Category Archives: Motoring news

Electrifying news from Bentley

New V6 Hybrid Flying Spur hits roads

Bentley Mulliner has announced the new Flying Spur Mulliner – the ultimate in four-door luxury Grand Touring and Mulliner’s first electrified Bentley. Whether enjoying the technically advanced V6 Hybrid powertrain, the emotional V8 or endless waves of torque from the W12, customers will still benefit from the exquisite detailing offered by the latest Mulliner product.

Revealed at the prestigious Monterey Car Week in California, the elegantly appointed sedan sits at the pinnacle of the Flying Spur family, combining the very finest in modern craftsmanship and breath-taking luxury.

The most luxurious Flying Spur to date has been created and developed by Bentley Mulliner and designed, engineered and handcrafted in Great Britain. Taking its place as the flagship of the Bentley range, the new Flying Spur Mulliner will appeal to customers who desire an even greater focus on elegant details.

Beautifully appointed detailing includes exclusive Mulliner 22-inch wheels, in a grey painted and polished finish, with self-levelling wheel caps that remain upright as the wheels rotate. A “Double Diamond” front grille and chrome front lower grille are matched by bespoke Mulliner branded wing vents and Satin Silver painted mirror caps. The iconic Bentley Flying B is electronically deployed and illuminated, while the Flying Spur Mulliner also features jewel fuel and oil caps.

Mulliner illuminated outer treadplates and deep-pile Mulliner overmats welcome passengers inside the ultimate Flying Spur cabin, which offers a Mulliner curation of eight custom-made, three-colour combinations. The sumptuously trimmed cockpit is complemented by accent colour piping and unique Mulliner embroidery to the hand-stitched seats.

An example of one of the curated interiors – Ascot – is a combination of Imperial Blue leather to the instrument panel, door trims and headlining while a light tan leather called Camel, emphasises the style of the seats. White micro-piping, embroidery and accent line combines a third colour into the unique Mulliner interior.

Further combinations such as Flare and Sirius add bolder combinations including Hotspur and Beluga, and Linen and Brunel both with a silver accent.

The Mulliner Driving Specification is fitted as standard, bringing the “Diamond-in-Diamond” quilting to the seats, and three-dimensional leather to the doors. Contrast seat piping matches the accent that surrounds the occupants from the centre console, around the instrument panel and finishes beneath the door waistrail, highlighting the Bentley B chrome inlays.

The luxurious Diamond-in-Diamond interior quilting involves an embroidery process that alone took 18 months to develop. Each diamond contains exactly 712 individual stitches – each one aligned to the exact centre of the diamond it creates.

Modern craftsmanship and breath-taking luxury combine in the diamond milled technical finish that is applied to the centre and rear consoles. The centrepiece feature on the dashboard alongside chrome bullseye vents is a stunning, brushed silver Mulliner clock.

The classic Bentley theme continues in the LED driver’s instrument panel, with stylish new and exclusive Mulliner graphics. The now famous Bentley Rotating Display, sports pedals, heated duo-tone 3-spoke steering wheel and panoramic sunroof further add to the luxurious ambience.           

Unique Mulliner electrically-operated picnic tables are mounted to the rear of the front seats and can be deployed with a single press of a button. The veneered tables, which feature unique overlay, lower and self-level to reveal a leather-trimmed surface with a recess for a pen or stylus. Holding the button down returns the table gracefully to its home position. 

Flying Spur Mulliner customers receive leather-bound keys in a unique, Mulliner-branded handcrafted presentation box, which matches the three-colour cabin configuration of their car. The two keys are provided in similarly colour-matched cases with contrast stitching.

The Flying Spur Mulliner is available with Bentley’s V8 and W12 powertrains, as well as the new V6 Hybrid. When equipped with Bentley’s 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12, the Flying Spur Mulliner accelerates from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds (0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds) and is capable of a top speed of 207 mph (333 km/h). The new generation 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 delivers a top speed of 198 mph (318 km/h) and 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds). The new V6 Hybrid accelerates from 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds) with a top speed of 177 mph (285 km/h).

Bentley Mulliner
Bentley Mulliner is Bentley’s highly-acclaimed, bespoke commissioning division and the oldest coachbuilder in the world. Synonymous with luxury, the new Flying Spur Mulliner is just the third member of the newly-created Bentley Mulliner Collections family alongside the sublime Continental GT and Continental GT Convertible.  

In the world of Mulliner, anything is possible. Established to respond to the requirements of Bentley’s most discerning customers, the bespoke division is renowned throughout the automotive world for crafting some of the most individual Bentleys ever created.

An experienced team, supported by in-house engineers and designers at Bentley headquarters in Crewe, prides itself on a long history of fulfilling the desires and demands of every Mulliner customer.

Suzuki story started with a loom

Firm celebrates 100 years of innovation

Celebrating a centenary, a very special occasion indeed, in the middle of a pandemic is a challenge and something that could go spectacularly wrong.

It went wrong for Suzuki in the sense that it should have been 2020, but everything else they put on during celebrations in the Welsh capital of Cardiff proved spot on.

Suzuki celebrated its 100th year in 2020 and the Japanese firm has come a long way from where it all began more than 100 years ago as a textile industry.

It has since grown with their core DNA and ‘Kaizen’ principle of continuous improvement in engineering and customer satisfaction marking its success  across its car, motorcycle, marine engines and ATV products.

It all started with Sho-Sho-Kei-Tan-Bi’ which translates to ‘smaller, fewer, lighter, shorter and neater’ and represents the basis of Suzuki’s manufacturing since its foundation.

Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Co launched in 1920, and came after founder Michio Suzuki pioneered a new type of textile loom design in 1909. That morphed into automotive and other milestones followed:

• Suzuki’s first motorcycle launched in 1952.

• Suzuki’s first car launched in 1955.

• Establishment of ‘S’ company trademark in 1958.

• Suzuki’s first victory at the Isle of Man TT in 1962.

• Suzuki’s first outboard motor launched in 1965 with 5.5Hp. 

• Suzuki’s first Four Wheel Drive vehicle – Jimny LJ10 – launched in 1970.

• Suzuki’s first Snowmobile launched in 1971.

• World’s first four-wheel ATV model launched by Suzuki in 1982.

After this, the firm name changed in 1990 to Suzuki Motor Corporation and since then:

• Returned to MotoGP in 2015 with GSX-RR.

• 100 per cent ‘Hybrids for all’ availability across its passenger car range and unique in the industry offering 12 Volt, 48 Volt, Higher Voltage Hybrid and PHEV models.

• Suzuki pioneered the Compact and Lightweight 12 Volt Hybrid system in 2016.

• Have six models in the car range have 4×4 capability optionally available which is unique in the industry.  

• Offered a choice of 19 Sports, Street, Adventure and Scooter type motorcycles available plus two Motocross models. 

• Offer 30 Marine Outboard engines in the range from 2.5hp to 350hp 4.4-litre V6. 

• Introduced the world’s first Micro-Plastic Collecting Device for installation on outboard motors.

• Offered three different types of King Quad ATV available with 500cc, 500cc with PAS and 750cc with PAS. 

An impressive history and the firm celebrated by showcasing its current range on an admittedly not too challenging off-road circuit before showing the real off-road capabilities of its amazingly versatile commercial version of the Jimny on a much tougher course.

The Jimny is a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, with its boxy profile, open mouth grille, muscular wheel arches and round headlights. Power seems modest from a 100hp 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

Featuring the ALLGRIP four wheel drive system offers both high and low ratio drive and offers reassuring grip to make even novice off-roaders comfortable.

It’s capability is quite amazing tackling a stiff off-road challenge with ease. This included steep rocky climbs and descents and muddy tracks with tight turns and deep water pools.

Bikes and quads were also on display and Suzuki has a proud bike racing history, not least with former world champion Barry Sheene who was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing and was a two-time world champion, winning consecutive 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977, His iconic bike with the famous No 7 was a display favourite.

The celebrations were rounded off with a spectacular display of marine power, first from a fishing boat, but a fishing boat with a difference and a high-powered Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB).

The fishing boat, with its high powered marine engine is capable of reaching nearly 40 knots, while the RIBs, being light and with a similar engine, are just that little bit quicker and the skippers put on an impressive display in Cardiff Bay, with a series of sprints, spectacular turns and the marine equivalent of donuts.

Suzuki’s future plans include  giving priority to CO2 emissions and developing electrification technologies. 

It will be interesting to see if the next 100 year will be as eventful as the last.