Bentley To Roll Out Continental GT3 Race Car At Goodwood

Bentley is back on the track. Rejoice.

When it was first shown in concept form at the Paris Motor Show last year, the Bentley Continental GT3 caused quite a stir. But this should prove to be nothing compared to its first on-track appearance, scheduled for later this year. First we have to see the final “production” version of the car, and Bentley will be treating us to a view of this at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which kicks off next weekend.

The unveiling comes ten years and a month after Bentley’s 1-2 finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003, the sixth overall win for the storied marque. Though the GT3 won’t quite be in the same class as the Speed 8 prototypes, and we’re not expecting to see any additional overall Le Mans wins out of the new cars, a return of Bentley to motorsports is still definitely exciting.

Source: http://autocarsweek.info/bentley/bentley-to-roll-out-continental-gt3-race-car-at-goodwood.html

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Bentley Continental GT3 Racer Makes its U.S. Debut at the LA Auto Show

Despite being renowned primarily for its luxury cars, Bentley has a rich history in endurance racing that dates back to 1928. It took 73 years for it to return to the tracks but when it did, it once again achieved victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Speed 8 in 2003.

That win also marked the end of the British brand’s racing program. A decade later, Bentley decided to engage in motorsports once again, starting from the end of 2013. It will do so withthe Continental GT3, which was launched in concept form in Paris and made its U.S. debut at the LA Auto Show.

Based on the Continental GT Speed, the fastest road car Bentley has ever made, the GT3 sports a full-on aerodynamic package and, although the company is still keeping mum on its powerplant, it is rear-wheel drive, as dictated by the class regulations, and not all-wheel drive like the regular production car.

“For some time now our customers have been telling us that it is time to return to motorsport”, said Bentley member of the Board for Engineering Rold Frech. “Our U.S. customers are no exception and I am delighted to be showing the Continental GT3 concept race car in LA”.

Another Bentley making its U.S. debut in LA was the 2013 Continental GT Speed. Boasting 616HP and 590 lb-ft (800) Nm of torque from its turbocharged W12 engine, all-wheel drive and an 8-speed auto, it sprints from a standstill to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph).

Also on display was the Mulsanne saloon in MDS trim, sporting 21-inch alloys, Bentley Flying “B” wing vents and “diamond quilted” leather along with a sports-tuned suspension and steering.

Kevin Rose, member of the Board for sales, marketing and aftersales, commented: “We are pleased to announce today that last week we exceeded the total sales figure from 2011. The U.S. market is playing a crucial role in our success. At the end of Q3, we had seen a 25 percent increase in global sales with 5,969 cars delivered to customers. Of these, 1,750 of them were sold here in the U.S. That makes the Americas our largest market, with a 29 percent increase in sales year on year.”

 

By Andrew Tsaousis

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Scoop: Bentley Continental Flying Spur Chased Around the 'Ring by Merc's SLS AMG Black

It's not all work for test drivers and engineers trying out prototypes of upcoming models on racing tracks like the Nürburgring Nordschleife as sometimes they get the opportunity to play around with their colleagues and even rivals.

In this video footage, courtesy of YouTube user 'Fastsportscardriver', we see a prototype of the redesigned 2014 Bentley Continental Flying Spur luxury sedan being challenged by the driver of aMercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series test car, which as you probably already know, was recently unveiled online, almost a year before it goes on sale.

As for the revamped Bentley sedan, besides the new sheetmetal, the 2014 Continental Flying Spur will also benefit from changes to the chassis, the interior and the introduction of a new Audi-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 delivering 500hp (507PS) and 660Nm (487 lb-ft) and linked to an 8-speed automatic transmission driving all-four wheels.

 

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Bentley Has Big Plans for New Models

Bentley aims to roll out a new model every other year, with new Continental models, new Flying Spur, SUV and Muslanne convertible all on the drawing board.

Since its rebirth under Volkswagen Group ownership, Bentley has emerged as a leader in the ultra-luxury segment, dicing it with BMW's Rolls-Royce and summarily dismissing Daimler's Maybach brand. But don't think for a second that Bentley is about to sit on its well-upholstered laurels. No, the Flying B marque has a whole raft of new models planned. In fact, despite currently having essentially two models in its portfolio, Bentley intends to introduce a new or substantially updated model every two years.

Those plans, of course, involve plenty of upgrades for the Continental range. For starters, Bentley is spinning the new Flying Spur sedan off of the Continental family. Although the new four-door will share its underpinnings with the Continental GT and GTC, the next Flying Spur (expected to debut in the coming months) will be separated from its two-door stablemates in terms of both styling and marketing nomenclature, with both V8 and W12 models to be offered. As for the Continental GT, Motor Trend reports that more performance-oriented versions will be based on both the eight- and twelve-cylinder models, as well.

Although the W12 will remain the flagship and offer increasing levels of power, the V8 models will remain lighter and therefor offer superior handling dynamics. Bentley's new head of design and chief executive also plan on taking the Continental's styling in a new direction. The recently updated Continental GT and GTC, feels design chief David Hilton, look too much like the models they replace. Expect the next Conti to take a further departure from its predecessor's styling. Hilton isn't about to stop there, though. While Bentley waits for the green light from VW on the EXP 9 F project, the design team is hard at work on revising the concept's styling.

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Opel Cancels Development of Electric Powered Adam City Car

There won't be a battery-powered version of GM Europe's Adam premium mini after all, as Opel and its British counterpart Vauxhall have scrapped the program citing high costs, despite the fact that development had moved on to a working prototype.

The Adam EV would have shared its electric-powertrain with the upcoming Chevrolet Spark EVdue to enter production next year, according to a report from Autonews Europe.

"It was a business decision," Opel's chief engineer for the Adam, Dieter Metz, told the publication. "We could not charge the customer the price needed to make it work on the cost side."

The German firm's head of sales and marketing, Alfred Rieck, agreed with his colleague adding that high prices are impacting sales of electric cars.

"If you look at the technology that's available on the market today, it's very expensive," said Rieck. "You end up with a certain price of the car and consumers are not interested in it."

For now, the Adam will reach dealerships in mainland Europe (as an Opel) and Britain (Vauxhall) in January 2013 with a choice of three four-cylinder petrol engines delivering up to 98bhp (100PS).

 

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Source: Carscoop

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