• Tue. Mar 19th, 2024

North East Connected

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BENTLEY POISED TO MAKE ITS PRESENCE FELT AT SALON PRIVÉ

The 13th Salon Privé is now a little over 2 weeks away and with its usual collection of automotive glamour and royalty adorning the stunning Blenheim Palace lawns, it’s an automotive garden party like no other where the best of the best reside for 3 days of high-brow shoulder rubbing and car-talk. Brands on display produce the fastest, most valuable and most luxurious cars currently available today and it’s no surprise therefore to find the Bentley brand proudly presented on not one but two separate displays.

Representing Bentley Motors and returning to Salon Privé for the 3rd year running, is Bentley Birmingham, part of the Sytner Group with a spectacular bespoke display featuring 3 of its latest models. “We are delighted to be representing Bentley at Salon Privé” commented Mark Hudson, Head of Business. “This event goes from strength to strength every year and is now firmly established in the social calendar.”

The collection of models on display with Bentley Birmingham are very special and comprise of a ‘Rubino Red’ Continental GT with Mulliner Driving Specification which includes Hotspur & Beluga-split interior and dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus for the veneer finish. Exterior styling is enhanced by 22” Black and Polished Edge alloy wheels and special fuel filler cap. The new GT is an exceptionally talented Grand Tourer with supercar performance to match its luxury finish. It is the most advanced Bentley ever with a completely new 6.0 Litre Twin-Turbocharged W12 engine producing 626 bhp and a massive 664 lb-ft torque allowing for a top speed of 207mph and a 0-60 dash in just 3.6 seconds! Next up is a stunning Mulsanne Speed in Onyx, the most powerful four-door car in the world. Offering a “sporting take on luxury” the Mulsanne Speed comes with stainless steel tailpipes, unique 21” wheels and ‘Speed’ fender badges. On the outside, it’s luxurious and opulent, but on the inside, this is where the real fun starts. Another new engine, this time a 6 ¾ Litre Twin-Turbocharged V8, it produces 530 bhp with a gigantic 811 lb-ft (1,100 Nm) torque – it is the highest torque of any four – door car. It is as dynamic as it is supremely refined, capable of reaching 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds and where laws permit, continuing on to a top speed of 190 mph.

The 3rd and final model confirmed for display is a stunning Bentayga W12 in Dragon Red II with Black Specification for those seeking further visual differentiation to their Bentayga. This immensely capable and luxurious crossover is enhanced by a number of carbon fibre elements such as front bumper splitter, side sills, rear bumper diffuser and a prominent rear spoiler along with 22” 5 spoke directional alloy wheels in black. With the interior adorned in perfect Beluga hide and Piano Black veneer to match, it demonstrates the limitless configurations available to owners of this and other Bentley models. Performance comes from an all-new W12 engine producing supercar levels of power and torque – 600 bhp and 664 lb-ft torque enabling it to accelerate from rest to 60 in just 4.0 seconds and on to a top speed of 187 mph.

Across the lawn, The Bentley Drivers’ Club will be presenting 5 very special models in a pre-emptive celebration of next year’s 100 Year Centenary milestone.

The Bentley Drivers Club was established in 1936 and is the only such club officially aligned to Bentley Motors and the Bentley marque. It is a worldwide club of friends who share a love of all things Bentley. The club name is deliberate because a Bentley is made to drive and our ethos is based upon three associated and linked elements: Driving Adventures, Driving Exhilaration and Driving Friendships. So whether you enjoy touring the world in your car, following in the steps of the iconic ‘Bentley Boys’ by competing on the track or on rallies, or simply meeting up and enjoying formal and informal social events, the Bentley Drivers Club has it all.

Club Chairman, Ron Warmington identifies that: “Vintage or Modern, Concours or well-used and enthusiasts with or without a Bentley, all are welcome in the BDC. Next year will celebrate the centenary of the Bentley marque and we will be playing a major part in those celebrations. Our members are custodians of many of the iconic cars from this first one hundred years and the WO Bentley Memorial Foundation which is co-located with us holds the Bentley archives from the very earliest days. Clearly next year will be a very exciting opportunity to celebrate all that has gone before, but equally we see it as an opportunity to help shape the next one hundred years of our beloved marque. We are delighted to have been given this opportunity to participate in the prestigious Salon Privé 2018.”

Models on display include:

  • 1929 4 ½ L Saloon “The Grey Lady” – a famous car with multiple TV & Film appearances including Downton Abbey & Peaky Blinders.
  • 1930 4 ½ L Blower Bentley from the Bentley Motors Heritage Collection.
  • 1935 3 ½ L Derby Sports Saloon – a winner at the annual Bentley Drivers’ Club Concours 2018.
  • 2015 GT3-R – the road-going version of Bentley’s winning GT car and very rare with only 300 ever built.

“We are delighted to welcome both Bentley Birmingham and The Bentley Drivers Club to this year’s Salon Privé” commented David Bagley, Co-Founder & Sales Director. “It’s always fascinating when you can visit an event and experience the past alongside the present. Bentleys in the 30s were ground-breaking cars and as luxurious and technologically advanced then as the models we see before us are today.”