expect to be one of many that will supposedly "set new standards for contemporary craftsmanship." The coming third-generation Flying Spur will want to come out of the gate with just such goals. When the first generation arrived in 2005, it became the Toyota Camry for rich people. The second generation — which still rides on that original platform — blanched in the heat of competition from Bentley's own lineup, on top of competition from the Mercedes-Maybach below and cross-country rival Rolls-Royce Ghost. The new model is all new, from the MSB platform shared with the new Continental GT and Porsche Panamera, to a design that will put more separation between the two-door Continental and the four-door Flying Spur. Expect the 6.0-liter W12 with 626 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque as the marquee engine, and a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 542 hp and 568 lb-ft as the economical choice. Eventual V8 S and Speed models will wring more grunt from those two engines. A plug-in hybrid will debut some point, based around a 2.9-liter V6. We don't know when the debut will happen, perhaps as soon as Pebble Beach in August, or as late as the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, or the Frankfurt Motor Show in between. If you're keen on keeping up in the meantime, you can "register your interest" at NewFlyingSpur.com. As others have noted, the honorifics in the dropdown list at the site include "Lord" and "Sheikh," because titles matter even more at $200,000 before options.

Bentley Bentayga may spawn sportier fastback version

In the past few years, Bentley has shown us two different conceptions about what its future might look like in: the SUV that started life as the EXP 9 F concept and has now entered production as the Bentayga, and the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept that previews a future sports coupe from the stoic British marque. The next step is an SUV that combines a little of each of them. According to Automotive News, engineers and designers in Crewe are currently laying the groundwork for a crossover that would blend the tall form of the Bentayga with the roofline of the Speed 6. The result would be similar in form, we'd imagine, to the likes of the BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupe, only even further upscale. We wouldn't be surprised to see more changes than the roofline and tail section, either, with a sportier front end and more avant-garde headlights (like those we saw on the Speed 6 concept) giving it a sportier, less stodgy appearance all around – and maybe, just maybe, a different nameplate. CEO Wolfgang Durheimer wants to get the fastbacked Bentayga variant ready by 2018 or 2019 – right around the time that Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Maserati, and Lamborghini will be rolling out their debut crossovers. By that time, Bentley will have already have had the Bentayga on the market for two or three years, and wants to be ready to fight off the onslaught with something fresh. "Imagine the EXP 10 as an SUV. It doesn't look 'old Bentley, Durheimer told AN. "The Bentayga doesn't stop us from dreaming and looking down the road. The more success we have with it, the more we can take the best of it and run with it." Proceeding with the project will require Durheimer to get approval from the Volkswagen Group head office in Wolfsburg, but the business case seems like a slam dunk. The model would help Bentley (and VW) further capitalize on the $1 billion it already spent developing the Bentayga, following a successful business model laid out by rival BMW and which Germany's other automakers are quickly learning to emulate. This wouldn't be the first time he'd be seeking approval from Matthias Muller on such a project, either. Durheimer successfully ushered the Cayenne into production when he was head of R&D at Porsche and Muller was the brand's CEO.