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| Bentley, Bond and Books: Special Series Edition of Devil May Care Filed under: Etc., Bentley, Lifestyle  Click above for photo gallery Devil May Care, the new James Bond novel set back during the Cold War in 1967, arrives on bookstore shelves May 28th. The book's author, Sebastian Faulkes, has written the story in the style of the late Ian Fleming to celebrate the 007 creator's centenary. As we first reported last September, MI6's greatest secret agent also returns to his Bentley-driving roots in Devil May Care. The car is the same one he drives in Fleming's Thunderball and On Her Majesty's Secret Service: a custom 2-seat Bentley R type Continental convertible with the 4½-liter engine from a Mk VI stuffed underhood. To celebrate Bond's return to Bentley, Penguin Books asked the automaker to design a very limited Special Series Edition -- just 300 copies will be made. (Anyone want to place bets on the aftermarket value of book #007?)  Under the supervision of chief designer Dirk Van Braeckel (the man responsible for the current Continental GT's lines), Bentley has delivered a leather-bound, heirloom-quality piece. The 'Flying B' hood ornament is featured on the cover and spine, and the outer leather is stitched in the same diamond pattern you'll find on the seating surfaces of a modern Bentley road car. The inside cover is also finished off in leather, but is styled in tune with cars of the era in which the story is set. The typeface used is the same one you'll find in a Bentley owner's manual, and each individually-numbered book comes with a matching-number pewter die-cast R type model and a similarly-snazzy book block. The numbering on each book, by the way, is featured on a metal plate supplied by the same firm who does the engine plates for the cars. Finally, all books come with a plexiglass slipcase. As you might expect, this mega-exclusive book is also mega-expensive. £750 will put one on the bookshelf, where it would surely look nice next to the divorce papers you'll be handed shortly after its arrival. If you're a Bond completist, recent lottery winner, or a Bentley fanatic, you can order the super special edition via Penguin007.com, where they've got all manner of Bond info, a countdown clock ticking off the seconds to the book's release and a link to the Special Series Edition minisite. You regular folk (we know you're out there) can meet us at Amazon, where the pricing's a bit more in tune with blogger pay. [Sources: Bentley, Penguin Books]
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| Bentley goes green with Continental DC Filed under: Motorsports, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Bentley  Click above for gallery of the Bentley Continental DC We can't imagine being an apprentice at Bentley leaves you a lot of spare time, what with your full class load on how to stitch the perfect steering wheel, match wood grains and build twin-turbo V8s with your bare hands. A team of nine apprentices comprising the Bentley Greenpower Team, however, have found the time over the past ten months to build an exceptional little electrical vehicle for the Greenpower Corporate Challenge that kicked off at the Goodwood race circuit yesterday. Their car, dubbed the Continental DC, was developed using the same CAD software that Bentley uses for its own cars, and is powered by two 12-volt batteries and a 24-volt motor that's required by competition rules. The body is also based on Bentley's 2004 Goodwood soap box racer and is basically invisible to wind resistance. The use of carbon fiber to keep weight down is extensive, to say the least. The body, chassis, wheels and even a specially designed suspension with carbon fiber beams under tension are all made from the exotic weave. Despite being green as can be, the Continental DC still sports some flare from Crewe thanks to a single leather Bentley seat with a four-point harness, a custom Bentley-inspired steering wheel and Bentley "dashboard". [Source: Bentley] Continue reading Bentley goes green with Continental DC
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| On Her Majesty's Service: 2002 Bentley State Limousine Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Government/Legal, Bentley
After the previous owners at Vickers prepared the Arnage sedan just in time for Volkswagen to take ownership, it took Bentley another five years to come out with the Continental GT. But before the new generation of Bentley Continentals made their debuts, Crewe created a special vehicle called the Bentley State Limousine. But before you run out to your local Bentley dealership in pursuit of what no one else at the country club will have, consider that Bentley made only two examples, exclusively for HM Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 2002. Believe it or not, however, this was the first time in all its nearly ninety-year history as one of Britain's most prominent luxury automakers that Bentley was asked to make a limousine for the crown, as previous limos had been created by Daimler and Rolls-Royce. The distinction allowed Bentley to utilize the distinguished "By appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II" label with the Queen's coat of arms, which the company flashes proudly in Rolls-Royce's big chrome face. The State Limousine took two years to develop and is based on the Arnage, but fitted with unique bodywork styled by Bentley and crafted in-house at its Mulliner coachbuilding division. The exterior is visually distinct and more old-fashion than the Arnage, and features an enlarged greenhouse, with opaque rear window panels that can be installed for privacy or stowed in the trunk for parade visibility. The State Limousine also features suicide rear doors and measures some three-feet longer, ten-inches taller and six-inches wider than the Arnage, and is equipped with armored bodywork and windows, plus a blast-proof floor and an airtight cabin. All that means an 8,818-pound curb weight, pulled around by the same 400hp 6.75-liter V8 as used in the long-wheelbase Arnage RL. Stylistically, the State Limousine looks something like a cross between the Hongqi HQE and a London taxi - you can decide for yourself in the gallery below, where you'll notice the vehicle's deceptive dimensions and the obviation of the license plate frame for the Queen's own motor-carriage. Somehow we don't think she'll be pulled over.
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