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Bentley teases new Flying Spur's 3D diamond leather upholstery

Playing the long game before unveiling the new Flying Spur, Bentley's published the second teaser for the new "luxury grand touring sedan." The last one homed in on the retracting "Flying B hood" ornament. This one focuses on what Bentley says is "an automotive world-first," three-dimensional textured leather lining the cabin. Created by Crewe's craftsmen and demonstrated on the door panel, the leather adopts a diamond-quilted pattern, but without stitches indicative of quilting. Up close, it looks like the leather simply adheres to a complex relief form. That's trick we expect to be one of many that will supposedly "set new standards for contemporary craftsmanship." The coming third-generation Flying Spur will want to come out of the gate with just such goals. When the first generation arrived in 2005, it became the Toyota Camry for rich people. The second generation — which still rides on that original platform — blanched in the heat of competition from Bentley's own lineup, on top of competition from the Mercedes-Maybach below and cross-country rival Rolls-Royce Ghost. The new model is all new, from the MSB platform shared with the new Continental GT and Porsche Panamera, to a design that will put more separation between the two-door Continental and the four-door Flying Spur. Expect the 6.0-liter W12 with 626 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque as the marquee engine, and a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 542 hp and 568 lb-ft as the economical choice. Eventual V8 S and Speed models will wring more grunt from those two engines. A plug-in hybrid will debut some point, based around a 2.9-liter V6. We don't know when the debut will happen, perhaps as soon as Pebble Beach in August, or as late as the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, or the Frankfurt Motor Show in between. If you're keen on keeping up in the meantime, you can "register your interest" at NewFlyingSpur.com. As others have noted, the honorifics in the dropdown list at the site include "Lord" and "Sheikh," because titles matter even more at $200,000 before options.

Lamborghini could be sold or spun off from the Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen is reportedly considering a sale or stock listing for its high-end Lamborghini brand. The German automaker is looking to fold the Italian supercar brand into a separate legal entity, reports Bloomberg, which cites "people familiar with the matter" who don't want to be identified "because the deliberations are confidential and no decisions have been made." Any of this sound familiar? The goal of spinning off Lamborghini would be to stockpile more cash and other resources for VW's massive planned push into electric vehicles. Back in March, reports circulated that Volkswagen's "Vision 2030" corporate plan might include plans to focus on the brand's core brands — VW, Audi and Porsche. That means the futures of fringe players like Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, motorcycle brand Ducati and design firm Italdesign (and note this isn't a comprehensive list of brand's under the expansive VW Group umbrella) are up in the air. VW, according to the report, is targeting a market value of $220 billion, which is a big jump from the brand's current $89 billion valuation. Bloomberg pegged Lamborghini's valuation at around $11 billion back in August, buoyed by sales and profits generated by the introduction of the Urus sport utility vehicle. On the flip side, Lamborghini is currently grappling with how best to update its supercar lineup in the face of ever-increasing emissions regulations.

Cheap shots in the 'cheap' Bentley: What can you get away with in a Flying Spur V8?

You know the feeling when you think you've finished something brilliant, then you sit down and take a look at it with fresh eyes and realize that, not only is it crap, but it was never really a good idea in the first place? That was me, a couple of weeks ago, as I was looking through the footage I shot while driving the 2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8. Yes, after seeing reactions to the car on social media, I actually thought it would be funny to do a tongue-in-cheek bit where I suggested that Bentley provide owners with a feature designed to help keep "poor" people away. It was a half-baked idea, conceived to be lighthearted and in a vague nod to British humor. The point was not to make fun of anybody's financial situation (except my own, in a round-about self-deprecating way), but the product turned out a bit, well, cringe-inducing. Out of selfish desire not to lose the work that went into it (or another opportunity to talk about this gorgeous car), I decided to repurpose it with some help from "Dr." Byron. As you can see, he's doing house calls now.  I've been reviewing cars for more than a decade now, and even with that much time under my belt, I can still count on my hands the number of truly remarkable cars I've had the chance to drive. This Flying Spur stands out as the most expensive, the most exclusive, and, well, pretty much just the most car I've ever experienced. As I alluded to in my initial write-up, this is the kind of car that causes somebody like me — a person of comfortably modest means — to rethink even the most fundamental aspects of an otherwise conventional road trip.  Over the years, I've had people compliment, degrade and otherwise question my life choices based on cars I barely put 100 miles on. It's part of the gig. I was once rather directly approached and asked for money while gassing up a 2012 Porsche Cayman; no "hello," no preamble, no sugar-coating. Just, "Can I have some money?" So no, that tweet didn't actually make me self-conscious about cruising around in such a valuable and exclusive automobile, but the mere act of driving it did, and the discomfort was even further juiced by my knowledge that what I was driving wasn't even the "expensive" Flying Spur. I found myself wanting to tell people, "Look, you really shouldn't be that impressed. This is the cheap one." The question follows thusly: What is a cheap Bentley, and why does it need to exist?