Tag Archives: Bentley

News

Volkswagen faces two lawsuits over Felicity Ace sinking

Two years ago, we witnessed a fire on the transport ship Felicity Ace, which was carrying 3,965 vehicles. The fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery in one of the Porsche cars. The ship sank and all the vehicles went to the bottom of the sea, including 1,100 Porsches, 189 Bentleys, while the rest were Volkswagen, Audi and Lamborghini, including electric models. Among the cars were 15 Lamborghini Aventador cars, which Lamborghini stopped producing. Now, two lawsuits have been filed against Volkswagen.

The company Allianz and the operator of the cargo ship Mitsui OSK Lines sued Volkswagen, and the lawsuit was filed more than a year ago, but the development of the situation was stopped due to discussions about another lawsuit in the court in Brunswick, Germany. According to documents related to the original 2023 lawsuit, the two parties accuse Volkswagen Group of withholding information about the risks associated with transporting electrified cars. In addition, the lawsuit filed in the Stuttgart court alleges that VW did not provide the necessary precautions for the safe transport of the car.

In the meantime, an incomplete list of cars that were on the transport ship was published: Audi A5 Convertible (84), Audi A5 Coupe (43), Audi A5 Sportback (147), Audi E-Tron (121), Audi Q3 ( 297), Audi Q3 Sportback (144), Bentley Bentayga (77), Bentley Continental GT (38), Bentley Continental GTC (50), Bentley Flying Spur (25), Lamborghini Aventador (15), Lamborghini Huracan (20), Lamborghini Urus (50), Porsche (23 made in Zuffenhausen, 19 in Leipzig and 126 in Bratislava), Volkswagen Caddy (47), Volkswagen Golf (199), Volkswagen ID.4 (159), Volkswagen T6 (116), Ford Mustang GT (year 2015), Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0, BMW 750i (year 2007), Honda Prelude SiR (year 1996), as well as Land Rover Santana (year 1977) built in Spain under license from Land Rover and using Defender parts . When it comes to the value of the ship’s cargo, the estimated value of the destroyed cars is around $155 million.

How both lawsuits will end and whether both sides will be able to come to an agreement remains to be seen.

Source: Bloomberg

News

Bentley sales results in 2023

The year 2023 was successful for a large number of car manufacturers, such as Lamborghini, which delivered 10,112 cars worldwide in the past 12 months, which is the best result in the history of this Italian manufacturer. However, some were not so successful, and one of them is Bentley, which recorded a drop in sales in 2023.

After 2022, when it recorded the best sales result, the following year did not bring growth but a drop in sales by 11 percent. There could be many reasons for this, and Bentley says that high-end consumers have felt the rising costs and economic slowdown. Drop in sales in Bentley’s biggest markets (America -9% / 3,848 units, China -18% / 3,006 units and Europe -15% / 2,376 units), had the biggest impact on the overall negative result.

“The luxury market was not immune to the challenging market conditions seen around the world in the second half of 2023. We remain cautiously optimistic for the coming year, with continued strong market-specific and model-specific global demand,” said head of Bentley Adrian Hallmark.

However, Bentley found something positive in all this. According to their data, demand for personalization, such as adding leather and wood finishes, increased by 43%. Perhaps this is a good sign for the British manufacturer as other supercar manufacturers have recorded positive results where the main players have been luxury models. However, some manufacturers of luxury products (such as Burberry) warned of a slowdown in demand for high-end goods.

Source: Bentley

Auctions

2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed is up for auction

In 2003, Bentley presented the first car under Volkswagen AG management, the Bentley Continental GT. Seven years later, the second generation of this model (Continental GT W12) arrives on the market, and in 2012, Bentley presents a more powerful version of this model, the Continental GT Speed Coupé. It was produced until 2018 and one example, the 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed is up for auction.

Continental GT Speed is powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 with 616 hp (459 kW) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque. Power is sent to all wheels via a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive system with a 40:60 front and rear torque split. It reaches 60 mph in 4.0 seconds with a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph). It sits on silver- and gray-finished 22″ wheels wrapped in 255/35 front and 295/30 rear Accelera Iota ST68 tires.

This car is finished in Moroccan Blue, has been properly maintained and is in good condition. It is equipped with bi-xenon headlights, parking sensors, a rearview camera, twin oval exhaust outlets, rear wing, rear spoiler, side sills and bumper covers, variable steering assist as well as air suspension with electronically controlled dampers. The car has minor paint damage on the rear diffuser, near the taillights and on the trunk sill.

Inside, heated/ventilated/massaging front seats are trimmed in Beluga leather with diamond-stitched seat inserts and Bentley logos on the headrests. Beluga leather also covers the door panels and center console. In front of the driver is a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel and a digital odometer showing 48,940 miles. Additional equipment includes a central LCD screen, front seat memory settings, a Naim for Bentley sound system, a Breitling clock, dual-zone automatic climate control, and a touchscreen infotainment system with navigation.

The car has a clean Carfax report that shows no accidents or other damage. It comes with an owner’s manual, and a clean Montana title in the name of the seller’s LLC.

The auction ends on November 12 and the highest bid at the time of writing was USD $30,000.

Source: Bring a Trailer

Gallery:

2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed is up for auction