1975 Bentley Corniche Reviews

It used to be that when you wanted a taste of outdoors you went camping. You carried your own canvas, erected it somewhere you hoped was not snake-infested, then incinerated food on that most fickle of stoves, the campfire.So along came the campsite, which introduced the toilet block. It should have been a good idea but wasn't due to the incessant sound of generators. A similar catch-22 confronts convertible makers. Remove the roof, and the rigid metal canister that was a car becomes a soggy mass of uncertainty.These are the motoring equivalents of the campsite: they appear convenient -- four seats, say, and a secure folding metal roof -- but actually ruin the very thing they set out to make acceptable. You've got wind in your hair but can't enjoy it because the ride quality is intolerable and your knees are pressed to your chin.I'd rather go behind a tree and happily some convertibles are still like this. The Lotus Elise, for example, is a loud and uncompromising sportscar with a roof from a 1950s scout manual. It's as raw as the environment you're in, a two-person bivouac on wheels.Or, if you're going to make the experience luxurious, at least do it with conviction. When we're talking tents this is called “glamping” -- glamorous camping. You're in pristine natural wilderness, of course, but never far from a comfy bed and a coffee machine. When we're talking large convertibles, this is called the Bentley GTC.If the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead at $1,075,000 is the Everest of convertibles, the GTC is K2. Not the tallest, but head and shoulders above everything bar one. The version I drove, with a new V8 engine, starts at $407,000.After a few essentials were added, such as deep-pile floor mats, a knurled gear lever and diamond-quilted upholstery, it came in at $497,288. The next most expensive, Maserati's Grancabrio, starts way below at $338,000.A BMW M6 Convertible is $308,500 while the most luxurious Mercedes four-seat convertible is the E500, at $188,635, which wouldn't give any self-respecting glamper altitude sickness. You could buy a convertible Aston DB9, Jaguar XK or Porsche 911, but only if you're clear about your seating needs. The rears are splendidly upholstered parcel shelves.In the Bentley, rear seating is tight for adults but at least usable by humans of some dimensions. And if its rivals' cabins are splendid, it ups the ante with sumptuous. Bentley is fond of saying that if a piece of trim looks like wood, it is wood, and if it looks like metal it is metal.That's rare these days but it's more than that. A paperclip looks like metal. In the GTC, each piece could come from an expensive watchstrap. As if to prove it, there's a little Breitling set in the dash. A nice touch, as is the silent silver arm that moves the seatbelt within reach. Did I mention the knurled gear knob? Few cabins are this lovely.The roof is large and leisurely in operation, at around 25 seconds. It doesn't open on the move and a wind deflector must be manually fitted. A bit old-school, but without it the cabin stays fairly calm and it delivers on other counts. Closed, the tight roofline gives the car great hunkered-down proportions and tightly insulates the interior.There are fold-out beds less generously padded. This is the second generation of the GTC and it follows the coupe, driven almost two years ago, in making modest changes. So modest, at the time it felt a little underdone. This is especially true of the exterior, where the crisper lines need an acute visual memory to discern from the original.But it's even more true of one crucial area: the control screen. It shares this with other brands in the Volkswagen group and even two years ago the upgrade was off the pace. Perhaps that won't matter because other impressions are more potent. Few cars take pride in their weight these days because they're shedding every conceivable gram to lower fuel consumption.Certainly, it feels better balanced than its nose-heavy predecessor, which was offered only with a huge turbocharged 6.0-litre 12-cylinder. That engine, upgraded, remains available for another $42,500. But even for a badge that relishes extremes it now looks like overkill.The 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 is shared with Audi and I was expecting it to be a bit more vocal, especially roof-down. But it has enough power for the car, with easy driveability thanks to loads of low-rev torque. The GTC gathers pace with inevitability, like a steam train.Then it's easy to exceed the speed limit. It will reach 100km/h in five seconds, amazingly quick for something this heavy. In a nod to efficiency, there are fuel-saving features such as direct injection and the ability to shut down half its cylinders when cruising.A new eight-speed automatic also helps, even if it's not the quickest changing transmission. Eight -- a lucky number for Bentley -- is also the piston count on the huge brakes. They work, thankfully.So even more than usual, a Bentley can make other cars feel like toys. It has substance. After just a few hundred metres behind the wheel this solidity betrays the badge. Blindfolded (a thought experiment!) I reckon I could tell what it was just from its road feel. Few, if any, convertibles ride this well, with just the occasional minor shudder reminding you that it's an imperfect world. One you can blithely ignore.Because at heart it's tarmac imperialism, this 2.4-tonne British expeditionary force, and it imparts a certain road swagger to the driver. You become a hoon in a pith helmet. That's because it's good to drive. Bentley claims it's the stiffest convertible in the world and the suspension engineers must have been delighted. You feel the weight in corners but it settles into the task and the chassis is surprisingly nuanced and subtle in the signals it sends the driver. Huge rubber and all-wheel drive, split 40:60 front-rear, add to its fundamental ability. Driving it fast feels like you've mastered juggling medicine balls.I've confessed before in these pages to being no lover of convertibles. But I've realised now it has to be one extreme or the other. If I'm going to commune with nature, it's got to be hardcore. Or hedonistic. And few do it as well as this Bentley GTC.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Bentley CEO Wolfgang Schreiber gave an update on the status of the company’s plans for its first-ever SUV, revealing that senior managers at the Volkswagen Group, Bentley’s parent company, were yet to give final approval for production. Schreiber also revealed that a significant redesign of 2012’s controversial EXP 9 F concept would be implemented for any production version. According to a recent report in Germany’s Handelsblatt, first picked up by Automotive News (subscription required), approval for production of the EXP 9 F has been given. Citing company insiders, the report also said the new SUV would retail in Europe for 200,000 euros (approximately $261,000 AUD). Despite the steep price, the SUV is expected to be Bentley’s most popular model, commanding a sales volume of up to 5,000 vehicles annually. Last year, Bentley’s total sales were just 8,510 units. A spokesman for Bentley said the company is still waiting for approval, though things were looking very positive. The new SUV is to be based on the Volkswagen Group’s new platform for mid- to large-sized SUVs. The platform will debut in the next-generation Audi Q7 and will eventually spawn new versions of the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg. The basic structure of the Bentley SUV will be built alongside the Audi version at a plant in Slovakia before being shipped to Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England for final assembly. As for engines, Bentley’s new twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V-8 will likely be standard, with the twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W-12 remaining an option. This range-topping engine is expected to be updated soon for improved performance and efficiency. As previously confirmed by the automaker, a plug-in hybrid option may also feature. Based on the Volkswagen Group’s next-generation hybrid technology, the plug-in hybrid system likely employed in Bentley’s SUV will feature a V-6 engine and offer an electric-only driving range of about 30km and 0-100 acceleration in less than 5 seconds. There’s still no word on a possible launch date but previous reports have suggested a launch sometime in 2014. www.motorauthority.com  

  

This new 2013 Continental GT Speed Convertible is one of the last models in Bentley’s Continental range to receive its mid-cycle update, with new versions of the Supersports and Flying Spur now the only models still under wraps. Though just a mid-cycle update, the changes that have been incorporated for Bentley’s latest Continental range are significant. They include slightly sharper styling, a revised interior, and a host of other upgrades under its skin. The GT Speed Convertible, like its hardtop cousin, gets a twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W-12 engine rated at 460 kW and 800 Nm of torque. The mighty powerplant is matched to the latest ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and drives all four wheels via a Torsen center differential. Despite the slight bump in power and torque, Bentley claims a 15 percent improvement in driving range, fuel economy and emissions. Fuel economy is expected to be around 15.7L/ 100km for the combined cycle. The GT Speed hardtop gets simlar figures except it's a bit thirstier in city driving. The 0-100 km/h sprint takes around 4.1 seconds, just 0.1 of a second off the pace of the hardtop, while the top speed is 325 km/h, making this the fastest four-seat convertible in the world. Not bad considering the vehicle has a curb weight of 2495 kilograms and can comfortable seat four in ultimate luxury. Boot space is a reasonable 260 litres. For the chassis, Bentley engineers have increased the width of the track, sharpened up the steering and lowered the suspension by 10 millimeters compared to the outgoing model. The suspension consists of double wishbones up front and a multi-link setup in the rear, all with self-leveling air suspension and anti-roll bars. The all-wheel-drive settings have also been made rear-biased. The wheels are a unique set of 21-inch alloys and come shod with Pirelli P Zero ultra high-performance tires. The brake discs are steel, though Bentley offers a carbon silicon carbide set as an option. Inside, the Continental GT Speed Convertible gets the Mulliner Driving Specification (first shown on the Mulsanne in Geneva this year) as standard equipment, along with soft-touch leather hides, an extensive range of wood veneers, cool-touch metals and deep-pile carpets. One special touch for the Continental GT Speed models is Bentley’s dark tint aluminum ‘engine spin’ finish, inspired by the dashboards of the automaker’s Le Mans winners of the 1920s. The infotainment system features Bentley’s latest software upgrades, which vary from region to region but include refinements such as point of interest mapping, optional satellite landscape imagery, live traffic data and, where the infrastructure supports it, digital radio. The system features 15 GB of available music space, as well as the facility to play music via an iPod, MP3 player, the car’s own six-disc CD changer or SD card. Stay tuned for the car’s debut in Detroit on January 15. www.motorauthority.com  

The Russian widow claims late husband, Alexandre Anisonian, was wrongfully killed in his Bentley Continental GT because the vehicle’s side curtain airbags failed to deploy.She is suing Bentley through their Brooklands Moscow dealership for 60 million roubles (about $1.9m). Mr Anisonian died on February 8, 2012 when his Continental GT was hit by a large truck that ran a red light."Since the accident, we have run several tests that all conclude the strong impact should have set off the car's side curtain airbags," Mrs Anisonian’s lawyers said in a statement.Bentley has responded to the lawsuit by denying any blame, but stating that it is cooperating with Russian authorities.The luxury carmaker – owned by auto giant Volkswagen Group – said it takes safety very seriously and its vehicles meet the strictest crash test standards in the world.Overseas media reports have suggested the court hearing scheduled for January 14 will be told Anisonian’s Bentley was travelling at high speed when the accident occured. 

At last week’s 2012 Paris Auto Show Bentley unveiled a race car concept based on its luxury-oriented Continental GT. Simply labelled the Continental GT3, the one-off concept is confirmation of Bentley’s interest in returning to motorsports, which could include a new one-make racing series for the Continental coupe similar to what rivals such as Maserati and Lamborghini currently do with some of their cars.  While Bentley concedes the concept provides a solid foundation for the automaker’s “long-term” motorsport plans, to keep interest alive in the shorter term, we could see a road-going version of the car. In fact, as early as October of last year we reported that Bentley could launch a track-focused version of its Continental GT, perhaps as a replacement for the Continental Supersports model. Now, Autocar is reporting that this track-focused version could be a production Bentley Continental GT3. With pricing similar to the range-topping Continental Supersports, somewhere close to $553k, the production Continental GT3 would be the most potent model in the Continental range. This means that output from its twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W-12 engine would likely be turned up to around 522 kilowatts. However, the lighter and more responsive twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 may be offered instead. Going into the future, Bentley will be positioning its 12-cylinder engines at the prestige end of the market, while the V-8s will be aimed at performance buyers.  Though the race concept featured a rear-wheel drive chassis, the production version would likely remain all-wheel drive for safety reasons. Other changes would likely include a more subtle exterior and a plusher cabin -- it's still a Bentley after all. If given the green light, expect the production Continental GT3 to go on sale in 2014 at the earliest. Numbers will be limited, so perhaps only around 300 examples will see the light of day. www.motorauthority.com  

   

The outrageous and outrageously expensive SUV has won a go-ahead for the road after an overwhelming response from super-rich buyers.

Like the latter, however, the four door is due for a thorough facelift......copping an array of new details and accents and a new (cough, splutter) “entry-level” variant with Audi's twin-turbo V8 engine to sit beneath the blown W12.

British luxury brand Bentley is known for expensive handmade cars just about large enough to sleep in. So it’s no stretch to see them teaming with New York’s landmark St Regis hotel for an ultra-prestige suite. The 108-year-old hotel built by John Jacob Astor IV – who went down with the Titanic – already has several special suites at the kind of eye-watering tariffs only shrugged off by royalty and A+ list celebrity. The Tiffany, Dior and Orient Suites will set you back just short of $10,000 per night, and join them this month will be the Bentley Suite, designed in collaboration with the British marque. The 158sq-metre suite – roughly three times the size of your average small flat – will “be outfitted in the defining accents of the luxury automotive brand” according to the Bentley announcement. That means the signature burled wood of the Bentley dashboard has been put to service for a king-sized sleigh bed, while the floors are covered in black leather tiles. The suite comes with a complimentary car: a $662,857 Bentley Mulsanne for your personal use, but only within a 10-block radius of the Manhattan hotel. That might sound a bit limited, but New York blocks are massive, and the hotel probably expects the Mulsanne to return from forays with its massive boot crammed with high-end shopping bags.