Ryan sent me these pics two weeks ago and I forgot about them til I saw this chrome Mercedes SLR McLaren on Jalopnik. So is anyone else sick of this chrome car craze? Via Exotic Spotter

Continue reading "More Chrome Cars" »

So there aren’t any examples of gratuitous law-breaking, crashes, or police in this clip, but I can assure you it’s Gumball related. When the rally was passing through Anaheim, the contenders stopped by the D1GP and did a slow parade for the fans. Fortunately, StreetFire was there to get it on tape. While there’s obviously a grip of exotics—including an XJ220!—one car that’s conspicuously absent is Richard Rawlings’ Escalade-powered, breakdown-prone ‘78 Chevy Caprice. It’s apparently giving him a hell of a time, just like it did on Bullrun last year.

From the reports coming in, it doesn’t sound like the cops are playing particularly nice with the Gumballers this year. Big surprise. As you can imagine, the smokies probably aren’t pumped about a bunch of rich dudes piloting exotics through their jurisdictions at Mach 3. But while I’ve seen cars get impounded, I hadn’t even heard about anyone getting their license plate jacked—until now. According to the LuxuryVice’s video description  over on StreetFire, after getting pulled over for speeding in Arizona, the officers popped the plate of their Bentley and told them they’d have to go down to City Hall to get it  back. Ouch. But the team was undeterred, and vowed to continue on to Miami Beach sans plate.  Something tells me next time they get popped, the lack of a plate will be the least of their worries…

Too many car enthusiasts stand on the sidelines thinking that classic ownership is out of their means. This is especially true of those whose primary automotive dream is limited to exotic brands. The fact of the matter is that you don’t need a trust fund or an AIG-style bonus to buy and maintain a sports car or luxury GT capable of gaining entry into exotic marque ownership clubs. Sometimes all you need is about a grand, some patience and luck.

And before you think this is like my college roommate’s favorite party mantra of “set your sights high and keep your standards low,” the following affordable exotics actually are cars you can be certain will not only appreciate in value, but also be enjoyable and reliable. Sure, most of these cars are the whipping boys and joke magnets, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad – it just means that other cars from the marque are better.

Since not all of us can afford the best, I’ve put together a list of five inexpensive options for those wanting to own an example from great brands. See the full list after the jump!

Continue reading "Five Inexpensive Ways To Qualify For Exotic Brand Ownership Clubs" »

It’s obvious that times are tough for car makers throughout the world. The car market is pretty much stagnant as people are holding off on buying new cars. However that hasn’t stopped one car maker from venturing into a new market. The maker in question has decided to open a new dealership in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was once a State in the former Soviet Republic and is located between Armenia and the Caspian sea. Well there must be money in Azerbaijan because the maker in question is Bentley. According to the press release the dealership will open in November this year and is proof of the growing appeal that Bentley has worldwide. They have obviously done their research. If I were to open any type of new car dealership I would never have though of doing it in Azerbaijan.

This morning I received a press release from Bentley which announced that they are increasing their prices in the UK by 5% from April. I had a chat with the sales rep at the Bentley stand at the Melbourne International Motor Show, and I was told that the prices in Australia would not be going up. Having seen the cars at the show I have decided that I will have a Bentley as one of my “Lotto” cars if my lucky numbers ever come up. More pics after the jump.

Continue reading "Bentley prices on hold, in Australia that is." »

Muscle car and Bentley are not usually two phrases that you would see in the same sentence. However that is all going to change with the release of the Extreme Bentley at the 2009 International Geneva Motor Show. Running on Bentley’s new Flex Fuel Technology, it will be able to run on biofuel or gasoline. According to Bentley this is going to be the world’s fastest production car. Personally, I can’t wait to see it. Check it out.

As I mentioned earlier, Ryan and I were in LA over the weekend, and while driving through Bel-Air ogling the RIDICULOUS houses and cars, we spotted little miss fancy pants Paris Hilton. She was, of course, driving her Bentley Continental GT Convertible (not the pink coupe we saw at SEMA) and we, of course, snapped a few pics. Sorry for the quality guys, but I almost peed my pants.

The guys over at CarMagazine.co.uk asked several designers at British car companies to come up with sketches of Santa’s rides. I thought the Bentley was the best, though the GT-R sleigh is pretty cool, too. Which one is your favorite? See the Nissan, Rolls and Ford after the jump!

Continue reading "Santa’s Rides" »

You expect to see a Bentley GTC valet parked at a fancy restaurant. You definitely don’t expect to see one cruising the sand dunes in the desert of the UAE.

Just another day in LA… Via Badcopnodonuts 

By John Coyle

Editor

There are always plenty of sweet luxury rides at SEMA, and this year was no exception. I’d never seen the Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe before, and while it’s huge—damn, is that puppy gigantic!—I thought it was sexy as hell. I also liked ASI’s Bentley Continental GT Speed, the Carlsson Tuned CK50RS, the Silver Shadow with a Hemi swap, and the stretched 300C in the Mopar booth. Which one is your favorite?

Continue reading "Best of SEMA: Luxury" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Here are the photos I took of the ASI Bentley after my conversation with Kozo on Thursday. More pics after the jump!

Continue reading "Pics of the Bentley Tetsu GTR in the Toyo Booth" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Jen and I were just over at West Coast Customs taking a welding and fabrication class. On the way out we spotted this pink Bentley, and Topo told us that it’s gonna be delivered to Paris Hilton after SEMA. Kinda Pepto pink, don’t ya think? More pics after the jump.

Continue reading "SEMA 2008: Paris Hilton’s Bentley at West Coast Customs" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I caught up with Kozo in the Toyo booth and he told me a bit about the wild and crazy Bentley Tetsu GTR. Stay tuned for more pics of this wicked ride.