Bentley Continental GT3-R
Bentley has announced a yet more exclusive edition of their Continental GT, a car the company says is inspired by their Continental GT3 race car recently lead Bentley’s return to racing in the UK.
The Continental GT3-R has a tuned up 4.0 liter twin-turbo V8 good for 572 horsepower. Combined with a 220 lb weight reduction and shorter gearing, the Continental GT3-R Bentley says is the fastest -accelerating Bentley ever.
Bentley says it will sprint from 0- 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds aided by a new torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system which debuts in the GT3-R
Styling touches include lightweight forged aluminum 21” wheels, a new carbon fiber front splitter and rear wing, and functional cooling vents in the hood.
A unique two-seat cabin gets acres of carbon fiber, Beluga leather and diamond stitched Alcantara bespoke seats with additional side bolstering.
All 300 Glacier White GT3-R’s will get two-tone green graphics inspired from its racing heritage. How many of which are headed to the USA, we can’t be sure.
Bentley is now however taking orders for the GT3-R and if you have to ask the price, well you know.
2015 Mustang inflatable glove-box door knee airbag
In the more technical side of this week’s news Ford shared that the 2015 Mustang will be first product to introduce a newly designed inflatable glove box door knee-airbag.
Ford says the design enabled the Mustang to offer more safety equipment than ever before while keeping the cockpit roomier.
With 15 patents granted and more pending, the glove box door simply pops out against a passenger’s knees in a collision, creating an energy absorbing surface to help slow momentum.
Ford says the new glove-box airbag allowed designers more freedom in retaining the iconically styled dash without adding additional weight and complexity.
The 2015 Mustang has twice as many airbags as before and twice as many crash sensors. It lands on Ford dealership lots later this fall starting at $24,425.
Nissan and Playstation reveal new Concept 2020 Vision sports car
We’ve seen this story before, car company meets video game, concept car arrives in the virtual realm, getting us very excited about what may be coming to the street.
This week the Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo is said to give us a hint into future design DNA we may expect in a future sporting car from the brand.
It was created through close collaboration with Polyphony Digital the creators of the ever popular Playstation driving simulator Gran Turismo.
Styled in Nissan’s UK studios, engineers in Japan took notice and got into the game to make sure the design was actually buildable should it see the light of day some time down the road.
At current there are no specifications for the very super-car looking Nissan. But as Nissan seems to be hinting pretty hard the concept has production possibilities, it likely won’t be long before they serve up some virtual goods.
In July, the Concept 2020 Vision becomes available to download in Gran Turismo 6, just as they did with the Nissan GT-R and Skylines from earlier episodes.
Test Drives:
This week we test drove more cars than we have in the last couple months, participating in the Rocky Mountain Driving Experience at Denver, CO.
The annual event organized by the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press brings together auto journalists from all over the region to one spot to drive several brands and types of vehicles.
The event featured off-road vehicles, luxury brands, high-performance cars as well as fuel efficient models, driven in a variety of venues from the Rocky Mountains to High Plains Raceway.
We’ll be bringing you a great many driving impressions and bonus footage over the coming weeks out of this one, count on it.
This week we did finish up our review on the Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid which offers up a pretty exotic level of technology under hood for a so-called “green car”.
A turbocharged engine, a seven-speed DSG gearbox…well that sounds like GTI material but don’t forget there’s also an electric motor in the mix to maximize fuel consumption.
The result is something rather unique and surprising. The question is it still fun to drive while getting 40 plus mpg? Check out the review and see for yourself.
This week we’re testing another unique hybrid, the Lexus RX450h. The crossover SUV was one of the first of its kind and remains one of a kind in terms of luxury and efficiency. More on this one coming next week.
For these and many other test drives, log onto TestDriven.TV or our YouTube channel.
Reality Check: Hyundai “The Walking Dead” special edition Tucson
You’ve seen the zombie apocalypse response vehicle stickers on the cars in front of you on the freeway, but in our Reality Check segment this week Hyundai takes it to a whole new level.
Releasing a new special edition Tucson inspired by The Walking Dead, fans of the series can now have the real deal.
To be available in dealerships early next year just in time to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of The Walking Dead, the Tucson Walking Dead Edition comes in black with apocalyptic graphics and a number of key features.
A roof rack with cross rails provides additional room for hauling necessary survival gear and it gets all-wheel drive because as Hyundai explains, drivers need the traction to escape from the undead.
Inside is where this special edition really comes alive, coming with a Zombie Survival Kit. The custom Walking Dead 72-hour survivalist’s backpack comes fully outfitted for the dark days with supplies to get you through.
Custom embroidered floor and cargo mats come with full logos in red, and there is a commemorative plaque on the center console.
True fans of The Walking Dead will be glad to know, it comes with decals for all four factions featured in the series. Thus owners can proudly display where their allegiances lie whether they be Hilltop, Kingdom, Saviors, or Survivors.
Well better the Walking Dead special edition than the driving dead I suppose. Hey, smoke ’em if ya got em folks.
