Some new cars are predictable; others catch us by surprise. This one we could see from a mile away, and not just because it’s enormous. But after Bentley rolled out Speed versions of the Continental GT coupe (which we’ve sampled) and Flying Spur sedan, it was only a matter of time before the same treatment would be applied to the GTC convertible variant. And now we’re seeing the spy shots to prove it. The Bentley Continental GTC Speed, as it’s certain to be called, will feature all of the same upgrades we’ve seen on the Speed versions of its fixed-head counterparts. That means a power bump for its W12 engine to 602 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque, suspension and aero tweaks and bigger wheels. All of it will add up to one fast-moving warm weather front that should hit U.S. shores in the near future as Hurricane Bentley.

The whisperers have it that Bugatti may be borrowing from Bentley for a new sedan. What they can’t seem to pinpoint is exactly what kind of sharing the two marques will be doing, and whether or not the resulting super Bug will be a supremely high-powered four-door to compete with the Rolls-Royce Phantom. If the two brands do indeed share something, like the next Arnage’s platform, for instance, that might make sense. But just a few months ago, Bugatti said that its next product would be even more expensive than the Veyron, and lead man Josef Paefgen has also said that there will be no inexpensive Bugatti.

A $400,000 sedan wouldn’t be inexpensive, true, but compared to $1.6 million for a Veyron, it’s a flat-out bargain. Besides, the $242,000 Arnage T, after all the bespoke options, would come perilously close to a $400K Bugatti in price, and the next Bentley Arnage is growing in order to fight the Phantom. So if a Bugatti sedan with Bentley underpinnings were that close in price to a Rolls Phantom… then who’s Bentley meant to get in the ring with?

When is a 1996 Lincoln Town Car with 114,000 miles on the clock worth $15,098? The correct answer should be never. In this case, however, the answer is when someone supposedly drops $45,000 worth of work into one to make a fake Bentley Arnage. The result is what you see above; add a couple of fender-mounted chandeliers and it could score a role as The Duke’s car in Escape From New York. That giant C-pillar is more Rolls than Bentley and those chrome dubs are more bad than good. The biggest disaster comes into view when you open the door and look inside. That interior reportedly cost $10,000. You’d think that amount would buy more than quilted leather, a passel of winged-B emblems that aren’t fooling anybody, and that stock instrument panel, but apparently… no. Anyway, somebody liked it enough to buy it, so what do we know. We’re sure it’ll look great in their garage. You know – right next to the Fierarri.

If you’ve got it, flaunt it. The super high-end automotive market has been counting on that attitude for years, and it may now be coming back to bite them. It seems that sales of luxury marques such as Bentley, Maybach and Aston Martin have been on a downward trajectory over the last year. Despite the fact that there are a number of people who still have plenty of dough to purchase these expensive toys, public perception is causing some of them to hold back and keep those fat wallets in their pockets.

To combat the problem, some high-end brands are choosing to aim even higher. If ex-customers with a net-worth of less than $5 million find it socially unacceptable to make a purchase, Bentley has said it will begin marketing to those with at least a net worth of $25 million. Let us add that we’ve driven a few Bentleys and Rollers and can say with certainty that they are definitely conspicuous in a sea of CamCords and Mustangs.

Speaking as someone who has driven more than his fair share of Bentleys, I can say that although the brand’s Continental series is the way of the future, the more expensive and stately Arnage is still a benchmark to be respected. Bentley has announced that it will debut the Arnage Final Series at next month’s Paris Motor Show, thereby confirming for the first time that the current model’s ten-year run is about to end. Only 150 of these special Arnage models will be built, and all are powered by Bentley’s legendary twin-turbo 6.75-liter V8 producing 500 bhp and 738 lb-ft of torque, which also happens to be celebrating its 50-year anniversary in 2008. Bentley says the Final Series combines the performance of the Arnage T with the refinement of the R, and a few odd features are thrown in like a rear cocktail cabinet with a Final Series stainless steel flask and two shot glasses and four Bentley umbrellas mounted in the trunk. Like any special edition, there are also Final Series badges on the exterior and interior, as well.

So if the Final Series marks the end of the Arnage, what’s next? We asked Bentley outright, and they of course couldn’t comment on future product, but say that work is well underway on the brand’s next flagship model and hinted that it may move even further upmarket. We take that to mean the Rolls-Royce Phantom should consider itself put on notice. We also asked if Bentley’s iconic V8 would be retired in these times of strict emissions regulations and maybe replaced with something from the VAG parts bin. Again, while they could neither confirm nor deny anything, we got the impression that there’s life left in this 50-year motor.

An outside perspective can do wonders for an automaker. In this case, we’re not sure ourselves what to make of this concept, let alone what Bentley would do with it. The British luxury marque actually commissioned Arturo Peralta, a Spanish automotive designer, to come up with this concept that he calls the SenseS.

While pursuing his second MA in vehicle design, Peralta interned at Pininfarina, where, judging from the striking similarities, he either had an integral part in designing the Sintesi concept or else made off with the blueprints in his briefcase. Peralta waxes poetic about the relationship he envisions that the Bentley SenseS would share with its driver and the environment around it, thanks in part to – wait for it – Genetic Engineering, but offers little in the way of actual details aside from the translucent body panels and suggesting that the vehicle would be powered by the wind. In the end, don’t expect to see this design shaping the direction of the next Continental… somehow we don’t think the twin-turbo W12 would quite fit in there.

When we re&wshyp;evaluated the Bentley Continental Flying Spur a couple of ages ago, we suggested you only how a large amount of some forms of transportation should be bought amid the car’s $183,825 out-the-door requested price. For their evaluate of Bentley’s new super coupe, the Continental GT Speed, we believed we would register easily a few of the cars so find the same or tinier horsepower as opposed to the fastest Flying B continually made. The extensive store is fairly for a while now planning to who the GT Speed is powered by a twin-turbo, twelve-cylinder engine constructing 600 horsepower, but right here are clearly a few.

Dodge Viper – 600 horsepower
Lamborghini Murcielago – 571 horsepower
Ford GT – 550 horsepower
Porsche 911 GT2 – 530 horsepower
Corvette Z06 – 505 horsepower
Ferrari F430 Scuderia – 503 horsepower
1999 Oldsmobile Alero Coupe – 150 horsepower

While it is real which cars in 600+ horsepower are getting routine in the supercar segment, the GT Speed’s 48-horsepower bump more than the conventional Continental GT operates it to There are those actually rarified air.

Big, blocky, heavy, low – whatever. The one and sole phrase you crisis to remember is “hellaciously fast.” Bentley’s Continental Flying Spur Speed, lawfully announced in June, is relatively a great deal how it’d be want to strap an EMD powertrain according to a freight locomotive to a car, without all the noise and industrial fumes. Set off by gentle cues, the Flying Spur Speed turns the burner up on the presently hot Flying Spur, escalating horsepower out of the twelve cylinder powerplant to an a great deal 600 hp based on data from 552 hp. It’s an adequate amount of to hurtle this moment elegant block of English-cum-Germanic vehicle to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, and filthy automotive sorts am able to be able to crawl all during such a top notch car at the British International Motor Show. In a mere 15 days, the special brightwork, rifled lose tips, and supple as glass cover can be littered amongst fingerprints subsequent to the prove opens to the public July 23rd at the ExCel London. Pardon us additonally we scour the intertubes for low&wshyp;priced airfare.

All the cars get the comprehensive leather-wrapped interior package; a rear spoiler, mesh grillework , and screened writes for the half coves and the plate between the consume outlets. ‘Vettes in Japan are possibly scarce sufficient which properties continue to attract a plethora of attention. Hey, in the lawn at which the best-selling car’s engine displaces 660cc’s, a thundering, 430-horsepower American pushrod who displaces 6.2 liters is consistently going to attain everybody look. Appropriately, the Corvette S-Limited lawfully goes on be purchased on the Fourth of July.