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2018 Bentley Continental Supersports | More exciting than space travel

For the final song on their delightfully buoyant and mordant 1996 album This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, Pacific Northwest indie rock band Modest Mouse penned an even more cynical response to David Bowie's already nihilistic ode to interstellar flight, "Space Oddity" The song imagines the life of a lonely female passenger on a flight to some distant lunar satellite, lost in post-gravitational anomie ("She's the only rocketeer in the whole damn place/They gave her a mirror so she could talk to her face.") Dreading the endless blankness of her voyage as much as the senseless achievement of reaching its destination, the unnamed woman wishes she could just read a dime-store novel and return home. It is titled, poignantly, " Space Travel is Boring." We recently visited the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA's literal launch pad for the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle. Since there are currently no rockets going up, Space Florida's Shuttle Landing Facility did us the favor and allowed us to use the 3.5-mile-long runway built for the Shuttle — literally, the longest stretch of underutilized, perfectly straight, perfectly paved roadway in the world — for a series of automotive maneuvers. Our vehicle of choice was the $293,300 2018 Bentley Continental Supersports. This was decidedly not boring. The Supersports is an enhanced version of an already extremely potent vehicle. Featuring an upgraded crankshaft, torque converter, and turbochargers for more power and improved power delivery, the Supersports' 6.0-liter W12 engine produces an even 700 horsepower, and 750 lb-ft of torque. That makes this the most powerful and fastest Bentley ever made. Sixty miles per hour is dispatched in 3.4 seconds on the way to a maximum velocity of 209 mph. The largest carbon ceramic brakes of any production car come as standard equipment, as do carbon fiber hood vents, front splitter and rear air diffuser, side trim, and a planed long-board of a rear wing. Handsome 21-inch lightweight forged wheels are also part of the package, though, really, weight savings is almost irrelevant in this vehicle. The Supersports weighs over 2.5 tons, or about as much as one of the tread belt shoes on the diesel/electric crawler used to tug the 70-million-pound Space Shuttle and its boosters out onto Canaveral's runway. We were tugged out onto the runway as well, though in a slightly different fashion.

Bentley introduces relaxation-focused Azure line of cars

A new line of Bentleys is coming, and it’s called the “Azure” line. No, it's not the reintroduction of the old Azure droptop. Similar to “Speed” or “Mulliner,” all Bentley Azure models have a focus, and this time it's comfort and relaxation. Bentley is planning on offering Azure versions of all of its cars, including Bentayga, Bentayga EWB, Flying Spur, Continental GT and Continental GT Convertible. What an Azure model amounts to is a specific set of equipment designed to enhance long journeys, or to make any kind of journey more relaxing. That being the case, every Azure is equipped with the “Front Seat Comfort Specification” that adds 22-way adjustable seats that are heated, cooled, offer six massage programs and adjustable side bolsters. The seats also use BentleyÂ’s “comfort headrests.” To enhance the ride comfort, Bentley specs all Azures with its 48-volt active anti-roll system that can decouple the roll bars to provide an extra-smooth ride. WeÂ’ve found that this system can enhance handling performance in Bentleys with it, too. You might expect it to be standard in Bentleys, but all Azure models tack on the optional Touring Specification that adds a number of driver assistance features. These include adaptive cruise control, lane-following, a traffic-jam assist feature and “Bentley Safeguard” (automatic emergency braking, emergency lane-change assist and more). Basically, the car is stacked with all of the driver assistance systems in an effort to make road trips better. BentleyÂ’s wellness crusade does not end with tech features, though. “To create the Azure range, we consulted with neuroscientists to understand the interrelationship of color, texture, tactility and even scent to create an atmosphere of relaxed serenity,” says Maria Mulder, Head of Color & Trim at Bentley. “When we see pleasing forms, shapes and colors our brains release chemicals such as dopamine that not only make us feel good but are good for our body and sense of wellbeing. Sensory receptors convert physical stimuli in neural activity, creating changes in our brain and nervous system. Every fabric, sound, motion, color and touch continuously impacts our nervous system and the Azure cabin has been finessed accordingly.” All Azure models get “wellness quilting” that is meant to be particularly pleasing to the eye and encourage touch.

Bentley Flying Spur pictures leaked early

We can imagine that automakers are among the groups salivating at the prospect of a colony on Mars - perhaps a photo studio on the red planet will be far enough away from the terrestrial Internet to keep everything they've got from leaking all over the web. In the midst of Bentley's teasing for the next-generation Flying Spur, someone got in early on a set of photos and decided to share them with us.
The transformation is all about character, the super sedan's lines getting injected with a whole lot more of it. The family face of the Continental line is evident, the new Spur getting a more upright grille than before and a Mulsanne-esque undivided lower grille. The front fenders get narrow, horizontal vents, and behind that the character line that starts with at the hood shutline runs in a long arc to the rear door, then rolls up into haunches that terminate at the very back. Lower down, a character line cuts up the bulk up the sides. In profile there is a definite hint of this being a junior Mulsanne.
The only item we see at the moment that could take some getting used to are the horizontal taillights. Housing a large single element topped by curved red brows, our initial impression is that they lack the flow of the rest of the car. Inside, it's what you'd expect from a Bentley.