Bentley Mulsanne Sedan on 2040-cars

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Mansory Bentley Continental GT V8 Convertible is gaudy and green to the max

Mansory is all about excess, and if the Geneva Motor Show were going on, all visitors to its booth would likely need eye protection upon entering. Take this Mansory Bentley Continental GT V8 Convertible for an example. The exterior paint may be matte black, but it’s gaudy to the max. ThereÂ’s a body kit in play here, giving the hood, front bumper, side skirts and rear bumper the Mansory edge (or ugly, however you want to look at it). Much of the classy Bentley styling is interrupted here, but the interior is where Mansory really went nuts. That green youÂ’re looking at is called “green chrome-oxite,” and it might just be visible from the International Space Station. The leather is all in-house Mansory work, which is then complemented by carbon fiber. If you like diamond-quilted stitching, youÂ’re in luck. The leather design is literally everywhere it could possibly be, even in places where it makes no sense, like the floor. This Continental GT V8 also has a couple performance modifications, too. Mansory has fitted a high performance exhaust system and fiddled with the ECU for a little extra power. It now makes 640 horsepower and 656 pound-feet of torque, up handily from the 582 horses and 568 pound-feet of torque it makes in stock form. That lowers the 0-60 mph time by one tenth of a second to 3.8 seconds. Top speed also rises from 198 mph to 205 mph. Finally, you can crest 200 mph in your V8 Continental. Mansory truly leaves no stone unturned in a build like this. Even the engine bay features green accents all over the place. Pricing wasnÂ’t detailed by Mansory, but if youÂ’re one of the few (or maybe just the one?) who actually wants a Bentley in this spec, weÂ’re sure Mansory will put a number out there for you. WeÂ’ve shot a note over to Mansory ourselves to see what this monstrosity of a Bentley conversion costs. ItÂ’s sure to be extravagant. Related Video:    

Ultra-luxury automakers like Bentley and Rolls-Royce need to hurry up with EVs

In the five years that I've worked at Autoblog, I've read a lot of press releases. They're all pretty flowery and self-serving, but the ones that go the extra distance with lavish words and pompous phrasing tend to come from the most luxurious brands, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. And something that they both love talking about is sustainably sourced materials for their vehicles. The descriptions read like they've seen the light about using resources responsibly. That would be great, except for one thing: There's nothing sustainable about multi-ton land yachts with eight or more cylinders. Only one of Bentley's models can be had with fuel economy better than 20 mpg combined when running on gasoline, and guess what, it's not one of the brand's two plug-in hybrids (which are to be commended, but still seem half-hearted when we're talking serious sustainability). And Rolls-Royce is even worse without a single model even hitting 15 mpg combined. These automakers should have at least one EV model apiece. Apparently, there are some coming, but they're still years away, and that frankly shocks and frustrates me for a number of reasons. One of the big ones is that these brands couldn't be better suited to electric propulsion. What makes these cars impressive is their refinement and performance. You can't get much better in either of those categories than with beefy electric motors, which provide nearly silent operation with no gear changes and enormous power and torque ratings. And it's all achievable with a lot less effort than making an 8- or 12-cylinder internal combustion engine quiet and smooth. Sure, battery technology is complicated, and it's expensive and heavy, but all of that is covered by these brand's typical products. They can command prices that would easily absorb the cost of batteries. And the size and weight of current cars mean that loading them up with batteries to achieve range comparable to their gas models wouldn't be a problem, either. Heck, that's the exact strategy being used by GM and Ford to get huge range in their electric trucks. 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S View 41 Photos And the cost of the EV technology shouldn't even be that great for Bentley or Rolls-Royce, since they're both owned by companies that are leaders in electric car development with existing technology and the ability to spread costs out over various brands.

Volkswagen names new chief designer for Bentley

The Volkswagen Group has named one of its own to head up the design department at its Bentley division. The role now falls to Stefan Sielaff, who has been with the group (off and on) since 1990. Sielaff is principally an interior designer, but has been tasked with setting up numerous overall design offices for Volkswagen and Audi over the years. In his new capacity he'll be reporting to the group's chief engineer Rolf Frech (and oddly not to Bentley chief Wolfgang Durheimer), but at the same time, Sielaff will retain his role as head of interior design for the entire VW group, reporting to its chief designer Walter de Silva. Sielaff replaces Luc Donckerwolke, who has headed up Bentley design since 2012 and is leaving the company. We'll be on the lookout to see where Donckerwolke lands next. Crewe/Wolfsburg, 04 June 2015 Stefan Sielaff to head design at the Bentley brand • Sielaff also responsible for Group Interior Design Strategy Stefan Sielaff (53), currently Head of the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam, will assume responsibility for design at the Bentley brand effective July 1, 2015 in addition to his present post as Head of Group Interior Design Strategy. As Director of Design at Bentley, Sielaff succeeds Luc Donckerwolke (49), who held this function since 2012. Stefan Sielaff joined the Volkswagen Group in 1990, beginning his career in the interior design department at Audi. From 1995 the design graduate was entrusted with setting up the Group's Design Center Europe in Spain. In 1997 he was placed in charge of the Design Studio in Munich and was appointed Head of Audi Interior Design in the same year. In 2003 Sielaff moved to DaimlerChrysler as Design Director of the Interior Competence Center, returning to the Volkswagen Group in 2006 to become Head of Audi Design before being appointed Head of the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam und Head of Group Interior Design Strategy in 2012. In his new function as Director of Design at Bentley, Sielaff reports to Rolf Frech, Board Member for Engineering. In his function as Head of Group Interior Design Strategy he continues to report to Walter de Silva, Head of Group Design. Luc Donckerwolke has decided to leave the company. De Silva said: "Luc Donckerwolke has played a key role in the design of various Group brands. We would like to thank him for his work." Related Video: News Source: Volkswagen Design/Style Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Bentley Volkswagen