1967 Bentley T1 Series Base 6.2l on 2040-cars

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Bentley Mulsanne convertible expected to be greenlit this year

That was quick - it was only was only three weeks ago that the Bentley Mulsanne Vision concept, a droptop take on the brand's flagship sedan, was sketched out for the Pebble Beach crowd. Now Autocar reports that a production version is expected to be approved later this year, with a launch something like two years away. And even though it hasn't been officially given the go-ahead, it has a price: "at least £275,000" ($436,232 U.S.). That price would make for a £50,000 premium ($79,313 U.S.) - at least - over the current UK price of the Mulsanne sedan.
Just as the Continental GTC differs from its coupe sibling, Autocar says the Mulsanne cabrio would be unique from the A-pillars back as compared to the sedan. Shortened by roughly six inches in both length and wheelbase, frameless doors and a lowered windshield will contribute additional rakishness, and note the rear fender treatment meant to evoke the fifties-era Bentley R Type in the upper right corner of the sketch above. At launch it is predicted that power will come from the twin-turbo 6.75-liter V8, but Autocar predicts that V12 power being developed for the production version of the EXP 9 F SUV will eventually find its way up front.

Top Gear caught filming Best of British near Buckingham Palace

YouTuber and car-fan extraordinaire Shmee probably had very little trouble tracking down the Top Gear film crew recently, as the group was putting together an episode that could accurately be described as "excessive." With its flag-waving (literally) Best of British theme, the TG guys gathered a jaw-dropping array of British cars, and parked them all right in front of Buckingham Palace to make extra sure that the point was driven home.
Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were outfitted with a trio of Jaguar F-Types festooned with gigantic Union Jacks, with which to survey the landscape of British motoring glory. In the video below, you'll see that this includes any number of Mini, Aston Martin, Lotus, McLaren, Land Rover, Bentley and Rolls-Royce models (just to name a few), as well as a healthy dose of weird stuff that most people would never guess at being built in the UK. The lawnmowers and military vehicles are especially cool.

Bentley plotting Mulsanne performance model for Paris debut

Between three distinct body styles and numerous engine specifications, Bentley has made more versions of the Continental over the years than we would care to count. But one thing it has, by and (very) large left alone is the Mulsanne. Sure, it's done some special editions and some extra equipment packages - it's even toyed with the idea of a two-door convertible version - but at the end of the day, the Mulsanne soldiers on as a four-door sedan with one engine and one engine alone. That may be about to change, however.
Fueled by ambiguous pronouncements from Bentley's returning chief Wolfgang Dürheimer, rumors from the UK suggest that the Flying B marque is preparing a more performance-focused version of the Mulsanne to debut at the Paris Motor Show this October.
Details are few and far between, but we'd expect the Mulsanne's long-serving 6.75-liter V8 engine to be further tuned beyond its current specification of 505 horsepower and 752 pound-feet of torque, accompanied by a stiffer suspension, bigger brakes and other upgrades. Historically Bentley would turbocharge the Mulsanne's predecessors (to turn the 90s-era Brooklands, for instance, into the Turbo R), but the Mulsanne's engine is already spooled up, so the British automaker will likely have to massage the extra muscle out another way.