Bentley Motors designs limited collector’s edition of the new Bond book, Devil May Care
From the press release:

In a unique collaboration between three of Britain’s iconic brands – James Bond, Bentley Motors and Penguin Books - a special, limited edition of the new Bond book Devil May Care will be published on 28th May. Written by Sebastian Faulks at the invitation of Ian Fleming Publications to celebrate the Ian Fleming centenary, Devil May Care is one of the most eagerly anticipated publications of 2008.

Cars and James Bond have always had a strong association and, contrary to popular belief, Bond’s preference has historically been firmly with Bentley Motors. He owned three Bentleys in the course of the fourteen original novels written by Ian Fleming. It is fitting therefore that in Devil May Care - published to coincide with the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth - Bond is found once again in the driving seat of his favourite car.

To mark the reunion, Penguin approached Bentley to produce a luxury, limited edition of Devil May Care. The result is a beautiful and striking edition which takes its inspiration from hard-covers of the original 1950s and 1960s Bond books combined with the stylish Bentley owner’s manuals and handbooks of the era. Inside the book is a specially designed model pewter Bentley, described in detail by Fleming in Thunderball.

Bentley Chief Designer Dirk van Braeckel says, “Transferring our design knowledge from the car world to a book was a new challenge for us, but working closely with Penguin, we think we have come up with a unique product which is complementary to the history of Bentley and Bond that can be appreciated by all.”

Only 300 copies of the Special Series edition will be produced, costing £750 each, available exclusively from the Penguin James Bond books website (here).

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Forget that this design concept is sacrilegious. Forget that this design study may offend or challenge every design sensibility that you may possess. Forget that W.O. Bentley has just turned over in his grave.

No, forget all that... What comes to mind is this is just another silly trailer queen with little application to the real world. Even 1950-era bathtub Nashes can turn in a tighter circle than this rolling joke called the Bentley S3 E design concept. Heck, even the Queen Mary can probably turn around in a tighter circle than this.

Hey, any long-time reader of Straightline knows I'm all for creative license, but even this is one I'm having a hard time coming to terms with. Okay, Arturo Alonso, the creator, has every right to call this "art." I just hope he's got a fireplace mantel large enough to put this on, as it sure ain't meant for the highway.

Oh, one more thing. If you get the idea that I absolutely HATE the "bling" design movement, you would be 100% correct. Lordy, Lordy, I can't believe I just said that—but it's true.

Full story here.

Bentley Motors has launched a job recruiting web site (here) in hopes of attracting more global job candidates.

The site launched on January 2 and includes listings in engineering, manufacturing, sales and marketing, quality, logistics, finance and information systems areas. As of Tuesday, there were more than 40 job openings posted on the site. In addition to full-time positions, the site includes listings for Bentley's graduate, undergraduate and apprenticeship programs.

Bentley previously relied on the more traditional means of newspaper ads, word of mouth and search firms to recruit employees. The Internet-based method “gives us a wider net to capture potential candidates. If you're looking at the previous methods that we used, this is really complementary to those,” said David Reuter, Bentley spokesman.

Once users have accessed the site, they are taken through the application process step by step and can review or change their applications at any time. In addition to browsing job openings, candidates can schedule interviews and assessments through the new system.

So, if you take a shower get a haircut and shave, wear some clean clothes, and have dreamed of being on the Bentley team, this may be your chance.

Here's Inside Line's take: Bentley Hopes To Attract Global Job Candidates With Online Recruiting

As of January 1, 2008 VW is changing their name here to "Volkswagen Group of America." The reason for the name change is to give more attention to the Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini nameplates, which are under VW’s brand umbrella, as well as Volkswagen and Audi.

Full story here.

Here's Inside Line's take: Name Game: Volkswagen of America Gets Rechristened

Hot on the heels of the news of a possible Bugatti Veyron-powered Arnage, now there's news that Bentley may offer an Arnage hybrid by 2010.

This will be an all-new car using an aluminum spaceframe chassis made by Audi, with aluminum body panels. Bentley's Franz-Josef Paefgen stated that the all-new Arnage to be the biggest challenge for Bentley since the 1930s. “This will be a totally independent car. It will not be like the Continental, a derivative of a VW Group product, although it will use components from the group.”

Sound like Bentley wants to have their cake and eat it too...

Full story here.

The 500 horsepower Bentley Arnage, already a leading candidate for the wretched excess four-wheeler award, is planning to stuff the 987 horsepower W16 powerplant from the Bugatti Veyron into this oh-so-ancient, yet oh-so-capable Arnage chassis.

Well, at least a prototype has been confirmed; no word yet as to whether there will be a production version, but I wouldn't count it out.

Full story here.

Even more Bentley. If the 552-hp, 198-mph Continental GT didn't quite cut it for you, try the 602-hp, 202-mph GT Speed.

At $206,285 and a 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds. That's only $47,973.25 per second or $342.66 per horse. You probably can't buy a real horse for that little.

Read the Continental GT Speed First Drive on Inside Line.



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Bentley has just upped the anti in the world of GT exotics by introducing the 600 hp, 202 mph, Continental GT Speed. The exterior gets some subtle tweaks along with 20-inch wheels. Other pertinent numbers are: 0-60 in 4.3 seconds, 0-100 in 10.3 seconds, and 50-70 mph in 2.3 seconds.

Inspiration for the GT Speed came from the legendary ‘Speed’ models that first appeared in 1923. The standard Bentley 3-litre had already established Bentley’s engineering superiority in terms of roadholding, handling and braking, but W.O. Bentley, the company’s founder, recognized the market potential for a more potent version aimed at the enthusiast driver who demanded superior performance. His response, the 3-litre ‘Speed Model’, complete with twin SU carburetors and a higher compression ratio engine, became one of the most coveted of all Bentleys.

Full story here at Autoblog.

Here's Inside Line's take: Bentley Unleashes Potent 600-HP Continental GT Speed

These are not exactly the type of vehicle you choose based on price. They both have 500+ horsepower, humungous engines, and true hardtops.

Which one would you take?



Read the comparison test on Inside Line.

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These are the latest shots of the refreshed 2009 Bentley Continental GT. Caught lapping the Nurburgring, this Bentley prototype shows off the same redesigned front fascia we saw months ago during cold weather testing. Other than a reshaped lower air dam, there isn’t much to see here. Same goes for the rear end as it shows almost no differences compared to the current model. We expect most of the changes will come on the inside in the form of relatively minor technology and trim upgrades. Look for the official reveal of this reskinned GT next year.