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Bentley confirms SUV for 2016

It looks like the addition of a Royal Baby isn't the only big news coming out of the UK this week. Bentley has ended all of the will they/won't they speculation by confirming today that it will produce an SUV. Earmarked to go on sale in 2016, the as-yet unnamed Bentley SUV will help create an extra 1,000 jobs in the UK.
While no concrete details have been released, Bentley says that it will be the "most luxurious and most powerful SUV" on the market. Past rumors have indicated that the SUV could look completely different from the 2012 EXP 9 F Concept shown above, be renamed the Falcon and offer options like a plug-in hybrid version and three-row seating. To prepare for a fourth model in its lineup, Bentley will be investing 800 million British pounds (around $1.2 billion USD) into its Crewe headquarters and production lines over the next three years. Scroll down for Bentley's press release officially confirming the new SUV.

Bentley testing new SUV in Audi Q7's clothes

Sure, this looks largely like an Audi Q7. What if we told you, though, that it was actually a Bentley? This may be one of the very first sets of images we've seen of the aristocratic brand's SUV. Based on the borrowed Audi bodywork, however, testing appears to be in the early stages.
While it may look like an Audi Q7, there are a number of giveaways. One of the more subtle are the British number plates, in place of the traditional German plates that would be found were this a mule for the next Q7. Other changes are more noticeable. According to our spies, this mule is much wider, while its fenders have also been enlarged to accommodate larger wheels and tires.
Out back, four exhaust pipes jut out from the lower fascia, while larger brakes are hidden behind black wheels. The big indicator that this is something special, though, can be seen in the front fascia. The heavily modified front clip is home to two massive intakes below the headlights. According to our spies, these conceal a pair of intercoolers. Whether they are for Bentley (and Audi's) twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 or the 6.0-liter W12 is unclear.

First Bentley to race at Le Mans sells for over $3.7 million

What's the big deal with Bentley? After all, the luxury marque has spent much of its life as a Volkswagen sub-brand or Rolls-Royce understudy. Well the big deal is, in short, racing provenance. In its very early days, before it became an nouveau riche status symbol, Bentley staked a claim as a force in the motorsports world. And people who remember that still hold the brand in high regard. Case in point: The first Bentley to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans has just sold for more than $3.7 million. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the famed French enduro, hailed by many as the greatest auto race in the world. In 1923 Bentley 3-Litre, chassis 141 became the first of many to enter the race. In fact, it is billed as the first international entrant, period.  Prior to its arrival at Circuit de la Sarthe, the car had been raced by WWI veteran and Bentley dealer John Duff at the Double 12 Hour at Brooklands. At the time 24-hour races had been outlawed in the U.K. due to noise so the race was divided into two segments. Duff set 38 international records as he covered 2,082 miles at an average 86.79 mph. Based on that success, he asked founder W.O. Bentley to help him prep the car for a new day-long race in France. Duff and his co-driver Frank Clement, a Bentley factory test driver, managed to finished fourth despite a hole in the fuel tank caused by a rock on the track in this pre-paved era. Along the way, they set a lap record of 66.69 mph average speed. Duff and several other racers became known as the Bentley Boys, a cadre of free-wheeling daredevil rascals. Bentley, Duff and Clement returned the following year and won the race outright. The Bentley Boys would then set a four-year streak from 1927-30 at the fledgling event, cementing the brand into legend. Then Rolls-Royce bought the company in 1931 and ceased its racing activities. A Bentley works car would not appear on the starting grid at Le Mans until the EXP Speed 8 in 2001. Despite its pivotal role in Bentley history, chassis 141 was pretty much treated as a used car after its retirement. According to the brokerage firm that arranged the $3.7 million sale, at some point a local undertaker covered the rear and used it as a wagon, perhaps for macabre cargo.