New Bentley Continental GT Audentia

Headquartered in the historic city of Edinburgh in Scotland, Imperium Automotive is a high-end design house that focuses on the Bentley and Bugatti brands.

Their latest offering is a new limited-edition styling package for the recently updated Bentley Continental GT Coupe named ‘Audentia’, which is said to be a direct Latin translation for ‘boldness and courage’.
The Audentia package includes an aero kit comprising of a newly designed front bumper complete with bespoke grille and air vent trims, matching side skirts, a different rear apron that incorporates a diffuser and the new quad tail pipes, plus a discrete boot lip spoiler.
Imperium Automotive says it will only produce 50 examples of the new Imperium Bentley Continental GT Audentia worldwide with pricing for the package starting from £25,000 or about €28,600 / US$39,400. The kit is available for order now with first customers to take full delivery within the next two months.

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Report: Bentley Boss Says New SUV to be powered by W12 Petrol and V12 Diesel Engines, Due in 2015

After Porsche launched the Cayenne in 2002, it changed the sport carmakers’ way of thinking. If the world wants a premium SUV by a top brand, why stick to the past and not ride the wave, increasing production volume and profitability?

After all, despite the initial outcry, it is primarily the Cayenne’s success that we have to thank for the continued existence and evolution of the911.
At the Pebble Beach festival, Bentley’s CEO, Wolfgang Duerheimer, confirmed that the British luxury carmaker will indeed build an SUV. And he recently replaced chief engineer Ulrich Eichhorn with Porsche’s Rolf Frech who has also worked on the Cayenne.
Duerheimer is convinced that the new model will be a success: “Ninety-nine percent of Bentleyowners also own an SUV. I am absolutely sure the demand is here”, he says. And he is determined not to add just another model in the brand's range but, in his own words, “to make clear whose car is the boss”.





Bentley’s boss told Autocar magazine that Bentley “will be the first to use a 12-cylinder petrol engine in a luxury SUV”. This engine will be the updated version of the W12 that will also power the next-generation Continental range, and Duerheimer praises its compact dimensions that allow for more efficient packaging.
A V12 however may eventually find its way under the new SUV’s hood, but it won't be a gasoline-powered unit because that would overlap with the W12. Instead, Bentley is looking to use -purists brace yourselves- a modified version of Audi’s 6.0-liter diesel that powers the Q7.
When will the new SUV be launched? Duerheimer wouldn’t say, but he did drop some hints: “TheMulsanne came in 2010 and the Continental a year later. The lifespan of a model is usually six to eight years, so the new model will be valuable when we are expecting a lull. The downswing is the time to introduce this SUV.”
If our calculations are correct, that means around 2015.

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Bentley Launches China-Only Continental Flying Spur "Linley" Special Edition

China is quickly becoming the ideal place to launch bespoke (…and higher-priced) special edition versions for luxury carmakers. The latest example is Bentley, which will sell just 10 Continental Flying Spurs created in cooperation with British design company Linley.

The Linley limited edition will only be available in what is now Bentley’s biggest market in the world. According to the British carmaker, it “incorporates signature Linley elements that will appeal to customers who value pedigree, lineage, handcrafted quality and peerless design”.





As usual with such editions, the changes compared to the standard Continental Flying Spur are purely cosmetic. The 10 Chinese customers who will opt for a Linley edition of the Flying Spur will get Santos rosewood instead of the “regular” Bentley chestnut or walnut trim covering surfaces like the fascia, console, waist rail and roof console.



The Linley Helix motif is also engraved in the tread plates and throughout the interior in places like the rhodium-plated plaque in the glove box. Unlike the decadent smoke-bashing Westerners, in this China-only edition the best part is reserved for smokers: the rear console is fitted with a Linley-designed box containing a humidor, a cigar cutter and an ashtray.
Finally, since the owner will not be the one driving, he/she and his/her company can enjoy a cool drink thanks to the built-in fridge behind the armrest and rear console with a designated area for bottle storage.

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