Orig Msrp $206,145; Glacier White / Saffron & Saddle on 2040-cars

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Bentley reserves 99 Continental GT3-Rs for North America at $337k apiece

Whether they're powered by V8 or W12 engines, the Bentley Continental GT just keeps getting faster and faster. The new Continental GT Speed, for example, is the fastest road-going Bentley ever made, capable of reaching 206 miles per hour. And the Continental GT3-R is the quickest-accelerating Bentley yet, capable of hitting 60 in just 3.6 seconds.
In other words, if you want to get your hands on one, you'll need to act fast. Bentley is only making 300 examples of the GT3-R, but while it is said to have already sold out the entire production run, it has been kind enough to keep 99 examples on the side just for the North American market.
The road-going embodiment of the Continental GT3 racer, the GT3-R packs a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 tuned up to 572 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. That makes it 72 hp and 29 lb-ft stronger than the base Continental GT V8, or 43 hp and 14 lb-ft more muscular than the GT V8 S, about on par with the W12 model but 54 hp and 89 lb-ft shy of the latest GT Speed. But thanks to its lighter weight (inherent in the eight-cylinder model and stripped of a further 220 pounds in the GT3-R), it trounces them all in the sprint to 60.

Ian Fleming's Bentley R-Type rediscovered in an L.A. garage

James Bond creator Ian Fleming commissioned a left-hand-drive 1953 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback in Deep Grey with black Connolly leather as a gift for his American friend Ivar Felix Bryce. Fleming's choice of that car was probably no accident: Bond drove an R-Type Continental in the book Thunderball – one he bought as a wreck and restored, and he had it done up in gray with black leather. In Skyfall, this is the car that would have been behind that garage door. Gullwing Motor Cars recently discovered the real-life car wasting away in a garage in Hancock Park, Los Angeles for nearly 30 years. Bryce was Fleming's inspiration for CIA agent Felix Leiter in the Bond books. The US agent showed up in six installments in the series starting with Casino Royale, bowing out in The Man with the Golden Gun. Just as cool as the Fleming/Bond connection is this car's connection to the Bentleys of today. This was the "Speed" of its time, and like Continental GT Speed of one today, it was the fastest production four-seater in the world. A review of the time said, "it is difficult to put into words the gulf that separates a Continental from the average car in all the qualities that have a bearing on safety at speed." And you can see where those outboard lights on today's Bentleys come from. The Continental designation signified a power upgrade over the standard R-Type, and Fleming built it up with extras like rear spats, lightweight seats, fitted luggage, and a racehorse mascot. The Bryces flew their gift around the world to their various homes in England, Nassau, New York, and Vermont. After they sold it the coupe had several owners, ending up in the hands of a Beverly Hills surgeon in 1978, and according to Gullwing it's been sitting in a garage almost since that time. It has matching numbers and the original interior, and Gullwing says, putting it mildly, it is "an ideal restoration candidate." The asking price is $1,495,000, which is quite the premium for pedigree. Hagerty values a pristine example at $1.4 million, and two recent pristine examples have been sold by RM Auctions for $1.2M and Bonham's for $822,000. This Fleming car one went to auction at Pebble this year with an estimate of $1.4M - $1.8M but didn't sell, so don't be afraid to ask a few hard MI6-like questions about it if you're interested.

2017 Bentley Mulsanne Speed is more ostentatious than ever

As it was, the Bentley Mulsanne was a pretty bold and ostentatious (and totally awesome) show of luxury. It was big and brutal in a classically British way, but it was also outperformed and out-teched by more modern (and cheaper) luxury sedans from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and even Audi. Buying one was a classic case study in vehicular statement-making, a vote for old-school refinement instead of modern gee-whizzery. Bentley clearly recognized that fact, because it's doubled-down on the big Mulsanne's aristocratic, give-no-craps demeanor as part of its latest aesthetic update. We love it. For one, the car on display in Geneva is painted is painted in an eye-catching (and questionable) metallic yellow-green. It is not subtle, but weirdly, it kind of works. The new, even more imposing grille is similarly blunt. It's been stretched three inches and is now home to polished stainless steel vanes. As we explained in our original post on the Mulsanne, the new headlight arrangement seeks to eliminate the "droopiness" of the current car. The LED units largely succeed, while somehow giving the front end an even snootier look. Styling changes elsewhere are subtler, which is to say there's still no mistaking the Mulsanne for anything else. The tail gets tasteful new LED lights, while changes along the long, smooth profile look to be nonexistent. It's a similar story in the cabin, which is a place filled with leather, chrome, and wood. It's proper and restrained, in contrast to the look-at-me face. But don't let the handsome and clean interior fool you – the only thing less subtle than the Mulsanne's new front fascia is the performance of this Speed variant. The 6.75-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 continues to reside under hood, turning out 530 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque. That's good for a 4.8-second 0-60 time and a 190-mile-per-hour top speed. Those are impressive figures for a genuine sports car, but they're just hilarious in a vehicle the size of a New York City apartment and the weight of a piece of construction equipment. The Mulsanne is an unnecessary, silly vehicle – a Mercedes-AMG S65 is a much better value. But simply put, few cars make such a bold statement about your wealth and power.