2007 Bentley Continental Gt Mulliner on 2040-cars

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Ares Design Coupe for the Bentley Mulsanne is the grand tourer we dream about

Bentley exited the grand coupe business when it made the last of 550 Brooklands models in 2011. The UK carmaker said it will make 19 examples of the Mulsanne Grand Convertible, but that doesn't count as a coupe. So when a U.S. Mulsanne owner wanted his Bentley with a roof but a touch less four-door-y, he went to Italian coachbuilders Ares Design. And not only did Ares do the thing, they did it magnificently. The resulting two-door is called the Ares Design Coupe for the Bentley Mulsanne, and the first of them was just handed over in Beverly Hills in time for a Pebble Beach appearance. Modena-based Ares started with a three-dimensional scan of the sedan, then reworked that CAD file into the coupe they sought by changing just about everything behind the A-pillars. A reprofiled roof replaces the old one, and it falls into a new backlight and longer rear decklid. The engineers moved the B-pillars rearward to install longer front doors, and fabricated new side impact protection for the portals and rear quarter panels. New chrome surrounds on the windows maintain the look as if from Crewe. Yet because the roof and doors are made from carbon fiber, they contribute to the coupe's 992-pound overall weight loss compared to the donor four-door. Inside, Ares replaced the front seats with more rakish thrones, redesigned the interior trim panels to flow with the body style, and matched the wood and leather as if all were factory original. Under the unchanged hood, a tuned ECU means the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8 produces more than 591 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque, both healthy improvements on the stock 505 hp and 752 lb-ft. Completing the transformation, the coupe sits 20 millimeters lower on "a sportier suspension." One report said that a friend of the California owner likes the car so much that a second two-door has already been commissioned. Ares charges $460,000 for the service, to start, and it takes about six weeks. And no, that price doesn't include the donor Bentley. However, that's a lot less than Bentley would charge to make the swap, since the carmaker won't make the actual car. The Italian firm said it wants to keep volumes "ultra-low," yet, "As long as [Bentley] don't make one, we will continue." Although we haven't spoken much of Ares here outside of their Tesla Model S wagon, the firm led by ex- Lotus boss Dany Bahar has kept busy in its four years of operation.

Bentley re-creates one-of-a-kind sports sedan destroyed in 1939

Bentley's Mulliner division specializes in making one-off (or few-off) projects for clients willing to foot the bill. They're the folks you'd want to talk to if you want a long-wheelbase Flying Spur, a Bentayga-based dually pickup, or anything in between. The division only works on new models, but it stepped outside of its comfort zone to re-create a one-of-a-kind Bentley manufactured and destroyed in 1939. The project is part of Bentley's on-going centennial celebration, and finishing it in time was easier said than done. It made building a concept car like the EXP 100 GT look like assembling a Lego kit. The original Corniche disappeared after getting bombed by the German army, and a majority of the people who saw it in person are dead, so the men and women tasked with resurrecting it only had a handful of period, black-and-white photographs and technical drawings to work with. The final product looks stunning, and Bentley claims it's identical to the original in every way. Parts like the chromed headlight bezels, the droplet-shaped fenders, and the wooden dashboard were exclusive to the Corniche, so they had to be manufactured from scratch using the correct materials, and the right production techniques. The British firm could have saved itself the trouble of re-creating this unique part of its history if another car hadn't pulled out in front of it 80 years ago. Bentley made the original Corniche during tumultuous times as it explored the possibility of releasing a more powerful variant of the Mark V scheduled to make its debut in October 1939. It asked French designer Georges Paulin to draw a futuristic, streamlined body, and it commissioned Paris-based coachbuilder Carrosserie Vanvooren to build it using thinner-than-normal steel to save weight. The Corniche lapped the Brooklands track for the first time in May 1939 and quickly reached over 100 mph, an impressive speed at the time. Testing continued in rural France, where the big Bentley blended in as well as a flying saucer. In August 1939, one of the company's test drivers swerved to avoid another car, rolled, and wrapped the aerodynamic front end around an unsuspecting tree. Bentley separated the body and the chassis. It immediately shipped the chassis to its headquarters in Crewe, England, and curiously asked a local shop to repair the body instead of sending it back to Vanvooren in Paris.

Bentley Bentayga has been refreshed for 2021, and you can win one here

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. Is that tax return or stimulus check burning a hole in your pocket? Why not spend some of it on a cause that could help both you and the Make-A-Wish Foundation? That's exactly what would happen if you entered this sweepstakes on Omaze. It’s a 2021 Bentley Bentayga V8 plus $20,000 cash, a prize worth nearly a quarter-million dollars, and there's no purchase necessary to win. The 2021 Bentayga features a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that makes 542 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque. That kind of power will propel you and up to four other passengers to a top speed of 180 miles per hour. If you so choose, you can tow up to 7,700 pounds, though we seriously doubt youÂ’ll see any of these at the boat ramp on Saturday morning.  Win a 2021 Bentley Bentayga V8 and $20,000 - Enter at Omaze The exterior obviously stands out, but with most luxury SUVs, the interior is just as important, if not more so. HereÂ’s what we had to say about the inside of the 2021 model, which was the first major refresh since the Bentayga was introduced in 2016: “Of course, the interior is arguably the most important part of a Bentley. The center stack gets a new look; Bentley has provided a new steering wheel, new door trims and completely new seats. ItÂ’s built around new tech, as Bentley has integrated its 10.9-inch touchscreen infotainment display in the center stack directly below the new air vent design and clock, fully spanning the width of the area now. This system adds wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Bentley has updated the carÂ’s USB ports to USB-C outlets. Bentley has also adopted the fully digital instrument cluster from the Continental GT and Flying Spur, which allows you to customize the screen to a number of different views. Even the rear seat passengers are getting an upgrade, as Bentley has added a larger rear seat touchscreen control tablet thatÂ’s faster than before. “There are some new convenience features added for the refresh, too. For example, the windshield washer jets are now integrated into the wipers and feature 22 heated washer jets in each arm. ItÂ’ll continue to be offered in four-, five- and seven-seat configurations.