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Tag: Bentley Speed

AT THE CONCORSO: Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Earns Top Concept Car at Villa d’Este

EXP 10 Speed 6 - Front Three Quarter

(Crewe, 24 May 2015) A panel of expert judges at the world-renowned Concorso d’Eleganza Villa D’Este have presented Bentley’s EXP 10 Speed 6 with the ‘Design Award for Concept Cars & Prototypes’, following its appearance at the Italian classic and vintage car show this weekend.

The Design Award for Concept Cars & Prototypes celebrates the exciting future of the automobile industry and was presented to Bentley’s Design Director, Luc Donkerwolke, on Saturday. The judges that decided the EXP 10 Speed 6 was the finest model on show, with its timeless, iconic Bentley design fused with progressive modern craftsmanship.

Bentley’s EXP 10 Speed 6 concept shows the future direction of luxury and performance using the finest materials and advanced hybrid technology – a powerful, exquisite and individual concept.

Design Director, Luc Donkerwolke said: “EXP 10 Speed 6 is the most talked-about concept car of recent times and was the star of the show in Geneva earlier this year. Since then it has visited New York and Shanghai gauging reaction from dealers, customers and the media. This highly coveted award is further proof of the success of our quintessentially British design.”

Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este has taken place every year since 1929. It is located on the shores of Lake Como and brings together owners and aficionados of historic vehicles from right around the world.

AT THE SHOW: Bentley Commemorates Historic “Blue Train” Race with 85th Anniversary Mulliner Limited Edition

831BluetrainFront3QrtrBlackEdition_Small

(Crewe, 15th April 2015) Bentley Motors is commemorating the historic ‘Blue Train’ race won by the Bentley Speed Six in 1930 with a Mulliner Limited Edition – the Mulsanne Speed ‘Blue Train’.

Debuting this week at the Techno-Classica show in Essen, Germany, just four examples will be hand-crafted in Crewe for customers in continental Europe.

85 years ago, Captain Woolf Barnato, Chairman of Bentley Motors and pioneering ‘Bentley Boy’, was staying in Cannes at the Carlton Hotel. He accepted a wager that not only could he beat the Calais-Mediterranée Express or ‘Blue Train’ back to Calais, but that he could be at his club in London before the train even reached the English Channel. He was, and the remarkable victory has been talked about ever since.

The ‘Blue Train’ Limited Edition is produced by the skilled craftsmen and women of Bentley’s bespoke coachbuilding division, Mulliner. Each features a number of delightful historical references and modern interpretations of  design details from the original Speed Six.

For example, the fluting pattern in the door panels and the rear quarter inserts echo the interior of Barnato’s original car. The dashboard facia features an expertly crafted veneer image of the original Bentley ‘Blue Train’ Speed Six. Meanwhile, the treadplate plaques bear the wording ‘Blue Train 85 Years’ and the front grille features a square mesh design inspired by original Speed Six.

Richard Charlesworth, Head of the Bentley Heritage Collection, comments: “The Blue Train is one of the most famous and celebrated cars in the world, and it perfectly embodies the racing spirit of the Bentley. Woolf Barnato was a three-time Le Mans victor, but winning the Blue Train race captured the public’s imagination, and fuelled the legend of the Bentley Boys. By beating the Calais-Mediterranée Express he forever guaranteed the Speed Six’s place in automotive history.”

The first ‘Blue Train’ Limited Edition delivered will also feature a personalised hamper, trimmed with Burnt Oak and Camel hide to perfectly match the interior of the car. Mulliner has crafted beautiful leather cutlery holders and a leather rug wrap-around, both featuring ‘Blue Train’ embroidery. The hamper contains exclusive Robbe & Berking silver plated cutlery, Haviland Limoges porcelain crockery, LINLEY crystal champagne flutes and a 100 percent Angora picnic rug, woven in Scotland.

Robert Engstler, Regional Director Europe, added: “The fact that we are producing just four of these Limited Editions is highly significant, as Barnato famously made it to the club in London four minutes before the train arrived in Calais. The unique design elements bring back nostalgic memories of one of the most legendary Bentleys of all times.”

The Mulsanne Speed Blue Train by Mulliner can be seen at the Techno-Classica Show in Essen (Hall 7). from the 15th to the 19th of April 2015.

AT THE SHOW: Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Offers a Peek into Future Design and Performance

EXP 10 Speed 6 - Front Three Quarter

(Crewe / Geneva, 2nd March 2015) Bentley Motors is showing the future direction of luxury and performance with the EXP 10 Speed 6 at the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show. The concept is a British interpretation of a high performance two seater sportscar using modern automotive design, highly skilled handcrafting, the finest materials and advanced performance technology.

From the racing success of the company’s early years to the international motorsport success of today, ‘speed’ is part of Bentley’s DNA. This inspiration is expressed throughout the EXP 10 Speed 6, where iconic Bentley design cues are fused with progressive craftsmanship techniques and modern technologies.

Copper elements are used as accents to both exterior and interior features to highlight the performance hybrid potential of the concept’s advanced new powertrain. Performance goals including top speed are set to challenge competitors and define a new segment benchmark.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, chairman and chief executive of Bentley Motors, comments:

“EXP 10 Speed 6 is one vision for Bentley’s future – a powerful, exquisite and individual concept. The showcar has the potential to be the new pinnacle luxury two-seat sports car. It offers thrilling, driver-oriented performance, complete with trademark modern Bentley luxury and effortlessness.

It could be a future model line, alongside the Continental GT and redefining the pinnacle of another market sector, and the styling of the EXP 10 Speed 6 could influence the expansion of the Bentley family. This is not just a new sports car concept – but the potential Bentley sports car – a bold vision for a brand with a bold future.”

Contemporary Design, Yet Unmistakably Bentley

The exterior design of EXP 10 Speed 6 is an expression of muscular, athletic surfaces inspired by the aerodynamic shapes of aircraft fuselages and wings. The ethos of the design was to develop contemporary interpretations of Bentley styling cues, which have been brought together with beauty and precision. The result is a coupe of clean, modern surfaces whilst remaining unmistakably Bentley.

Creating exciting contemporary ideas from classic starting points is evident across the car, from the new interpretation of the iconic Bentley matrix grille and four-round headlamps to the paint colour – a deeper, richer and heavily metallic version of British Racing Green. The principles of established Bentley luxury have been applied in new and invigorating ways that use the latest technologies and techniques.

The shapes and lines of EXP 10 Speed 6 represent a dynamic sculpture, creating harmony between sharp lines and flowing surfaces and using twisted surfaces to imply speed. Combined with muscular proportions and an athletic stance through the use of a short front overhang, long bonnet, low grille and wide rear shape with a long C-post, the exterior styling hints at high speed potential of the car.

Every exterior material and each individual detail is designed to modern Bentley style. Cutting-edge 3D metal printing technology has allowed the grille mesh, exhausts, door handles and side vents to be delivered with micro-scale design detail precision. The iconic Bentley mesh grille, for example, is no longer a flat plane of latticework but includes varying depth with a complex 3D geometry only visible when viewed at an angle. Bentley’s renowned quilted leather has inspired three dimensional texture to the precision glass of the headlamps.

These exterior elements come together to present a Bentley for the next generation – lean, toned and exquisitely precise, designed around new evolutions of the design elements that unite all Bentleys – past, present and future.

Bentley’s Most Performance-Orientated Luxury Cabin

The inspiration for the interior comes from the continuous line that runs around the cabin, driving through the console and into two symmetrical wings before flowing into the door and looping back into the console armrest. Two elegant quilted sports seats are positioned either side of the narrow centre console which houses exquisite driver controls and a highly intuitive 12” touch screen. These features combine futuristic technology seamlessly with progressive Bentley craftsmanship.

Each detail has taken core Bentley interior DNA principles and moved them forwards. For example, the classic and purposeful Bentley knurled surface is a feature throughout the controls of the car, but now created using steel and copper together to create a two-metal 3D texture.

Continuing the fusion of traditional materials and contemporary design statements, the doors of EXP 10 Speed 6 feature 3D quilting, milled directly in to solid straight-grain cherry wood. Each resulting diamond is finished with a copper centre.

The centre console integrates digital information with tactile controls via a curved touch screen housed in an aluminium frame. The fascia instruments deploy from a flat position into the drivers view as the car is started using the floating “B” button integrated in to a non-symmetrical gear lever finished in aluminium, copper and cherry wood. A mechanical rev counter and digital display combine to provide the perfect balance of modern driver information and analogue beauty.

The rear interior space is divided into two compartments designed to house a specifically designed four-piece luggage set. Like the rest of the interior, the rear has been trimmed by the master craftsmen at Bentley in the highest quality Poltrona Frau leather.

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