Bentley S2 Reviews

While most people associate James Bond with Aston Martins, the original Ian Fleming books had the British master spy driving a Bentley.  In a new book commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications, author Jeffrey Deaver has returned 007 to his rightful place in a Bentley in the pages of Carte Blanche.Deaver, author of the Bone Collector, selected the Bentley Continental GT in his book to be published on May 26, a few days before the anniversary of Fleming's birthday.The book is partly set in Dubai, where Deaver recently drove a Continental GT.  "It is an inspirational and awe-inspiring city and makes a perfect Bond location, especially for a novel that pushes our hero to new extremes," he says.Despite Bond driving a Bentley in Fleming's books, his first car in a movie was a Sunbeam Alpine in the 1962 film, Dr No.  He didn't drive a Bentley until the second Bond flick, From Russia With Love, in 1963 in which the licensed-to-kill agent drove a Bentley Mark IV.It wasn't until the third Bond movie, Goldfinger, in 1964, that Bond drove the famous Aston Martin DB5, the quintessential Bond car.  There were also Bentleys in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and Moonraker (1979).Other car companies have used Bond films to promote and even launch new models.  Highlights are the amphibious Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me and the launch of the BMW Z3 Roadster in GoldenEye.Agent 007 carsVehicles starring in James Bond films:1962, Dr No: Sunbeam Alpine, Chevrolet Bel Air convertible1963, From Russia With Love: Bentley Mark IV1964, Goldfinger: Aston Martin DB5, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes 190 coupe, Lincoln Continental, Ford Mustang convertible, Rolls-Royce Phantom III1965, Thunderball: Aston Martin DB5, Ford Mustang convertible, BSA Lightning 650cc motorcycle, gyrocopter1967, You Only Live Twice: Toyota 2000 GT, BMW 2000 CS1969, On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Aston Martin DBS, Mercury Cougar, Bentley Mark II Continental, Rolls-Royce Corniche1971, Diamonds are Forever: 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1, Triumph Stag, moonbuggy1973, Live And Let Die: Glastron speedboat, double-decker London bus, Chevrolet Impala convertible, Mini Moke1974, The Man With The Golden Gun: AMC Hornet and Matador, Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow1977, The Spy Who Loved Me: Lotus Esprit, Wetbike concept, Ford Cortina 2.3 Ghia, Mini Moke1979, Moonraker: Bentley Mark IV, Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II1981, For Your Eyes Only: Citroen 2CV, Lotus Esprit Turbo, Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II1983, Octopussy: Mercedes-Benz 250 SE, BMW 5 Series, Alfa Romeo GTV1985, A View To A Kill: Renault taxi, Ford LTD, Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, Chevrolet Corvette C4, Jeep Cherokee (XJ)1987, The Living Daylights: Aston Martin DBS and V8 Vantage, Audi 200 Quattro1989, Licence To Kill: Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Kenworth petrol tanker1995, GoldenEye: BMW Z3 roadster, Aston Martin DB5, Russian tank, Ferrari 3551997, Tomorrow Never Dies: Aston Martin DB5, BMW 750iL, BMW R1200C motorcycle1999, The World is not Enough: BMW Z8, Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow2002, Die Another Day: Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar XKR, pink Ford Thunderbird convertible2006: Casino Royale: Aston Martin DBS and DB5, Jaguar E Type Roadster, Fiat Panda 4x4, Ford Transit, Ford Mondeo2008: Quantum of Solace: Aston Martin DBS V12, Alfa Romeo 159 and 156, Audi A6, Ford Ka & Edge, Jaguar XJ8, Volvo S40T5, Volkswagen Type 1.

It's fast, it's flash, and it's finally here.  Bentley have unveiled their new GT coupe at the Paris Motor Show. The W12 engine produces more power (575 PS / 567 bhp / 423 kW) and torque (700 Nm / 516 lb ft) as well as sharper acceleration times throughout the range. There's also increased storage space, an additional 46 mm of legroom for back-seat passengers and a state-of-the-art 30 GB infotainment system supported by touchscreen technology.Deliveries to customers will start in the first quarter of 2011.

The V8 will have 40 per cent lower CO2 emissions than the 384g/km of the W12, but both engines will be capable of running on 85 per cent ethanol.  Bentley has committed to having E85 compatibility in all its cars by 2012 with the first being the Supersports launched here last December. While performance details are not yet available for the V8, the 12-cylinder, twin-turbocharged powertrain will have 12kW more power with 423kW and 700Nm of torque. It will be mated to a new Quickshift transmission which enables double downshifts. Bentley claims this combination of engine and transmission drops the 0-100km/h time from 4.6 to 4.4 seconds.  Australia's Bentley spokesman, Ian Churchill, says they will be taking orders for the new four-seater coupe later this year with a local launch in the second quarter of next year. "The W12 engine is available at launch with the V8 derivative to be communicated late 2011," he says.  "Both will ultimately be available to the Australian market. "The key point to note with these two engine configurations is our overall commitment to producing engaging vehicles for the market while still making clear our intention to embrace a combination of flex-fuel and engine improvements to reduce Bentley's environment impact."Pricing will be announced soon, he says. "In terms of sales we expect strong interest from owners of the current Continental coupe, of which we have sold 23,000 since launch in 2003," Churchill says.  "The blend of supercar performance with everyday practicality has meant the new GT is attracting many new clients to the Bentley stable." The car will also feature "super formed" aluminium front wings and boot lid that allow for a more sculpted body.  Super forming heats the aluminium panels to nearly 500 degrees Celsius before shaping them by air pressure. By using a single sheet of aluminium, no seams or welding are required. The process was first used on the Mulsanne and it allows a weight reduction in the coupe of 65kg.  The exterior now features jewelled headlamps with LED daytime-running lights, a more upright matrix radiator grille and new double horseshoe rear profile first shown on the flagship Bentley Mulsanne. Inside is a new sweeping dashboard and instrument panel finished in premium, soft-touch leather hides, cobra-design seats, more rear cabin space and a new touchscreen, 30GB infotainment system with satellite navigation.

The special 'Arabia' models from Bentley show how well the luxury badge has done in the Middle East while other brands were suffering sales drops.  The oil-rich market has doubled its slice of Bentley purchases in the last five years and now buys 10 per cent of the marque's global sales, despite the recent global financial crisis.In recognition of that the VW-owned British breed has been busy at its Crewe headquarters, designing and developing two unique Continental models with a range of features specific to the Middle East market.Imaginatively named the Continental Flying Spur Arabia and the Continental Flying Spur Speed Arabia, the high-performance luxury four-door saloon - which starts at just under $400,000 if you bought one here - has additional features to create what the company says is "the ultimate in distinguished, elegant driving developed for the Arabic  market.''Both cars are further distinguished by some subtle exterior and interior Arabia motifs. These include an exterior front fender badge, tread plate and ashtray lid badge all bearing the Arabia signature.In any other part of the world - and many other brands - it might well be called a "bling'' edition, but Bentley isn't treading on the toes of "Pimp My Ride.''  The already-ample features list has been bolstered with ventilated "fluted'' seats that now cool as well as heat - the latter not really a must-have for the Middle East - as well as the option of active cruise control, a rear-view camera, iPod connectivity for the rear DVD system, phone handsets front and rear and carbon ceramic brakes (which need the Speed's 20in wheels, optional on the Flying Spur, for space).Even the fuel cap has been blinged up in bright chrome with the famous B badge.  Bentley's Middle East and Asia regional director Geoff Dowding says the new models for Arabic customers is recognition of their growing importance to the marque."Bentley has a long and proud tradition of being able to design, engineer and personalise our cars to the individual styling and driving tastes of our customers and these special-edition Bentleys showcase these skills for the Middle East Market,'' he says.The Arabia editions don't get any extra urge, but the standard six-litre twin-turbo W12 has an elegant sufficiency of propulsion for the 2440kg machine, thanks to 412kW and 650Nm being delivered to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic.That's enough for the Flying Spur Arabia to reach a top speed of 312 km/h and a 0-100 km/h sprint time of just 5.2 seconds.  The Speed Arabia has 449kW and 750Nm at its driver's disposal, dropping the 0-100 km/h sprint to 4.8 seconds and upping the top speed of 322km/h.

These are the fantasies of vehicle designers that we usually only get to see at international motor shows. Now Detroit's finest motoring graphic artists are sending their finest works of motoring art around the world in a travelling exhibition that will hit Brisbane from this month. Called Industrial Desire, the exhibition will feature models, drawings and film footage, Detroit's gothic beauty and iconic futuristic cars. With less than a few thousand car designers globally, it counts as one of the world's most competitive and secretive careers. Show curator Leon Fitzpatrick, an Australian-born industrial designer who studied in Detroit, has picked the exhibition pieces from Detroit's College for Creative Studies, an international centre of excellence in transportation design. "What we need out there are cars that ignite a sense of wonder, rather than the rolling appliances they have become," he says. "These models show there's no reason why cars can't be exciting, aesthetically pleasing and thoughtful all at the same time." The show, which runs from June 10 to August 28 at Artisan Gallery in Fortitude Valley, features 10 quarter-scale models of fantastic concept vehicles including futuristic SUVs, muscle cars and cutting edge ecofriendly city cars. They are supported by original sketches and renderings, multimedia video, sketches, rendering and digital 3-D modelling. "With the automotive industry on the verge of a massive shift it is timely to look at the creativity and optimism of the next generation of car designers," Fitzpatrick says. "Industrial Desire is a powerful, informative and inspirational experience for people of all ages, merging craft and design in a new and innovative way." Another Australian link in the exhibition is Imre Molnar, Dean at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, who trained at the National Art School of Sydney in Australia and worked with the Australian Design Council. He has been a featured lecturer on strategic design management for businesses around the globe, including Nokia, NCR, Volkswagen, BMW, the Ford Motor Company and JETRO (Japanese External Trade Organisation), and at government symposia.

A HUGE new Bentley has just gone on sale with an enormous engine, splendid luxury appointments and a stratospheric price. Unfortunately, the world is in the throes of an economic crisis that means the market for elite motor cars has gone into a tailspin. Bentley goes bust.That was 80 years ago and the car was known simply as the 8 Litre. Only 100 were made before the financial meltdown brought the receivers in.Walter Owen Bentley's private example, lovingly restored, has been brought along for the launch of the Mulsanne, a huge new Bentley with an enormous engine, splendid luxury appointments and, of course, a stratospheric price. The two are linked by their distinctive approach to luxury motoring and a certain symmetry in global events.More than that, the Mulsanne represents the first time since the 8 Litre that Bentley has designed and built a flagship for itself. All the other big Bentleys for eight decades were Rolls-Royces first, Bentleys second. Sometimes Rolls, which acquired its rival in 1931 after the company failed, didn't even change all the labels.The timing parallels may be ominous, but Bentley has approached the Mulsanne with no fear of the latest global financial crisis. ``We do believe there will always be exclusive people looking for exclusive products,'' Bentley chairman Franz-Josef Paefgen says. ``That is the way human beings are.''Always now, not then, presumably. What's clear is that with such a unique opportunity to reassert its identity at the super-luxury end of the market, it has not held back.The Mulsanne replaces the Arnage, which began life 12 years ago as twin to the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, when the companies were still together. The Seraph was pensioned off and BMW, which owns Rolls, replaced it with a new car. Bentley, owned by Volkswagen, kept the Arnage going until last year and, thanks to the changes made along the way, it earned a place in the hearts of its customers. A relic of another era, it felt special despite its flaws.The Mulsanne is much more ambitious than an updating of the Arnage, though.”We hope this car brings back the values of the old vintage times when Bentleys were not only big cars -- because W.O. Bentley was a railway engineer by education -- but also very exclusive, very comfortable and unique,'' Paefgen says.The result owes very little in terms of parts to the Arnage. It's longer, at nearly 5.6m, and built on new underpinnings to be as solid as they come. Mostly steel, it tips the scales at 2.6 tonnes and feels indestructible. Bentleys are not meant to be light; part of the appeal is their heft.Even better are its long, flowing lines with an absence of seams and a double headlight face inspired by the Bentley S-Type from the 1950s. It's built, largely by hand, where Bentley has made its home since World War II, at Crewe in northeast England.A mixture of old and new runs right through this car, from its body construction and its engine design to its lavish interior. It has up-to-the-minute electronics but uses an engine that dates back a half century. It has insisted on traditional tanning techniques, but the 17 hides needed for each car are cut by computer. It has hand-finished steel body panels but uses aluminium superforming, an aerospace technique, to produce the complex front wings.A visit to the factory reveals how it comes together. In the body shop, the main steel panels are joined in the same way as any car, but to achieve the floating rear window effect, in which the pane is surrounded by seamless metal, takes hours of hand finishing.Work on the interior is especially labour intensive. The Mulsanne takes the woodwork on cars to a new level even for Bentley, which is no slouch when it comes to cabinet making. The veneered solid timber waist-rails could have come from a dinner table. Stainless steel, knurled for grip on the controls, is used for details from the coat hooks to the sill covers.One surprise was the absence of the Breitling clock that's fitted to the Continental GT, the other model developed since Volkswagen took over. A Winged B-badged timepiece matches the other black dials, though.There's an almost complete absence of plastic and the buttons look like glass. A measure of Bentley's priorities came with the knowledge that it increased the carpet quality in the cabin, adding 5kg in the process.The iPod age has not been neglected, with a special drawer for a player while Bentley overcame problems such as introducing keyless entry on solid metal door handles, a combination that doesn't usually work.That turns out to be a neat reflective trick. However, Bentley disdains some of the latest technology, such as lane departure warning systems, because Paefgen thinks they are not yet good enough. Adaptive cruise control makes the cut, but fully automatic driving is the next worthwhile step.One key decision concerned the engine: retain a turbocharged V8, in the sentimental capacity of 6.75-litres, or move to a V12, which is generally regarded as the ultimate? Bentley did more than commit to a V8. It has returned to the 50-year-old architecture of the previous unit, with its single camshaft and pushrod-activated two valves a cylinder.Sound like a dinosaur? It doesn't from behind the wheel. Bentley upgraded and replaced almost every item. The result is an ancient template with some hi-tech features added, including cylinder deactivation, which switches to run on four cylinders when cruising, a first at this level.The company claims much improved smoothness at idle compared with the Arnage, better refinement and more torque at a lower threshold. “If you're looking for a low-revving, high-torque engine there's no reason you should not take a pushrod engine; you don't need four valves or overhead camshafts or all that,'' Paefgen says.He compares the engine character to the old-fashioned Detroit iron of American muscle cars. It's a reserved British concept of muscle that disdains showing off. I could have done with a bit more V8 vocalness when demands are made.There's no complaint about the effortless performance, though. The torque this engine develops, a steam-train-sized 1020Nm, arrives at 1750rpm, then the Bentley gathers pace as if it's going downhill. It can reach 100km/h in 5.3 seconds and red-lines at 4500rpm, which you won't see often unless you're planning on reaching its maximum speed of 296km/h.The cylinder deactivation is virtually impossible to pick and there's an eight-speed automatic with shift paddles behind the wheel, which are pointless but a delight to touch.It took a while before I could take my eyes off the burr-oak interior in the test car, but it was worth it to gaze over acres of Windsor Blue bonnet, elegantly spined and topped with a flying B mascot. This is not a car you hustle. The effortlessness of the engine is a good match for the handling, which is best enjoyed by going with the flow.It carries terrific backroad pace through the Scottish border country chosen for the event with little input from the driver. Despite its size and light steering, it's not difficult to place on the road. This is luxury driving with chairman-of-the-board style involvment.The test car was fitted with 21-inch wheels and they may have been responsible for a bit more tyre noise than I expected, with some road imperfections finding their way through the steering wheel as well. Even Bentley thinks its Rolls rival has the edge in low-speed refinement, although it says the differences diminish as speed rises.Bentley has hit the target with this car, which feels every bit as thorough a reinvention of its flagship as its rival, Rolls-Royce, achieved with the Phantom. If you can afford one, you almost certainly own more than one car. Buy the Phantom to glide you to Glyndebourne, perhaps, but the Mulsanne for the tour to Monaco. Assuming, of course, you can afford to ignore the trifling matter of a troubled world economy.BENTLEY MULSANNE - $695,000 on the roadVehicle: Large luxury sedanEngine: 6.8-litre turbocharged V8Outputs: 377kW at 4200rpm and 1020Nm at 1750rpmTransmission: Eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

A petrol-electric luxury limousine is already in the works as Bentley looks for efficiency and green power over coming years. But that's not the end of things for the upmarket British. “Our customers are clearly also concerned about energy use,” says Bentley's CEO, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen. “But longer term we need to look at exactly what type of hybrid technology would be suitable for Bentley cars.” Paefgen says the size and weight of Bentley cars means factoring-in expensive and heavy hybrid technology needed to be assessed properly. “There would have to be significant gains in lowering fuel economy and emissions too,” he says. Bentley, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, has ready access to hybrid powertrains as the parent company proved with its Touareg SUV hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show. Paefgen says newer technologies are definitely part of Bentley’s future, but the current priority is fuel economy and C02 reductions on its existing engines and the introduction of petrol/ethanol flex-fuel engines on cars like the new 6.8-litre V8 Mulsanne. To help lower fuel consumption, the eight-speed automatic Mulsanne has cylinder deactivation and camshaft phasing, technologies which helps reduce C02 emissions by 15 per cent. From June all Bentleys will be available with flex-fuel engines, and a model with a diesel engine is also lurking. But the diesel drive is not as straightforward as it could be, because of resistance from Bentley's biggest and most cashed-up group of customers. “We have a diesel ready to go. But there is a clear statement from our American friends that they are not ready for a diesel," Paefgen says. “As America represents 40 per cent of our sales we cannot risk introducing an engine that is not accepted by our biggest market.” However, Paefgen says Audi and Volkswagen’s diesel push into North America could help the Bentley cause. “Mercedes, Audi and BMW will also lead the way and I’m confident that we will see a diesel Bentley in four or five years," he says. While engines are an important focus for Bentley, the company's sales and marketing chief, Stuart McCullough, says rebuilding the business after the economic rollercoaster of the last 18 months is the biggest focus. Still, unlike Rolls-Royce - which has launched the smaller Ghost below its flagship Phantom - Bentley has no plans to go smaller, McCullough says. “We don’t have customers demanding a smaller vehicle. But we are thinking about future products.” Globally, Bentley sold just 4600 cars last year, down from its 2007 high of 10,014. “It’s been two ends of the extreme. We’ll certainly sell more than 4600 cars this year but it’s difficult to see when we’ll see the days of five-digit sales. “Will we return to the hubris of 2006-2007? I don’t think we will see the like of that type of market for a very long time. Having said, a lot of things are changing in the world. China is growing fundamentally as a market and that’s changing the scale of the global market.”

The second is the four double-door garages.  Then he opens the doors to reveal cars stacked on top of each other on hoists. Jags, Mercs, a Porsche, Bentley and even a VW Karmann Cabriolet, plus five 1980s-'90s BMW motorcycles.Bitneris is a serious motoring nut.  But he almost wasn't, thanks to bad experiences with his first car, a "1950s-something" Standard 8.  "What a piece of crap that was. Even the floor fell out," he laughs."I was studying engineering _ it's tough being poor _ and I bought it in total ignorance because the guy that sold it to me left the country and it was still under finance.  They repossessed it and I went through a lot of heartache.  Then I bought a 1947 Fiat. What a piece of crap that was, too."Then came his motoring epiphany.  "The highlight of my life was working for the Ford Motor Company back in the late '60s, early '70s when they were developing the GTHO," he says."My job as a young engineer was to build the plant expansion to make the new models. I built all the assembly lines.  A GTHO cost about $4800 at the time and now they're fetching more than 100 times that. I should have stolen a couple of them.  I used to get to drive them on the weekends after working 80-100 hour weeks. They were great days for motoring."His career took him overseas for the next 30-odd years, living in 21 countries and learning to speak six languages.  Bitneris says his first "collector" car was a 1960 Jaguar XK 150 he bought in 1976 in Canada.  "It didn't cost a lot of money. It was the first one I could afford to buy," he says.He won't talk about how much he paid for any of his cars _ he has mostly forgotten _ and he won't talk about what they are worth now.  "People squander their money. I squander it on cars," he says. "I'd like to think that they could be my superannuation."  Bitneris has owned several different marques, all European."After the Jaguar it's a bit of a liar's contest," he says.  "I've bought a lot of cars I don't have anymore such as Series I and II Rolls-Royce Shadows."  He currently owns a 1961 Bentley Continental Park Ward Cabriolet which is number 68 of only 125 handbuilt at Crewe. It features a 6.25-litre V8 with about 150kW of power and four-calliper brake pistons."I paid a lot of money for that but it's worth a lot of money now," he says.  He also has two Mercedes-Benz 220S models.  One is a 1958 220S Cabriolet like the one Princess Grace died in. He bought it from a "crook" in Western Australia. The other is a 1959 Coupe he bought off a restorer who now wants it back.But Bitneris won't sell it to him. Instead he has flown to Russia to negotiate selling the two Mercs and Bentley to a collector.  He also owns a 1971 Jaguar E-Type Roadster which is one of the first with a V12 engine.  "I love Jags. They were the ants pants in my day. You could pick up women with them," he says.He also tends to favour cabriolets because "that's where the money is".  Sitting on top of one of the Mercs is a 1965 Porsche 356 SC, one of only 12 brought into Australia.  "I bought it from a guy whose wife ran off with the boss and he didn't want her to have it so he sold it to me cheap," he says."It was in totally original condition with a spare engine.  "The gods favoured me that day."  He boasts it has such a good drag co-efficient you can slip it into neutral at 160km/h and it will coast for more than 1.5km before stopping.There is also a 1979 VW Karmann Cabriolet in his garage that he admits is "a piece of crap, but mechanically perfect".  He's thinking of putting a Subaru engine in it.Bitneris is also planning to convert a four-door 1959 Jaguar Mk IX to two doors and right-hand drive with a bonnet that hinges forward like on the E-Type.  "My next project will be a Series 1 E-Type; I'll pull out the engine, gearbox and brakes and strip it down to about 900kg and put in a four-litre modern Jag engine," he says."At 900kg it's lighter than my Porsche 356.  I'll use it as a run-around."  He even has plans to start building replica Porsche RS 61 Spyders using the original drawings.  "It's a tiny car with only has a 1.6-litre engine, but boy is it quick," he says.Bitneris used to drive all of his cars, but now claims he can't afford to register them.  "I mainly drive the E-Type which has been converted to fuel injection using a Skyline GT-R system and injectors," he says.  "The car was quick as it was, but it's quicker now with about 50 per cent extra power."They are all my favourites."  Bitneris says that even as a dedicated revhead, he still has concern for the environment.  "I've got a couple of stills and I'm going to make my own ethanol so I can drive all of these around without having to worry about the cost to the environment or the cost of fuel."

This is the most extreme Bentley yet made. Supersports is a fine-tuned, lightweight version of the Continental GT Speed which arrives here next month, costing $525,000.It has 3.5 per cent more power, 6.7 per cent more torque and weighs 110kg less, mainly because they have thrown out the rear seats and replaced the front row with expensive carbonfibre seats.  All of this means it accelerates to 100km/h in less than four seconds, which places the genteel British marque in the supercar class for the first time.Asia Pacific marketing manager James Barclay says they do not predict volume sales for the car, but then they don't do volume sales for any of their vehicles, particularly this year.  So far in 2009, Bentley has sold only 33 vehicles, compared with 82 for the same time last year.  "The Supersports is a niche product for us," Barclay says."We expect conquest buys from other brands such as the (Porsche) GT3 and (Ferrari) 599.  "It is the most extreme Bentley yet but Australia is a sports-focused market and cars like this are of real interest so we expect it to go well."The Supersports name is inspired by the original two-seater three-litre Supersports model introduced in 1925.  Like the current model, it was an evolution of the Speed model.The original 63kW Supersports was the first production Bentley to reach 100mph (160km/h).  This model’s 6-litre W12 twin-turbocharged has 463kW of power at 6000rpm and 800Nm of torque from 1700-5600rpm with a top speed of 329km/h.There are no major changes to the car's suspension, W12 engine or dynamics, only a host of ‘fine tuning’.  The biggest change is in the new Quickshift version of the six-speed ZF 6HP26 automatic transmission which halves shift times and allows double downshifts.Supersports is also the first car from Bentley which is ‘flexfuel-capable’ which means it will take a fuel mix of up to 85 per cent ethanol.  The company intends to make all its vehicles E85 capable by the end of 2012.The Supersports definitely is sports focused with its all-wheel-drive system tuned for more rear bias (60-40), rather than 50-50 like the GT and GT Speed.  This gives it a more ‘playful’ attitude on a track, Bentley says.Its electronic stability program is also re-programmed to trail the rear inside brake to tuck the front in and dial out bothersome understeer and dial in a little friendly oversteer.Outside, the vehicle looks more muscular thanks to wider flanks to accommodate a 50mm wider track and wide tyres on 20-inch wheels, and it has larger and extra air vents to improve engine breathing. Out back there are twin elliptical exhaust pipes.It comes with massive carbon ceramic brakes as standard. On a lesser model, they would be a $10,000 option. They are a little touchy, but are almost fade-proof and guaranteed to last the life of the vehicle.Inside, there is quilted stitched Alcantara leather, acres of carbonfibre trim and — unusually for Bentley — no wood.  Supersports comes in whites, greys and blacks in gloss and gorgeous satin finishes, while the brightware (grilles, lamp bezels, window surrounds and wheels) have a ‘smoked’ steel finish.All stainless steel components are applied with a Physical Vapour Deposition process normally used as a coating on industrial tools, watches and even hip replacement joints.The overall impression is of a car that feels light and agile with a fast change of direction and quick acceleration from any speed.  On the narrow and twisting country roads in north-west England where Bentley road tests all its vehicles, the car feels way too wide and way too powerful, for the too-close rock walls and hedgerows, yet it still manages to feel nimble.Only a smidgen of its potential can be unleashed in these conditions, yet it rides comfortably over the few potholes we encounter, which indicates a potential for long-distance GT work.  The thinly padded seats look harder than they are and have surprising comfort over a distance.

The iconic British brand’s new flagship arrives late next year with more than 100 exterior colour options, 24 recommended two-tone combinations and a host of exterior chrome trims. Bentley product manager Hans Holzgartner said that inside there was even more choice with 24 leather trim colours, five coloured leather pipings, nine wood veneers, even 23 seat belt colours plus a range of optional extras such as cross or contrast stitching and extra Bentley ‘wing’ badges.  “Someone actually did the calculations and came up with a figure of more than a trillion combinations,” he said. However, there is only one engine and one transmission.  The Mulsanne, named after a 1980s model and the notorious high-speed straight at Le Mans, will be powered by a lightweight aluminium 6.75-litre V8 with multi-displacement so it can cruise on just four cylinders.  “Why a V8, we have been asked,” Holzgartner says.  “We didn’t need the car to be any faster but we did want it to be more fun to drive and accelerate harder so we went for more torque for more strength at slow speed.’’ He says the engine is the ‘strongest production V8’ on the market with 1020Nm of torque from just 1600rpm.  The V8 is married to an eight-speed auto/manual transmission that can short shift and skip gears changing up or down to achieve a smooth drive, performance and efficiency.  Bentley claims the engine and transmission combine to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by more than 15 per cent. Asia Pacific marketing manager James Barclay said the Mulsanne would arrive in Australia in the last quarter of next year and cost ‘more than the current top of the fleet’ which means more than the $744,132 Bentley Azure two-door convertible.  The new Mulsanne is 150mm longer than the Arnage with all of that extra length in the wheelbase to provide more interior space. Despite the 23kg lighter engine, 10kg lighter gearbox and use of aluminium in all panels except the steel roof and polymer boot, Holzgartner says the vehicle would weigh much the same as the Arnage because of the extra interior features.  “Even the carpet is thicker to provide a feeling of quality,” he says. Bentley Mulsanne Price: about $750,000On sale: late 2010Engine: twin-turbocharged, 6750cc, alloy V8 with variable displacementPower: 377kWTorque: 1020NmTransmission: ZF 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive DIMENSIONS (mm): 5562 (l), 1926 (w), 1526 (h), 3266 (wheelbase) Rivals: Rolls-Royce Phantom 6.8L ($107,500)BMW 760Li 6.0L ($386,000)Mercedes-Benz 6.3L 63 AMG ($371,400) and 6.0L 65 AMG ($477,400).