You Sometimes Need To Reset & Restructure To Recapture

VW Group plan puts Porsche in charge of a 'super-premium' division 

It will coordinate efforts at Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini 

An Automobile report looks into what's happening on the organizational and technical sides of the Volkswagen Group, and what those changes could mean for the premium brands. The wide-angle view is that Porsche appears to have been anointed to "coordinate the future activities" at Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. Audi would cede Lamborghini guardianship to Stuttgart, and Ducati — via a new concern called Ducati Enterprises — would become the shepherd for VW's other Italian investments. Executives target Jan. 1, 2019, to complete the reshuffle.

VW wants to save a boodle by tying up four of its five top-tier brands, and putting the one with the highest ROI in charge. Porsche, within its own house, wants to reduce expenditures by $2.3 billion per year over for four years, the savings already earmarked for improving internal processes like R&D and production. Having Porsche share those gains as well as lead development of platforms, components and future-tech strategies for the sister sports car brands could benefit everyone.

(AutoBlog.com)

A Sophisticated Machine For The Sophisticated Individual

Autoblog Classifieds Finds: 1991 Bentley Turbo R A classic

British bruiser lurks in our reader classifieds section. 

Back in the day, a 1991 Bentley Turbo R would set you back the equivalent of $332,000 or so in today's dollars (around $170,000 at the time). And yet, while some cars have appreciated beyond their as-new sale prices, this Turbo R is listed for just $12,995. The difference from new is staggering, but perhaps not unexpected.

The Turbo R was a different sort of monster. A monster in a pinstriped suit, with exquisite tastes and a quiet, menacing air. Despite weighing more than 5,000 pounds, its turbocharged six-and-three-quarter-liter V8 made 325 horsepower and 450 lb-ft when new. Car and Driver tested one when new, and it hit 60 mph in 7.7 seconds – legitimately quick for the time. Like any Bentley, it'll ride that torque wave like a classic steam locomotive cruising across a European valley.

That is, if it's running right. There's no denying that these hand-built and complex cars require specialized and expensive attention. While the purchase price is less than a new subcompact, the car is still more than 25 years old — and parts, well, they haven't depreciated along with the rest of the car.

(AutoBlog.com)

Bentley's Newest Track Beast

New Bentley Continental GT3 race car looks beautiful and brutal

(AutoBlog.com)

I'm Sure More Car Manufacturer's Will Follow Suit

New Bentley on-demand concierge service to operate in 3 US cities through the summer

The Bentley On-Demand is no different to these regular car rental service agencies except that it offers luxury Bentley vehicles and of course, it comes with door-to-door service and exclusivity. In terms of costs, Bentley has not released any information yet, but we’re expecting that the Bentley On-Demand service would likely cost more than the typical gold-to-platinum rental membership upgrade. Well, what do you expect when you want exclusivity and luxury?

As of the moment, there is a limited choice of Bentley vehicles. The Bentley On-Demand program will be available only through the summer and in only three cities in the United States – New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas.

(4WheelNews.com)

You Gotta Pay To Play

Cars with the most expensive options

So, you really want your next car to come loaded?

[A]ccording to Wikilender, it's sometimes possible to more than double the base price of a new car by loading up with options. There's one automaker in particular that you won't be surprised to see charge an arm and a leg for certain options packages, but there are also some interesting surprises on this list.
Without further ado, check out this list of eight automobiles with options that double the price of the vehicle.

Bentley Bentayga

• Base MSRP: $229,100
• Optional Extras: $265,955 (115% of MSRP)
• Total Optioned to Price: $495,055

With a starting price just shy of $230,000, the Bentley Bentayga is already expensive. But if you're not stingy with options, you can more than double that asking price to over $495,000. Just one option alone – the Breitling Mulliner Tourbillon Clock – costs a staggering $160,000.

Porsche 911

• Base MSRP: $91,100
• Optional Extras: $87,670 (96% of MSRP)
• Total Optioned to Price: $178,770

Surprised? No, neither are we. Yet another Porsche on this list of vehicles with the most absurd option costs. Wikilender says you can't quite double the cost of a base 911 with options, but you can come pretty darn close.

Ferrari 488 GTB

• Base MSRP: $245,400
• Optional Extras: $219,656 (89% of MSRP)
• Total Optioned to Price: $465,056

Okay, so this one's not so surprising. As is the case with Porsche, a lot of customers shopping in a Ferrari dealership have got the funds to make their chosen vehicle stand out from the crowd. According to Wikilender, the 488 GTB's price can swell from $245,400 to $465,056 by piling on the options.

Complete list (AutoBlog.com)

I'd Buy These If I Could Afford Them

Ferrari and Bentley make your living room as luxurious as your car 

Car-themed high-end furniture you can really live with.

Ferrari this time that wants to cater to a customer's office needs. The famed upholstery house, Poltrona Frau has created interiors for Ferraris since the 1980s, and now there's a specially designed office chair called the "Cockpit", trimmed in Poltrona Frau leather. The modular chair comes in two guises, "President" and "Exclusive", and the former features a high backrest, strongly resembling a racing car seat. The Exclusive version does without the backrest. Ferrari says that the materials, including carbon fiber are the same used to make car seats, and that the seats can be customized according to the customer's needs.
 

Bentley's new Home collection of furniture. The set has been designed by the architect Carlo Colombo, and it comprises several sofas, a chaise longue, tables, chairs, beds, cabinets and lamps. There are eucalyptus and maple woods used in the furniture pieces' construction, with the quilted leather making an easy mental connection with the similarly detailed interior of, say, the Bentayga.

(AutoBlog.com) 

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em?

Porsche, Bentley synergies can help VW Group 

The VW-owned brands, along with the Bugatti supercar marque, are looking to share costs across a wide spectrum of activities and will achieve annual savings of 100 million euros ($106 million) starting next year, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said.

There are 14 cross-disciplinary teams exploring where costs can be shared, said Blume, who heads VW's new Sport/Luxury group, which coordinates the three brands' activities in order to boost savings.

"It is a wide-ranging plan that is highly detailed and thought out," Blume said. Synergies could be found in development work, components, cooperating on financial services, joint sales structures, as well as production and quality assurance, the Porsche chief told reporters at the sports-car maker's annual press conference here last month.

(AutoNews.com)

Some Pricey Show & Go

6 Of The Fastest Luxury Saloons Money Can Buy

With the passing of the seventh-generation of Rolls Royce Phantom, there are many performance saloons that are champing to take its luxury crown

Bentley Flying Spur (W12)

Once tied in a relationship with Rolls Royce, Bentley was set free from its UK-based sister when BMW and Volkswagen bought the two companies in 2003. It was at this point that Bentley seemed to gain a kick of performance to its production line, initially with the Continental GT.

Beforehand, huge 6.75-litre V8s were wasted as tools for cruising instead of setting lap times, but things have very much changed since the likes of the Azure and Turbo R.

Using the Volkswagen D1 chassis (shared with the Audi A8), Bentley produced the 200mph Flying Spur - a four-door alternative to the Continental GT. Bentley will give you a 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 for your troubles that’ll be good for 616bhp, although for £10,000 less you could settle for the 4.0-litre 500bhp V8.

The Flying Spur uses an eight-speed ZF gearbox to haul 2.5 tonnes along the highway and comes in at a whopping £170,000. But considering that most Flying Spur buyers will have someone to open the door for them at all times, that six-figure sum shouldn’t be an issue.

BMW Alpina B7 Biturbo

Alpina BMWs are the definition of factory sleepers, especially considering the stats the latest creation is sporting. The 2017 B7 Biturbo has been tested to 205mph, despite its initial forecasting of just 193mph. It manages to achieve this using the BMW 7-series as a base, along with a revised version of the N63 90-degree 4.4-litre V8. 

By upgrading the two turbochargers, intercooler, pistons and exhaust system, the power output comes in at a McLaren-frightening 599bhp which is channeled (again) through an eight-speed ZF transmission.

The BMW M760li has come along and trumped the B7 in terms of cylinders with a 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12, but in outright performance terms, the independent company still has the last laugh.

Complete list (CarThrottle.com)

Did You Know - The Bentley Cocktail

The myth and mystery of The Bentley Cocktail 

Drink this and don't drive.

[C]oldicott found The Bentley in the classic Savoy cocktail guide, a foundational reference point for boozers since the recipe book has existed virtually unchanged since its publication in 1930. What's more, The Bentley seems to be a sort of desperate iteration of another classic drink from the era, lending further credence to the myth of its creation.

"I am pretty convinced it is a variation of the Star Cocktail, which calls for equal parts apple brandy and sweet vermouth," says cocktail historian, and Bentley believer, Marco Dionysos. "The Star Cocktail was a well-known drink, and appears in dozens of books from the 1890s on. It is easy to imagine the vermouth was substituted with the Dubonnet on hand, and the new drink christened for the celebration of the day."

The Venn Diagrammatic intersection of disgusting and possible begins to connect. The folks from Bentley add further plausibility, though they have a somewhat vested interest. "We have original recipes dating back 85 years," said Bentley spokesperson Erin Bronner, admitting that she wasn't certain who devised it or under what circumstance. "And now we have a new recipe created by Agostino Perrone, award-winning mixologist at The Connaught," a venerable 120-year-old London hotel, which was just named the best bar in the world by Forbes.

(AutoBlog.com)

I Bet That It Was A Blast To Drive

What it's like to drive Bentley's Continental GT3 racecar

A few things set the 4.0-liter V8's power delivery apart from that of the street car. For starters, the engine, which is capped at 600 horsepower in race spec, feels like its twin turbochargers spool more quickly and seamlessly, almost masking the fact that there's any forced induction. The race engine seems to wind up more eagerly, as if the drastic weight loss includes a big reduction in rotational mass. Maximum revs aren't particularly high – after all, Bentley has always been known for low-revving torqueiness, not screaming redlines – but keeping an eye on the progressive shift lights keeps you from bouncing off the rev limiter like an amateur. It takes a firm stab of the middle pedal to slow the car down, but the unboosted brakes have breathtaking stopping power when you get into them. It stops just as effectively as it goes, maybe even better.

Once you get a feel for how authoritatively it can decelerate, the GT3 can be driven with more anger leading into corners. Don't overdo it with the stoppers, and there's a shocking amount of cornering grip thanks to the car's tremendous downforce and sticky race slicks. The disconnect between expecting the car to fly off the track and its insistence to stay grounded requires a leap of faith. But once you've conquered the fear of failure, the GT3 manages to guide itself through high-speed corners with a level of adhesion that simply cannot be matched by street cars, which are invariably tuned for aerodynamic neutrality not downforce. 

Another curious thing about racecars: the faster they go, the more natural they feel. While upshifts are clunky at low speeds, they're bang bang fast when you're cooking; the GT3's brakes squeak and moan at piddling velocities, but clamp down for real when you're flying. Try to drive a competitive racecar slowly, and you're punished with the ignominy of looking graceless and hamfisted. Push it to wring out its performance, and it makes you look good, as long as you don't push too far.

(AutoBlog.com)

Some Non-Car Parts A Car Guy May Want

Absurdly Expensive Automotive Merchandise 

Ferrari Ceramic Ashtray: $75.00

Ferrari is one of the most egregious offenders when it comes to overpriced branded products. While the price tag on this ashtray does not leave it out of reach of the average person, it's hard to fathom spending three quarters of a Benjamin just so you can dump ashes on the symbol of your cherished brand.

Bentley Tergus 37 Candle: $85.87

At current exchange rates, this Bentley candle comes in at $85. For that lofty price, it offers a bizarrely complicated scent. Bentley puts it best:

"Captures leather in layers of spice with iris wood, vibrant saffron, black pepper and frankincense with precious woods; resting in a base of tonka beans, vanilla, and patchouli."

Is that what wealth smells like? Save yourself the cash and visit a Yankee Candle instead.

Lamborghini Carbon Fiber Bynomio Suitcase: $17,388.00

This suitcase is one way you could store your clothing on a long trip. Or you could buy a new Honda Fit and pay someone to drive your clothes to your destination. And you'll get 52.7 cubic feet of cargo space instead of 5.8.
You can thank us later.
Complete list (AutoBlog.com)

Hell Yah, Bentley

Bentley To Offer Free Gas Delivery To Drivers Of Its Very Thirsty Cars

In a first for Bentley customers, all owners need do is simply open the innovative Filld for Bentley app, choose a delivery time, and their fuel will be delivered wherever and whenever they require. This first-ever Connected Car integration means that customers don’t even need to unlock the fuel cap themselves, or identify the car’s exact location as this is done for them securely through the Filld for Bentley service.

(Jalopnik.com)

Man & Machine Work In Beautiful Harmony Here

What the Bentley Mulsanne and Acura NSX Have in Common – Technologue

Low ’n’ Slow: Tech Helps Build Low-Volume Cars Precisely, Profitably 

[T]he Bentley Mulsanne line in Crewe, England, and the Acura NSX Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio.

Each is geared to build roughly 2,000 very special cars per year for customers who demand perfection. Sure, their sticker prices could pay for an army of technicians to build the cars entirely by hand, but fallible human hands are not ideally suited for all tasks, and the business case won’t support a level of automation approaching that of the Accord factory next door to the PMC. So both Bentley and Acura employ an intriguing mix of man and machine assembly. The robots in use by each are impressive multitaskers.

(MotorTrend.com)

A Commoners Chance To Own A Piece Of The Queen's Fleet

You can buy the Queen's Bentley Mulsanne for $285,000

(AutoBlog.com)

Champagne Wishes

$10,000 champagne bottle cooler? Only in a Bentley

Bentleys are expensive. They wouldn't be Bentleys if they weren't. Even so, the ~$200k list price for a new Flying Spur is just the starting point. The company's Mulliner customization division offers a wide array of optional extras – all of them suitably pricey – and just introduced a new selection for the sedan.

Highlighting the options list for the Continental's sedan counterpart is a champagne bottle cooler mounted between the rear seats behind the armrest. The on-board mini-fridge fits two standard-size champagne bottles – no magnums, we're afraid – canted forward, as well as a stopper and a pair of flutes with bases designed to evoke the shape of the wheels outside. It all fits in behind frosted glass trimmed in chrome, just in case it wasn't blingy enough for the hip-hop set, and takes Bentley's craftsmen 15 hours to make. No wonder the company charges $10,135 for each one installed, which comes within a Bentley buyer's pocket change of a new Nissan Versa.

(AutoBlog.com)