Bentley Motors Showcases the Art of Design and Craftsmanship at 2007 Art Basel Miami Beach

AUBURN HILLS, MI: Bentley Motors, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of handcrafted, personally commissioned luxury automobiles, announces a unique collaboration with leaders in the world of design during Art Basel Miami Beach 2007. Art Basel Miami Beach is the most important art show in the U.S., combining an international selection of top galleries with an exciting program of special exhibitions and crossover events bringing together the worlds of music, film, architecture and design.

At an exclusive event hosted by Bentley Motors, renowned designers Dror Benshetrit, Cory Grosser, and Sami Hayek have been invited to showcase a selection of original artistic creations that have been influenced by Bentley design. A select audience of VIP's and art aficionados will be treated to a presentation of these creations at a private residence on Hibiscus Island. The creations are the result of a six-month long collaboration between the designers and Bentley Motors.

In commenting on working with the designers, Head of Bentley Exterior Design, Robin Page, remarked, "Design is one of the key hallmarks of the Bentley brand and each of these three very talented designers have exhibited that passion in their individual works. I have been very fortunate to work with Dror, Cory and Sami as their vision and passion is a mirror image of the values of the Bentley marque."

- Culture & Commerce, Inc.: Culture & Commerce identifies high potential design opportunities and develops them into high performance financial assets. The company represents Dror Benshetrit and Sami Hayek, as well as some of the world's top designers, including Philippe Starck, Marcel Wanders, Yves Behar and Piero Lissoni. For more information please visit www.culturecommerce.com.

2008 Mansory Bentley Continental GT/GTC

from Mansory Press Release) The customization program for Bentley Continental GT/GTC

The British Grand Tourism and Convertible are equipped with the MANSORY front spoiler, integrated are state of the art permanent daylights (alternative cornering lights) bordered with sword design elements carried through to the fully chromed air intake grilles which add a striking effect. All MANSORY spoiler equipment is so manufactured that no additional mounting or fitting points need to be drilled, utilizing all existing mounting points for simple installation.

The MANSORY redesigned side skirts gives the Coupe and the Convertible a longer sleeker appearance and the fully chromed embellishment in stainless steel the exclusive touch. The complete redesigned rear skirt incorporates MANSORY’s quad chromium plated stainless steel exclusive over and under exhaust tips, which makes an extreme statement of performance and speed coupled with a dominating sound regarding the tuning capacity.

The standard production performance level can be improved using MANSORY’s electronic engineering package which increases the output to 621 bhp, 630 PS, 463kW.The modified ECU gives your Bentley Continental, for example the GT, performance figures of 0 – 62 mph respectively 0 - 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds going on to a top speed in excess of 203 mph or 327 km/h evolving in a gigantic peak torque of 750 Nm / 553 lb ft by only 1,600 rpm.

2008 Le Mansory Bentley Continental GT

from Mansory Press Release) LE MANSORY, the limited edition of the widebody customization components. The word combination MANSORY and the famous french racetrack Le Mans are building the title of this modification range. And with the popular 24 hours race event coeval the limited quantity of 24 sets is figured out based on your Bentley Continental GT. A complete new front spoiler integrated with state of the art LED permanent daylights, extrem air intakes and so on the striking carbonfibre elements gives the bolide a true bred racing car trait.

The side skirts and the fender attachments express clearly the motoring appearance and honours the widebody definition. Likewise the front there are large air intakes and carbonfibre elements which supporting the sporty impression. The complete redesigned rear skirt with the rear trunk spoiler incorporates the double quad chromium plated stainless steel exhaust system which makes the vehicle unforgettable and the sport air filters and the sportcatalysor completed system will give a sonouros dominating unique sound. With the MANSORY electronic engineering package the performance grows up to 641bhp, 650PS, 478 kW at 6100rpm on to a top speed of 205 mph or 330 km/h evolving in a gigantic peak torque of 780 Nm, 575 lb ft by only 1.600 rpm. The acceleration is 0 - 100km/h 4.6 seconds respectively 0 - 60mph/h 4.4 seconds. To restrain this amazing power performance, there is the special developed brake system with MANSORY’s high end co-operation partner BREMBO. Dimensions of the systems are 412/38 rotor discs with 6 piston aluminium fixed calipers in front and disc dimensions 405/22 with 4 piston calibers for the rear with the integrated electronical handbrake.

Bentley Brooklands

Recently staged a coup on the government of a sizeable nation? Need a car to reflect your benevolent-yet-frighteningly-powerful status?

Well, El Presidente, may we recommend the Bentley Brooklands Coupe?

Based on the Arnage chassis, the Brooklands coupe is a luxury four-seater powered by Bentley's most powerful V8 ever.

A modified version of Bentley's 6.75-litre twin-turbo, the hand-built Brooklands engine develops 530bhp at just 4,000rpm and a terrifying 774lb ft of torque at 3,250rpm. That's the highest torque output of any V8. In the world.

All that power is put to the road through a semi-automatic six-speed box, with the Brooklands hitting 60mph in five seconds flat before topping out at 184mph.

As an option, you can also spec the biggest set of brakes of any production car on the road: the 420mm cross-drilled discs off the Conti GT Diamond series.

But make no mistake, the Brooklands is no lithe-and-low supercar. It's massive. See those delicate little five-spoke wheels? They're 20-inchers. Gives you an idea of the sheer size of the thing.

The over-the-top-theme continues in the cabin, with swathes of aluminium and carbon fibres complemented by that lurid, luminous leather - an option that Bentley calls 'Cashew' and we call deeply tasteless.

But at least it'll be exclusive tastelessness: only 550 Brooklands coupes will be built, with prices starting around £220,000, and the first deliveries should arrive in early 2008.

The only problem, El Presidente, is that this year's allocation has already sold out. We're sorry, we're sorry...

2007 Project Kahn Bentley Continental GT

(from Project Kahn Press Release) Project Kahn: Mission Statement

Few break free from the pressures of conformity to the accepted rules, to do so convention must be challenged, and existence redefined. Once boundaries are rejected it is possible to believe that the world can be changed.

Kahn Alloy Wheels

In the design of most wheels form follows function. In the design of Kahn wheels, form is the function. This is because at Kahn design it is not about racing, it is all about design. The Kahn philosophy is based on the rule that only the best is good enough. As opposed to other manufacturers that release many designs into the market every year; Kahn chooses to present only one or two designs a year. This is because Kahn spend many months fine tuning their designs until every shape, curve and line are perfect to their application.

Kahn Styling Accessories

This is also true for Project Kahn vehicle body styling accessories. Each individual accessory is created with a unique application in mind. This ensures a perfect fit which not only provides optimum aesthetics and optimum safety.

Newly developed by Project Kahn is an eight-piece body which consists of a three piece rear valance, two side skirts, a two piece front valance and a rear boot spoiler. This kit has been developed by the specialist Project Kahn team and has undergone many hours of testing not only to ensure safety but also to ensure that a perfect fit and look is achieved for each and every car.

This body kit accentuates the cars already stunning exterior and provides an aggressive look that is not matched by any other manufacturer worldwide. The reason this kit has been developed is to cater for our customers constant demands for exclusive vehicles with that ‘little extra something’. It is this ‘little extra something’ that can make or break a vehicle such as this and in this case it definitely makes it.

First Drive: 2007 Bentley Arnage

Previews

Garlits would approve: Bentley builds a burled, consummately British burnout machine.

The Arnage T’s traction control system is programmed such that, per Bentley, “You can drift the car with some wheelspin, but it never lets you get in any trouble.” That this statement it attached to a 5700-pound, nearly 18-foot-long cache of burl, Connolly leather and handcrafted pomp is reason enough to make us like it.

Bentley’s sales have increased six-fold in the last three years, due largely to the success of the new Continental, sold mostly to first-time Bentley buyers. “Old” Bentley buyers, however, are less interested in a 198-mph top speed and more interested in an ownership experience similar to that of their father and father’s father. The Arnage remains the classic Bentley saloon, available as a “standard” 450-hp R, long-wheelbase RL, or more-spirited, 500-hp T.

The T starts at $250,985, though if you throw in a champagne cooler, choose custom interior and exterior hues, and perhaps some factory grenade proofing, plan on fiddling with the number in the left-most column. If it helps paint the picture, where the average Continental buyer possesses a net worth of $3 million, the average Arnage buyer is worth some $30 million, and a popular option in the Queen’s country are sill plates emblazoned with the family crest.

Getting along in years

The nearly decade-old platform does show its age, especially when you hop from the T into the ultra-modern and capable Continental GT, but regardless Bentley will sell each and every example it builds. An all-new Arnage is coming sometime before 2010; we can assume it will have a stiffer chassis, brakes with shorter travel, more precise steering, and a better integrated electronics experience. But we hope the new car will still carry the old-world charm of the Viagra-fied Arnage T.

Nearly all Arnages are built to order. Bentley’s Mulliner coachwork division is able to handle just about any request, and the standard option list is so comprehensive that few duplicate cars are produced. Our T was swathed in quilted, rich brown leather; the interior is comely in a comforting way should your youth have been spent exploring drawing rooms, overstuffed chairs, and servants’ quarters of a Park Avenue or Mayfair residence. Think polished, knurled, burnished, and conditioned.

The huge, chromed aluminum dash vents, which rotate a full 360-degrees in their sockets, are of such mass that they could, in a pinch, be used as mortar rounds. Through these vents, the whoosh of conditioned air assumes three distinct tones for no good reason that we’re aware of other than whimsy, which is reason enough.

A single lot of wood is reserved for the book-matched veneer lining the interior of each Arnage; remaining pieces do not go into other cars, but are marked and placed in a giant humidor such that if repairs need to be made, the wood will match perfectly, otherwise an impossibility.


Performance and Craftsmanship

Nestled in the austere furnishings are a modern digital information screen, Bluetooth-capable phone system, digital HVAC system, and other expected hardware. It doesn’t matter what seat you land in the Arnage, they’re all first class. Our drive in the car finished with several hours of being lost and stuck in rush hour traffic; we could not have cared less how many hours we spent staring at brake lights, or whether we even made our flight home.

Afraid to fly?

Speaking of flight, the Arnage T might be the closest thing to a land-born Lear jet, where your passengers can sip Taittinger Comtes de Champagne from hand-cut crystal glasses while you haul all sorts of ass. The first time you exploit the T’s “power in reserve,” an understatement with 500 horsepower and nearly half that again in torque, you ask “damn, really?” Large displacement and a roller cam provide the torque backbone; the added fillip is provided by two modestly sized, quick-spooling Mitsubishi turbochargers. Thrust without the forced induction would be, per Rolls parlance, “sufficient”; with it, even our jaded right foot is satisfied. The 6.8-liter engine (6 ¾ if you indulge Bentley’s Britishness) has its roots in 1959, but all-aluminum construction makes it still relevant.

If you spring for an Arnage T, be sure your portfolio is heavy in oil extraction and petroleum interests. The term “fuel mileage” does not exist in the lexicon of Bentley buyers, and even with a generous 25 gallon tank, 10 miles per gallon from city or spirited driving makes pump visits frequent.

New for ’07 is a six-speed automatic ZF transmission, a welcome departure from the GM-sourced four-speed it replaces, which can operated in sport or manumatic mode. Disable traction control, mash the aluminum throttle pedal into lamb’s wool carpeting and 738 lb-ft of torque begets twin lanes of smoldering Pirelli until you lift. Leave traction control on and the T should sprint to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds; once you’ve set its heft in motion, acceleration is ardent and prosecutable speeds are reached quickly. Business clients with a fear of flying can be ferried to meetings at light-aircraft speeds, although we don’t relish the thought of attempting to arrest nearly three tons of luxury from its 179-mph top speed.

Three tons of fun

The T communicates its various mechanical going-ons with enthusiasm without intruding on the experience of luxury. An exhaust rumble worthy of 500 horsepower issues when the T is prodded, and expands with boost; just as fun is the sound of the blow-off valves recirculating pressurized air when the throttle snaps shut. Balance the car with the throttle through a long sweeper and the T snorts and burbles in reply.

Few cars communicate with as broad a vocabulary. With the big Germans firing continual volleys from their biggest horsepower cannons at each other, we’ve become used to huge, seamless, refined speed in luxury vehicles, but none deliver the goods with similarly involving, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang flair.

An unequal-length control arm suspension front and rear does an admirable job of making significant tonnage ride smoothly and hustle well. Depress the Sport button on the center console and the electronically controlled dampers firm noticeably, sharpening turn in and reducing body roll. We dispatched rolling, twisting two-lane roads far quicker than any vehicle that large (longer than a Chevy Tahoe and almost as heavy) ought to.

In our world of radical mechanization, few products of any complexity are assembled by hand. One Bentley craftsperson spends 12 hours stitching an Arnage steering wheel with a single piece of thread. Could it be done more quickly, and maybe more precisely by a machine? Perhaps. It’s the slightest deviation from true on a hand-laid piece of leather, however, that affirms you are helming the fruit of a skilled, willfully laborious process instead of another just appliance from another automated assembly line. Bespoke for exclusivity’s sake is so new money; the many prideful hands involved with each Arnage T help animate a machine of unique charm and unexpected character, however large the buy in.

BY JARED HOLSTEIN
caranddriver.com

2008 Bentley Brooklands

(from Bentley Press Release)
The world’s most exclusive coupe: limited to just 550 cars
The most powerful V8 engine Bentley has ever produced
Inspired by the exploits of the ‘Bentley Boys’ at the famous Brooklands racetrack
Powerful, muscular and rakish with classic British proportions

Introduction

The Bentley Brooklands is a stunning new model that marks the company’s return to the luxury coupй market and reaffirms its reputation as creator of the world’s most exclusive coupes. It is the ultimate Bentley: a stylish, four-seat, grand touring coupe with classic British proportions and muscular performance.

Bentley’s chairman Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen describes the motivation behind the new coupй: “Bentley’s proud sporting pedigree, forged by the exploits of the immortal ‘Bentley Boys’ on the famous Brooklands racetrack in the 1920s, was the inspiration for our new coupй, capturing all the style, power and splendour of that era.” *

Sporting design cues are matched by the phenomenal performance engineering of Bentley’s legendary Crewe-built V8 engine. The new Bentley Brooklands possesses the most powerful V8 the company has ever produced – a 530bhp, twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre unit that also produces a prodigious 1050Nm of torque.

Each Brooklands coupй will be hand-assembled, employing traditional coach-building techniques and the craftsmanship skills in wood veneer and leather hide for which Bentley is renowned. To ensure exclusivity, lifetime production will be strictly limited to just 550 cars, with deliveries expected to start in the first half of 2008.

Exterior Design: Classic British Proportions

Bentley’s rich coupe heritage provided the stimulus for Director of Styling, Dirk van Braeckel and his design team. For van Braeckel, the task was very clear: “To create a powerful, muscular and rakish grand touring coupй with classic British proportions, in the finest Bentley tradition.”

While the new Brooklands is influenced by Bentley’s fine coupй lineage, its design and engineering are thoroughly contemporary. The proportions of long bonnet, short front overhang and long rear overhang achieve the design objective perfectly, while the low roofline, steeply raked screens and pillarless side glass convey both power and movement.

As the Brooklands will be built in very limited volume, the designers were able to introduce unique features that necessitate specialist coach-building techniques, as Programme Director, Ashley Wickham, reveals: “The Brooklands’ beautiful flowing lines are testament to the traditional coach-building skills and craftsmanship of Crewe’s highly talented workforce.”

The ‘floating’ rear screen, for example, is a contemporary take on traditional coachbuilt Bentleys. The lower edge of the screen sits well above the upper edge of the boot lid to provide a flowing, flawless line to the back of the car. This can only be achieved by individually hand-welding the rear wings to the C-pillars.

The fitment of 20-inch diameter wheels as standard, signalling the surefooted, robust and dynamic character of the new model, reaffirms the powerful stance of the new Bentley coupй.

Interior Design: Peerless Craftsmanship with a Sporting Character

Dirk van Braeckel describes the mission for the Bentley interior design team: “To create the perfect Bentley coupe: sumptuous hand-crafted luxury with a distinctly sporting character.”

As in every Bentley, peerless craftsmanship is to the fore, enhanced by the warmth and richness of the finest natural materials. To tailor for their individual requirements, customers may choose from an extensive palette of hides, veneers, carpet tones and seat belt colours.

Its four-seat architecture and deeply bolstered seats lend the Brooklands’ interior a distinctly sporting atmosphere, complemented by design accents such as aluminium foot pedals and footrest. A new, single-piece, hide-trimmed roof lining flows uninterrupted from the front windscreen all the way to the rear of the car, mirroring the long, sleek profile of the elegant exterior.

The interior designers sought to offer the very highest levels of comfort and legroom, in true Bentley grand touring tradition, while the pillarless window design enhances the feeling of space.

The Brooklands’ cabin is wider both front and rear than the previous Bentley Continental R coupй – the rear by 10 percent – and it easily exceeds the interior leg, knee and headroom of any luxury coupe on sale today. This allows four adults to be accommodated in supreme comfort. Individual rear seats with electrically operated sliding cushions, set further back than on the Azure, are separated by a new centre console, incorporating both storage and cup holders.

Most powerful Crewe-built V8 ever – 530bhp, 1050Nm

Beneath its muscular, rakish, coach-built body lies the most powerful Crewe-builtV8 engine ever produced, developing 530bhp. Maximum torque is an astonishing 1050Nm, the highest ever developed by a production V8 engine. Although performance figures are subject to final confirmation as part of the on-going development programme, the new Bentley coupй will deliver supercar levels of in-gear acceleration combined with Arnage refinement.

At the beginning of the project, Dr Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board, Engineering, tasked his power train specialists to deliver an extraordinary driving experience in the Bentley coupй tradition: “Exhilarating, effortless, accessible performance for those truly passionate about their driving was our prime objective.”

Launched in the Bentley S2 saloon in 1959 with a capacity of 6.23 litres, the legendary, Crewe-built V8 engine has continually evolved. The first V8 was very advanced for its time with an all-aluminium construction, a five-bearing crankshaft and a well-supported camshaft, producing nearly 200bhp and 400Nm of torque. The result was a light and supple powertrain that produced maximum torque at low engine speeds, the hallmark of every Bentley ever produced.

1969 saw the capacity grow to 6.75 litres, where it remains to this day, but by far the most significant change came in 1982, with the introduction of a turbocharger to create the near-300bhp Mulsanne Turbo, a car that transformed the image of Bentley. In 1999, the single turbo engine, by now featuring port injection and charge cooling, was installed in Arnage, with twin turbos arriving in 2002, developing up to 450bhp.

For the 2007 model Arnage, the V8 engine saw a step-change in performance and refinement which became the starting point for the new Bentley Brooklands. A re-profiled camshaft and new, low-inertia turbochargers, which operate with greater efficiency at lower engine speeds have resulted in reduced turbo lag, enhancing that prodigious wave of torque at any revs, the hallmark of a true Bentley. These changes extend the power potential of the V8 in the Arnage to 500bhp and 1000Nm of torque. For the Bentley Brooklands, further component optimisation and engine calibration ensure record power and torque levels from this hand-assembled engine.

As with the latest Arnage, the V8 engine is mated to a six-speed transmission with strengthened casing that transforms the way in which both parts of the drive train communicate. A sophisticated, locking torque converter and ESP system ensure that the driver can readily access the prodigious power. A semi-automatic function allows manual gear selection for even greater driver control.

*The challenging Brooklands banked racetrack, which this year celebrates its centenary, was the birthplace of British motor racing. During the 1920s and early thirties, Brooklands, located in Surrey, England, was the scene of some of Bentley’s greatest racing triumphs, forging an inextricable link between the company’s motorsport heritage and this historic race circuit.

Bentley leaves Rolls Royce and Maybach behind in the US

Bentley has been kicking some serious ultraluxury butt in the United States with its Continental GT Coupe since its launch three years ago. The Bentley Continental GT Coupe has allowed Bentley to have most of the sales of ultra-luxury cars in the United States leaving behind comeptitors such as the Maybach and BMW’s Rolls-Royce.

In Robb Report, the GTC beat the Rolls Royce Phantom, Bugatti Veyron and Maybach 57S to win its annual Car of the Year Awards. The panel of judges, formed by its editors, staff and 41 car experts highlighted the Bentley’s ‘remarkable driveability, superb handling’ and ‘well executed design.’

In fact, so popular was the GTC among Robb Report’s jury that eight judges went on to order one each for themselves.

source: egmcartech

Bentley Continental GTC scoops two prestigious awards

The recently launched Bentley Continental GTC convertible has garnered a brace of high-profile awards just months after its international launch. Robb Report, the esteemed US luxury lifestyle magazine, declared Bentley’s 195mph convertible its 2007 Car of the Year, and the judges from L’Automobile piu Bella del Mondo (The World’s Most Beautiful Automobile) recognised the GTC’s beauty in a special design award.

In Robb Report, the Bentley GTC beat the Rolls Royce Phantom, Bugatti Veyron and Maybach 57S to win its annual Car of the Year Awards. The panel of judges, formed by its editors, staff and 41 car experts highlighted the Bentley’s ‘remarkable driveability, superb handling’ and ‘well executed design’.

Gregory Anderson, Robb Report’s Automotive Editor, said that there was no need for a re-count after the Car of the Year voting. “This was a landslide victory in which the GTC earned first place votes from nearly half the judges, and it was among almost everyone’s top three.” Anderson concluded that the convertible Bentley “might be the only four-passenger car that can match the performance and charm of Italian sports cars and convert their devotees.”

In fact, so popular was the Bentley GTC among Robb Report’s jury that eight judges went on to order one each for themselves.

Stuart McCullough, Bentley Motors’ Member of the Board, Sales and Marketing said the company was honoured to receive the award. “Achieving this result against such stiff competition is testament to the world-class engineering skills and craftsmanship we have here at Crewe, England. It’s no surprise that the GTC has become the showpiece of the Continental range.”

This is not the first time Bentley has garnered an award from Robb Report; in 2004 the Continental GT coupe was voted its Car of the Year and in 2006 its Continental Flying Spur came a close second in the contest.

The GTC’s second accolade came from an international jury based in Milan, comprising top car journalists, architects and designers. The distinguished judges praised the Bentley convertible’s exclusive style and modern design cues, which they felt reflected the unique heritage of the Bentley marque.

This is the fourth award conferred on Bentley by L’Automobile piu Bella del Mondo jury, following the original Azure in 1995, the Arnage saloon in 2002 and the Continental GT coupe in 2003.

Commenting on the latest award, Bentley Motors’ Design Director, Dirk van Braekel, said: “It is a great honour to win such a prestigious award and for our design to be recognised by such an important panel of experts. These awards have highlighted consistently over the years that great design is the hallmark of Bentley.”