Autoblog

Click image for a hi-res gallery of our Autoblog Garage Continental GTC

2007 was good to the folks in Crewe, as Bentley Motors had its best year ever. (What, no VH1 special?) For the first time, the automaker surpassed the 10,000 mark in terms of vehicles sold -- a tenfold increase over where it stood just five years ago. Both Arnage and Continental family sales were up -- 45-percent for the former, thanks to the arrival of the new Azure, and 5-percent for the latter with the GTC leading the way. The record-high sales led to new high points for both net revenue (€1.37 billion) and operating profit (€155 million). This level of volume is pretty much where the automaker would like to settle going forward, as it lets Bentley stay exclusive while still returning a profit. Us? We're just trying to figure out a way to tap into the joys of ownership ourselves. Follow the jump for Bentley's full press release and some assorted eye candy.

[Source: Bentley Motors]

German tuning house MTM is creator of the schnellest Audi RTT and the sickness-on-wheels RS4 K540. It follows up those two acts with a tastefully-tuned Bentley called the GTC Birkin Edition. (Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet, was one of the original Bentley Boys of the 1920's.) It is wonderful to see a tuner take an already beautiful car and forgo visually mad modification for jet black understatement.

In fact, the only exterior mod, other than the 21" Bimoto wheels, is the rear apron and staggered pipes. Frankly, we like those better than the elliptical versions on the standard car. The real fettling has taken place on the engine and suspension. Two kits are available, one that ups the HP from 560 to 635, with a jump in torque to 575 lb-ft. The second kit raises that again to 650 HP and 585 lb-ft. The German oomph will get you to 62 in 4.2 seconds, a 0.6-second improvement over the "basic" Bentley GTC.

MTM has also added a proprietary, stainless steel exhaust that includes a center and end muffler with throttle control. To top it off, the suspension's been lowered, which always helps even the baddest Bentley boy look that little bit badder. Click through the jump to read the full press release, and check out the gallery of hi-res images below.

[Source: 4 Wheels]

The Bentley Continental GTC is a rare and beautiful car with style and grace, 552hp, and the cachet that can only come from something wearing the binged B. We actually drove a GTC briefly last year, and you can rest assured that it didn't suck.

Tiff Needell and the Fifth Gear video crew were able to take out the droptop Conti for a full video feature, and the high-dollar production (they shoot test drives with a helicopter) is as good as you'd expect. In the video, Tiff took some pretty ladies for a 150mph stroll down the runway with the top down. The reason? He had a theory that the faster you go with the roof stowed, the less wind enters the cabin. The female passengers were there to see if their hair blew at high speed (so says Tiff). Well, that hypothesis didn't hold water, but Mr. Needell did manage to run out of runway. Amazingly, the AWD Continental GTC didn't give the first hint of losing control, and neither Tiff nor his companions looked the least bit frightened. Check out the video after the jump, it's worth a look.

[Source: Carscoop]

"Don't mess with success" seems to be the motto over at Bentley, as the premium automaker prepares some mild revisions to the Continental range, the GT version of which has been on the market unchanged for three years running.

As we reported earlier, the revisions to the Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur will be minimal. Updated bumpers front and rear will join new wheels as the chief exterior tweaks, and although no spy shots have surfaced as of yet, the interior is reported to be refreshed, too.

Dealers can't seem to keep the Continental in the showrooms long enough, and Crewe hopes to hit the magic 10,000 figure for annual sales, growing from 9200 last year. In any other segment, we couldn't picture owners trading in for a new model differentiated by so little, but when you're selling to big spenders, anything is possible.

Related posts:

• Spy Shots: updated Bentley Continentals
• Bentley planning Continental updates

[Source: Car magazine]

The Bentley Boys aren't sitting around, resting on their plush leather laurels. Having just released the new Brooklands land-yacht coupe, it's on to the next project at Crewe, with the hot-selling Continental GT receiving a planned update..

The successful W12-powered coupe is scheduled for a complete overhaul in early 2010, but to hold sales strong until then, Bentley is planning to release a facelifted version of the current model by the end of this year. The updated Conti will get a few extra horses out of it's 6-liter W12 engine, bringing output up to 560hp, as well as some cosmetic changes to keep it looking fresh, including a revised front fascia and some new rims.

Although the surfacing reports say the facelift is due for the Continental GT coupe, we can expect the new features to carry over to its siblings, the already sold-out GTC cabrio and the Flying Spur sedan. Which, of course, means all those Fort Lauderdale yachtsmen, Hollywood movie stars and British footballers will have to be trading up.

[Source: AutoTelegraaf via Motor Authority]

We apologize for the tardiness of Autoblog Podcast #59, as sometimes it's a devil to coordinate schedules. We managed to get our act together for this week though, and in episode 59, Dan Roth fills in for Damon Lavrinc, who's in Geneva. Alex and Dan recount their visit to the Consumer Reports track day, which provided insight into the organizations testing methods and showed that there are real car guys within the belly of the beast. A great time was had by all, and the CR folks were eminently gracious. After talking about that for longer than we should have (whoops!), we move on to the newly-unveiled Mazda 2, and our lust for it. This time, it looks like we won't be met with denial from Ford, as the 2's platform-mate, the Ford Fiesta, heads this way for 2009. We take the time to do some general Ford pontificating, move on to a tangent about styling trends and wrap up with breathless praise for the swagger of the Opel GTC Concept's lines. Enjoy!

SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
LISTEN to the show now
ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator

UPDATE: Due to a reporting error in the source material, we had the wrong North America sales total for Bentley. The correct number now appears below.

Coming off a record year in 2006, Bentley says that we shouldn't expect similar stellar figures in the near future. After building 10,087 units last year (more than any other ultra-luxury marque), Bentley acknowledged that it's at full production and will probably see a leveling off of sales in the next few years. CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen told reporters in Detroit that they are still investigating adding new models to the Bentley lineup, but that the decision process is incredibly difficult because the image of Bentley must remain intact. That means no SUVs or small sedans, most likely.

Other tidbits that came out of the meeting were that the North American market accounted for about 40% of Bentley sales last year (4,017 units sold), the wait list for a new Bentley is still about 18 months in most markets, and that the company will no longer use the VW Phaeton plant in Dresden that was temporarily used when they launched the Conti Flying Spur. On a partially related note, we had another brief spin in a GTC a couple of days ago and can attest to the fact that chopping the top off does nothing to the driving dynamics of this ultra luxury coupe. Hopefully we'll be able to provide more details soon.

[Source: Automotive news, sub req]

In a field populated with such cars as the Porsche 911 Turbo, Maybach 57S and even the Bugatti Veyron, the Bentley Continental GTC handily walked away with the honor of being named the Robb Report 2007 Car of the Year. Apparently it wasn't even a contest, as nearly half of the luxury lifestyle magazine's editors and the 41-person panel of car experts tasked with judging the contest picked the GTC as their favorite. The spec sheet of Bentley's newest drop top shows that very few compromises are built into its $190,000 price tag: a twin-turbo 6.0-liter W12, 0-60 in 4.8 seconds, top speed just shy of 200 mph, four seats, and traditional open air-motoring. We're pretty confident the magazine made the right choice, at least for its fllthy rich readers.

[Source: The Mercury News]

Click to enlarge

Last week, Bentley sent three examples of the exquisite new Continental GTC to Miller Motorcars' Bentley Greenwich. The trio of droptops is currently touring the country, stopping at Bentley showrooms to afford customers new and old the opportunity to get behind the wheel. In the case of the GTC, though, the car is so beautiful, one could, in good conscience, place an order based on a photo alone.

Thankfully, last week, I didn't have to look at photos or stare at a static prototype on display. I had an appointment, you see. I was going to take one of the cars out for a brief spin myself. When I drove into the Miller parking lot, the usual assortment of eye candy was augmented by GTCs finished in Sapphire, Moonbeam, and Silver Tempest. After a quick sign-in, I was escorted to to the car done up with the Moonbeam paint and a gorgeous Nautic blue leather interior. This was Thursday afternoon, and to say that it was perfect convertible weather would be to understate the matter. The temperature was in the mid-60s and the sun was blazing in a cloudless sky. The roof was already down on the GTC. It was time.

I dropped into the comfortable driver's seat and and pressed the start button on the center console. The twin-turbo W12 turned over and burbled to life, settling into a quiet idle. The rep who would be riding with me, Diane, waited as I got the seat and mirrors arranged to my liking.

"We ready?" I asked.

"Whenever you are," she replied. I pulled the shifter down into drive and edged out to the curb to wait for a break in traffic.

Saturday, September 9 was a beautiful day in southern Connecticut. The skies were clear and the air was warm. Perfect convertible weather, actually, so it was fitting that Miller Motorcars Bentley Greenwich was playing host to the new Continental GTC for the day. If the light blue convertible looks familiar, it should. This is the same car that Bentley Chairman/CEO Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen unveiled at this year's New York International Auto Show. Since then, it has been moving around the country appearing at various events ranging from polo matches to Pebble Beach.

It's also been visiting Bentley showrooms to generate customer interest, something there seems to be no shortage of. The Bentley, sparkling in the afternoon sun, was like a tractor beam drawing interested parties into the parking lot. Every face that approached the car wore a smile, whether it belonged to a dreamer living a Lotto fantasy in his mind or a patron who was on a first-name basis with the dealer staff. Even the cars that didn't pull in for a closer look slowed down as they drove by.

The GTC is that kind of car: gorgeous inside and out. You see it. You smile. You want it.

(Keep reading after the jump and check out lots more photos)