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Bentley Mulsanne Grand Convertible due in 2017, Speed 6 still in play

Automobile outlines the near-term future of the Bentley line-up, finding a few items of gold and perhaps one that brand purists will consider a goldbrick. Dealers are taking orders for the the Bentley Grand Convertible, a ragtop Mulsanne introduced at the LA Auto Show last year, and it is expected to reveal its production form sometime late next year on its way to showroom floors by early 2017. Brand CEO Wolfgang Durheimer said "Mulsanne will get further derivatives," plural. Perhaps that means that with a convertible on its way to reality, a coupe something like a modern Brooklands will follow. A long-wheelbase Mulsanne is in the works, too. The Grand Convertible will wear the Mulsanne's new face, scheduled for reveal at next year's Geneva Motor Show. Automobile says the front will be "squarer" and the grille "more upright," which we didn't think was possible, and boast "three brick-shaped air intakes," apparently to emphasize the upright squareness. Plus, new headlights. The third-generation Continental and Flying Spur ranges would come after that, laid atop the MSB platform and rolling out of Crewe over a two-year period starting in 2017. They should still be powered by 4.0-liter V8 and 6.0-liter W12 engines, but the bodywork around those motors will be "both evolutionary and daring." This, then, should be the leap that Bentley wanted to make with the second-generation Continental but couldn't. Whither the EXP 10 Speed 6? Durheimer said the customer response has been, "Don't ask us questions, just do it." The last news we had over the summer was that Bentley was deciding whether to expand the line-up next with a small SUV or the Speed 6. It's not clear which will come first, but Durheimer said, "I'm confident that with EXP10 Speed 6 we will find a good solution," and the business case for it goes to the board a year from now. Automobile suggests it will go on sale in 2020 with a 600-horsepower, twin-turbo V8. That smaller SUV is still on the table, though, an entry-level offering that would use the re-engineered bones of the Audi Q5. Featured Gallery Bentley Grand Convertible: LA 2014 View 16 Photos News Source: AutomobileImage Credit: Live images copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Bentley Convertible Coupe Crossover Future Vehicles Luxury Performance bentley mulsanne bentley flying spur bentley exp 10 speed 6 bentley grand convertible

Bentley installing 10,000 solar panels in HQ parking lot

Bentley has started construction on what it says will be the U.K.'s largest solar-powered car port at its factory headquarters in Crewe, England. When completed, the array will have a capacity of 2.7 megawatts, enough to cover 24 percent of the company's energy requirements on the site. Crews will install 10,000 solar panels in the employee car port in a project that's expected to take six months. They'll add to the 20,815-panel, 5mW rooftop solar power system that Bentley finished installing at the factory in 2013. The combined output will be enough to power the equivalent of 1,750 homes. The car port will cover 1,378 parking spaces and be installed and operated by British firm FlexiSolar, which is also designing and manufacturing the system. The new green energy system adds to plaudits in recent years for reducing its water usage at the Crewe HQ. Bentley has also been awarded the Carbon Trust Standards for carbon, water and waste. While Bentleys aren't exactly known for their fuel efficiency — the Mulsanne sedan gets a woeful 11 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway — its vehicles no longer appear on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's "meanest" list of gas-guzzlers, as they once did. It also just showed its forthcoming and long-promised Bentayga plug-in hybrid in Geneva, promising 31 miles of all-electric range and a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 paired with an electric motor. The brand is also promising a full-electric model in the near future. "We continue to focus on new initiatives that reinforce our commitment to the environment, whether this is introducing alternative powertrain technologies in future models, or our award-winning work to reduce the environmental impact of our factory," Peter Bosch, Bentley's member of the Board for Manufacturing, said in a statement. Related Video:

Bentley Continental GT V8 S is just a little bit more excess [w/video]

Bentley has given its new, uprated Continental GT and GTC a live debut in Frankfurt, after a world debut on the interwebs, last week. The new models, which now wear the "V8 S" moniker, share their 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 with the standard GT/GTC V8, but pack an extra 21 horsepower and 15 pound-feet of torque.
There's also a few suspension and aesthetic tweaks to improve the Continental driving experience. Otherwise, this is just a slightly improved version of an already solid, entertaining and luxurious grand tourer. Scroll down for the official images and a video from Bentley, or hop up top to view our live images from the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. You can also click over for the full story on the newest members of the Bentley family.