Premier 4509 limited Wide body Bentley Continental GT

Calling Bentley GT fans…this one’s for you, the Premier 4509.

Add a dash of plastic, a few parts carbon fiber and a little bit of fiberglass, mold them into a brash body kit to increase the Bentley Continental GT and you get….the Premier 4509. Perhaps in all black this could look less modified and luxurious and more “ready to  race”. Because we all know we’d love to see a CGT campaigned for a goof.

Basically cars leaving British factory do not need any optimization or customization,but there are some car owners who are not satisfied with Bentley’s luxury and want to modify the it. ASI a Japanese company is one of the few companies who specialize exclusively in the refinement of Bentley, which is an acronym for “Accuracy Spirit Imagination”. The most recent proposal from ASI is a complete set of body parts for the Continental GTC convertible.

The set consists of a carboxylic front bumper with LED headlamps daylight, the side give short weight, carboxylic rear bumper and muffler, and, finally, the less glamorous spoylera on lid, manufactured – as you have already guessed – from uglevolokna. To recruit foreign parts for the Bentley Continental GTC is attached to 22-inch cast wheels, tires Obuchi in the dimension 265/30 front and 295/25 rear.

In an interview with Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport this week, Winterkorn answered questions about the state of Volkswagen’s upper luxury marques, saying: “With Bentley we will react to the changing market conditions. I could well imagine a six-cylinder twin-turbocharged diesel in a Bentley.”

Winterkorn’s comments oppose those of Bentley boss, Franz-Josef Paefgen, who recently told journalists that Bentley was not planning to introduce a diesel engine in any model.

The diesel referred to by Winterkorn is a new twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 common-rail unit presently undergoing development by Audi. Rumoured to deliver over 300bhp and over 440lb ft of torque, it should be unveiled in the third-generation A8 at next year’s Frankfurt motor show.

Bentley’s sales are down by 20% in 2008 with estimates of only 8000 sales compared to 10014 cars in 2007.

The car manufacturer has made cuts in production this year. Further decrease might be ordered because of the decline in sales. The workforce of the company was asked to only work 3 days per week. The plant’s plan to decrease production further by 15% brings no good news to their workers.

Aside from the economy, experts point to the market trends where buyers opt for more environmental friendly vehicles. Most Bentley models are averaging 11-12 mpg.

Bentley officials eye the downtrend to persist until 2009. They are hopeful that 2010 will give a better picture for the automotive industry.

The 2009 models expected to help boost the sales are the Bentley Arnage, Azure, Flying Spur, Continental GT, and Continental GTC.

The Bentley Arnage was developed with a 6.75L V8 engine with an output of 500 horsepower. The Azure range was in hiatus from 2002 but returned to the spotlight last 2007 with extra options like the 16 spoke painted or polished 20 inch wheels.

The Continental GT is the first all wheel drive Bentley model. The GTC of the Continental range was updated to have added features and options as upgrade to its GT predecessor.

The Azure is an addition to the range of T variants by the car manufacturer that gave us the Arnage. The Azure T gets the same power plant under its hood, a 6.8L V8 with twin turbo coupled with a ZF six speed automatic transmission. This car can certainly blaze on the road with 500 horse power with a torque of 732 lb-ft.

The Azure T sprints from 0-60 mph in a matter of 5.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 179 mph. Comparing the Azure to the Arnage, the older car is slower than 0.4 second and has a lower output at 450hp.

The Bentley Azure T has the power to match other sports car on the road but also has the stylish look of a convertible. As expected, the car manufacturer offers a superb interior for very discerning Bentley owners. For this release, buyers have an option to choose from 8 accent woods and customize the cushy insides from 25 leathers to pick from.

The body and the suspension system is a carry over from the Azure featuring coil springs, double wish bones, and electro-hydraulic shocks. The Azure T is also fitted with brake calipers considered to be the biggest in the market today. The high tech carbon-silicon carbide system gives enough slow down and stop control over the heavy car.

The Azure T will go on sale come Fall of 2009 with a tag of at least $350,000.

The Bentley Continental GTC is already one powerhouse of an automobile. Better than 500 horsepower is nothing to scoff at. And yet, even in these hard economic time there are those who want more.

Enter the Continental GTC Speed.

The Speed designation on other Bentley models signals slightly revised bodywork, as well as an even more potent 600 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque variant of the car’s 6.0 liter W-12.

Though it has yet to be officially announced, photographers have spotted a GTC wearing bodywork similar to the other Speed models in Bentley’s lineup,  namely the front fascia, intakes, and spoilers, undergoing road testing. Its subtly revised stance and rolling hardware suggest it has suspension changes like the other Speed variants as well.

Just remember that hair and hats don’t do well at nearly 200 mph with the top down.

Our Take? Visual presence and hair raising performance ensure that this will be some kind of a car.

Obscenely expensive Bugatti may team up with British boat Bentley to work on a Rolls-Royce competitor.

CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen says they may work with their sister brand to replace the current Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport that will reach the end of its production in 2012. Say hello the world’s fastest sedan.

And don’t forget the whispers on the wind of a Veyron GT model, supposedly a 1200-hp beast that can reach top speeds of 270 mph.

News analysts have been talking about a “tipping” point when drivers have had enough with the ever rising price of gas and begin to change their driving habits. Many say that we have reached or that we have just passed that “tipping” point.

But what about the rich? Are they unaffected simply because their pocketbooks appear to be full?

One way to discover whether the rich have reached the breaking point is to see what those who cater to them are doing. One major icon for the rich in the field of automobiles is Bentley. Well, reports are coming out that Bentley’s chief executive officer is talking about developing more fuel efficient vehicles for its line.

Franz-Josef Paefgen, Bentley’s CEO, said at the recent Geneva Show that all Bentley vehicles will be able to run on renewable fuels by 2012. The first Bentley with an engine that can burn ethanol will be on the market in 2009. And Bentley will be adding new technologies to its cars featuring 12 and 8 cylinder engines to reduce fuel consumption.

Moreover, he said that the Bentley cars will also achieve 15 percent reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.

Paefgen also mentioned that Bentley will be offering a new powertrain that improves fuel efficiency by 40 percent. Experts say that with that much improvement, they believe Paefgen is talking about a hybrid system. It just so happens that VW has hybrid systems in development for VW and Audi models that will be released in late 2008 or early 2009.

Volkswagen owns Bentley and it is expected that much if not all of the technology referred to by Paefgen will be coming from VW and Audi. So, expect to see Bentley’s carry direct fuel injection, smaller displacements with turbo or supercharging and dual clutch transmissions. Some expect Bentley to be using diesel engines, too. If that’s the case, VW has them.

Our take? We guess the rich are not immune! Or is Bentley reacting to the more stringent laws being passed by the European Union, European countries and the U.S. concerning fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions?

Bentley past:

• Bentley Motors was founded in 1919 but the manufacturer did not make a complete car for 27 years – only engines and chassis
• Bentley won Le Mans six times – 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 & 2003
• When Bentley chairman Woolf Barnato was dared to take on the famous Blue Train between Cannes and Calais in his Speed Six in 1930, he won the bet by not only beating it but by reaching his club in Victoria, London, four minutes before the express pulled into Calais
• Bentley production moved from Cricklewood, London to Derby when Rolls-Royce purchased Bentley in 1931

Bentley cars:

• It takes 150 hours to hand-build a Continental GT and 400 hours to build an Arnage
• Every single component of a Bentley is filed on computer in minute detail and can be tracked back through each stage of its development
• Veneers are both book and mirror matched to create perfect symmetry either side of a Bentley’s centreline
• Every piece of glass in a Bentley is given its final polish with finely powdered pumice normally used to polish optical lenses
• Lacquer-spraying robots in the Paint Shop are programmed to simulate a human sprayer on his best day
• Steering wheels are doubled stitched by hand using two needles simultaneously; the process is far too complicated for a machine. It takes 15 hours work to create one steering wheel
• A full set of leather for a Bentley is selected and cut at the same time, so that there is as little variation in texture as possible
• The trimming of each Continental GT uses 135 metres of thread, the equivalent of 28 Continental GT back to back, 1.3 football pitches or the height of the “London Eye”

Bentley’s Executive Team:

• Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen
  Chairman and Chief Executive; appointed in 2002
• Doug Dickson
  Member of the Board, Manufacturing; appointed in 1999
• Dr Ulrich Eichhorn
  Member of the Board, Engineering; appointed in 2003
• Christine Gaskell
  Member of the Board, Personnel; appointed in 1996
• Jürgen Hoffmann
  Member of the Board, Finance, Information Systems and Legal; appointed in 2004
• Stuart McCullough
  Member of the Board, Sales & Marketing; appointed in 2006

*NB Correct as of May 2006