Bentley

Bentley Motors has again been named as a Top Employer by the internationally recognized Top Employer Institute who commended the company’s commitment to professional development and nurturing of future talent. The award is the eighth successive year Bentley has been recognized and is presented at the same time that the company and its 4,000-strong workforce celebrate its centenary. 

As Bentley enters its Centenary year, the oldest remaining and first racing model – EXP 2 – will be displayed at Retromobile, Paris. The first of many unique events in 2019 that will see Bentley celebrate this landmark year, Retromobile kick-starts the world car show season between 6-10 February at Salon des Expositions, Porte de Versailles. Showcasing Bentley’s motoring evolution over the past 100 years, the British brand’s stand in Paris offers visitors a unique opportunity to explore the heritage and the innovation of the British luxury car manufacturer. Joining its illustrious forebear in Paris will be the new Continental GT Convertible – the pinnacle open-top Grand Tourer.

Bentley Motorsport embarks on a landmark racing campaign as the world’s most sought-after luxury car brand when it competes in the season-opening Bathurst 12 Hour for the fifth time. The opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) signals the first competitive outing in Bentley’s centenary year for the second-generation Continental GT3. The British squad returns to the challenging Mount Panorama circuit confident it can fight for victory in this year’s blue riband GT events, following a strong season of development in 2018.

Bentley has collaborated with design students from the Royal College of Art’s (RCA) Intelligent Mobility programme to envisage the future of British luxury. The students were challenged to imagine how – in an increasingly virtual and digital world – elements of physical materiality, technology and craftsmanship can be curated to create a truly luxurious Grand Touring experience. Bentley’s Design Director Stefan Sielaff, an alumnus of the RCA’s renowned Automotive Design programme, explained: Bentley has always been at the forefront of automotive luxury, and with this collaboration we asked millennial students for their vision of the future. We wanted ideas and concepts that could potentially lead us in new and interesting directions, using the perspective of these digital natives – from all over the world – to see things differently. These second-year students are the ones who will be designing the cars of […]

The all-new Bentley Continental GT has won Gold in two key categories of the prestigious German Design Awards – one of the most highly respected design competitions in the world. The luxury Grand Tourer was named winner by a jury of independent experts in the categories for best ‘Exterior Premium Brand’ and best ‘Interior’. Designed, engineered and handcrafted in Great Britain, the third generation Continental GT has been launched to global acclaim. Blending the highest level of attention to detail and artistry with refinement and performance, it represents the very essence of the Bentley brand. 

Bentley Motorsport and American partner team K-PAX Racing have secured their first championship win together – the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge GT teams’ title – following a consistently strong season and dominant series finale. In what was Bentley’s first season with K-PAX Racing, the team scored a podium in each of the five sprint events that took place on the USA’s top race tracks. The team – which fielded two full-season entries – racked-up six pole positions, ten podium, and five race wins drivers Alvaro Parente (PT) and Rodrigo Baptista (BR).

British-made supercars rank as the most popular in 2018, according to JBR Capital, the UK’s leading independent finance provider dedicated to high-end vehicles. Four of the top 10 most financed cars by JBR Capital so far this year are made in Britain, ahead of exotic supercar rivals from Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Bentley Motors is demonstrating the beauty of bespoke with a new very special limited edition Mulsanne. The Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner pays homage to the founding father of the company and incorporates a genuine piece of Bentley history in every car. Inside each of the 100 limited edition Mulsannes, a slice of the original crankshaft taken from W.O. Bentley’s personal 8 Litre car decades ago – the last model he designed for Bentley Motors back in 1930 – is displayed.

According to Cars UK and IPWire, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sued Bentley Motors earlier this month in Federal District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, over a patent infringement. JLR claims Bentley’s All Terrain Specification used in the new Bentyaga comes with a Drive Dynamics system that offers Snow, Ice, and Wet Grass, Dirt and Gravel, Mud and Trail and Sand Modes – nearly the same as its own Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, Sand, and Rocks modes. As part of the suit, JLR filed a 30-page complaint seeking monetary damages, attorney’s fees, and a permanent injunction against Bentley. Supposedly JLR had spent 2-years trying to get Bentley management to address their issues and complaints about using similar ‘All Terrain Specs’ in the Bentyaga without much success. Cases such as this can be very hard to prove without direct evidence of backward engineering, industrial theft, or some […]

The tenth Flying Scotsman saw William Medcalf and a whole fleet of vintage Bentleys line up at Brooklands in late April 2018. Just as they had done a decade earlier, they had come to contest perhaps the toughest UK rally for pre-war motor cars. All manner of different marques were down on the start list but it’s not too much of a stretch to say that as usual, anything from the Cricklewood stable acquitted itself very well over the typically tough course. The late Philip Young and the Endurance Rally Association devised the Flying Scotsman as a reliability trial ‘for crews with a press on attitude’ and, in every edition since the first one in 2009, the crews and their cars have been tested by the roads, the weather, and the navigation. This year the route was designed by Anthony Preston, renowned […]

The Bentley Bentayga demonstrated its performance credentials by claiming the outright record for a production SUV at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Driven by two-time champion Rhys Millen (NZ), the Bentayga completed the 12.42-mile course in just 10:49.9 – taking nearly two minutes off the previous record by averaging 66.5 mph. Climbing almost 5,000 ft through 156 corners, the Bentayga deployed its unique combination of a 600 bhp, 900 Nm W12 engine, adaptive air suspension, active electric 48V anti-roll control and carbon ceramic brakes to set a stunning new benchmark.

After a six-month preparation and development program, a race-ready Bentley Bentayga is in Colorado and ready to take on the 96th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this weekend. Along the exceptionally challenging 12.42-mile course, which features 156 corners and a 4,720 ft climb, the Bentayga will have to average a minimum of 60 mph to achieve its target – to claim the outright Production SUV record. Tackling the challenge will be two-time overall Pikes Peak champion Rhys Millen, whose race team has been working tirelessly with Bentley Motorsport this year to prepare the car for “The Race to The Clouds”.

Bentley’s second-generation Continental GT3 claimed its maiden podium on Saturday night (2 June) with Bentley Team M-Sport, thanks to a faultless performance from drivers Steven Kane (GB), Jules Gounon (FR) and Jordan Pepper (ZA) at the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Paul Ricard 1000km in France. The results came in only the third race for Bentley’s new 2018 Continental GT3, in the first real test of its endurance credentials ahead of next month’s blue riband Spa 24 Hours.

Bentley’s new, second-generation Continental GT3 will make its competitive debut at Monza in Italy this weekend (April 20-22) when Bentley Team M-Sport begins the defense of its Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Teams’ title. Following an extensive testing schedule, the outfit’s two new-for-2018 Continental GT3s will line up at the historic grand prix circuit in northern Milan for the first of this season’s five European rounds. Guy Smith (GB), Steven Kane (GB) and Jules Gounon (FR), who made their first appearance together as a trio at Bathurst in February, are paired in the #7 entry while the #8 crew comprising Andy Soucek (ES), Maxime Soulet (BE) and Vincent Abril (MC) embarks on a second season eager to go one better than the runners-up position achieved in 2017’s Endurance Cup Drivers’ standings.

The new Bentley Bentayga V8 headlines a trio of models for the luxury British brand at the 2018 Beijing Auto Show. Powered by a 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged petrol engine, the latest version of Bentley’s exquisite SUV combines limousine-like refinement with exceptional performance and sporting character and will be showcased in China for the first time. Alongside it will be the all-new Continental GT, a car that sets new standards in luxury Grand Touring. Also making its Beijing show debut, it is designed, engineered and handcrafted in Britain, and features the highest levels of attention to detail, artistry and cutting-edge technology.

International auctioneers Coys are back in town with 50 classic and sports cars worth millions going under the hammer at their long-established Spring Classics auction on April 24th at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London. The barn find 1963 Bentley Continental Mulliner Park Ward S3 is one of the highlights of the auction and, although it is being offered at no reserve, it could fetch £40,000 on the hammer. Chris Routledge, CEO of Coys, said: Our Spring Classics auction has for decades been a prelude to motoring season which is now very much upon us. This year we have a stunning selection 50 fine historic and classic motor cars looking for a new owner, ranging from three original-bodied pre-war Rolls Royces through to a genuine barn find 1960s Bentley S3 Continental Coupe by Mulliner.

Bentley Motors today announces that construction has started on the UK’s largest ever solar-powered carport at Bentley’s factory headquarters in Crewe, UK. The installation of 10,000 solar panels, which has a capacity of 2.7MW, will take approximately six months to complete. Once completed, the carport – which covers Bentley’s colleague car park – will take Bentley’s energy system to 30,815 solar panels. This includes the 20,815-panel rooftop installation completed in 2013.

Two-time Pikes Peak overall winner Rhys Millen will pilot a Bentley Bentayga at the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 24th. Aiming to break the existing Production SUV record of 12:35.61, the Bentayga will need to average a minimum of 60 mph up the exceptionally tight and twisty 156-corner course. With years of competition at Pikes Peak and in Red Bull Global Rallycross under his belt, Millen possesses both the ability and experience required to push the Bentayga to its limits of performance in pursuit of the record.