Blog on 2040Parts

Bentley SUV looks a lot like...a Bentley

Bentley has released a teaser image of its upcoming SUV, which the automaker is promising will go on sale in 2016. The on-again off-again Bentley SUV has been on the company's short list of possible vehicles since the SUV boom years, a full decade ago, but it has consistently been pushed further back in the pipeline. Bentley is promising that the new model will be the most luxurious and powerful SUV on the market.

Bentley SUV: first picture revealed

Bentley has revealed the first official image of its new SUV, which is due to go on sale in 2016. Although the new car is effectively set to rival the upper end of the Range Rover model line-up, Bentley is keen to emphasise the new SUV’s exclusivity, saying that it will be the most luxurious and powerful SUV on the market. Speaking at a press conference in London today, Dr Wolfgang Schreiber, chairman and chief executive at Bentley Motors, said: “It will create a completely new segment in the SUV market.” First revealed as the EXP 9 F concept car back at the Geneva Motor Show in 2012, the new SUV will be crucial to Bentley as it looks to increase its sales over the next few years.

Peugeot 308 hits almost 100mpg

Peugeot Peugeot has proved that three-figure fuel economy figures for petrol engines might not be too far from becoming a reality, as its new 308 has set what it claims is a record of 99.1mpg. The 2014 European Car of the Year, powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol Puretech engine, covered 1,124.7 miles on just one tank of fuel when tested on a track in Spain. Top 10 most economical carsPeugeot 308 review (2013 onwards) In doing so, it took more than 32 hours of driving to consume the 51.4-litre contents of its fuel tank.

No promises, crash footballer told

A JUDGE told a former Premier League footballer on Tuesday that he could "make no promises" as he faces a prison sentence of up to two years after admitting dangerous driving. Ex-Watford, Wigan and Sheffield United striker Marlon King pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court to a charge of dangerous driving after a three-car crash left a motorist with a broken arm. King committed the offence on his 33rd birthday while driving a Porsche Panamera on the A46 in Nottinghamshire on April 26 last year.

Production 2015 Acura TLX to debut at New York auto show

The 2015 Acura TLX will make its production debut at the 2014 New York auto show. The TLX will slot below the RLX in Acura's lineup, and get the option of a four- or six-cylinder engine. We first saw the TLX prototype at the Detroit auto show in January.

M4 junction to close over tailbacks

A JUNCTION of the M4 motorway in south Wales will be closed as part of a trial to cut traffic tailbacks. The closure of junction 41 at Port Talbot starts this summer and aims to reduce congestion in both directions. Wales' Economy and Transport Minister Edwina Hart said studies predicted it would increase the capacity of the M4 by 11% westbound and 2% eastbound.

Bond in Motion: James Bond's best cars on display

The Bond in Motion exhibition opens at the London Film Museum on Friday, 21 March. It's the world's largest official collection of James Bond vehicles and gives the public a chance to see some of the most iconic cars ever seen on film up close. Tickets for the exhibition - which will run throughout 2014 - cost £14.50 for adults, £9.50 for children and £38 for a family ticket.

2014 Porsche Boxster and Cayman GTS revealed

Not content with its stunning Boxster S and Cayman S models, Porsche has released official details of its new range-topping mid-engined duo for 2014: the Porsche Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS. Both cars get more power from their flat-six engines and even more equipment to set them apart from the rest of the range, as well as that famous ‘GTS’ boot badge. Contenders for MSN Cars’ Car of the Year already?

The $5K Datsun Go is a go in India

Sales of Datsun cars officially restarted Wednesday after the brand's 30-year dormancy, with the first cars being delivered in India. Datsun of India announced pricing of the new Go hatchback, which is aimed at developing countries: Buyers in India will be able to purchase the Go for 312,270 rupees, which works out to about $5,091. The front-wheel-drive Go is powered by a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission.

Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe: OFFICIAL

The new Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe (pictured) get 577bhp The production version of the Mercedes S-Class Coupe only arrived last month, but Mercedes has already moved the S-Class Coupe forward with the reveal today of the Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe ahead of its debut at the New York Auto Show next month. Looking, perhaps for the first time, real competition for the Bentley Continental GT, the S63 AMG Coupe has proper presence and looks set to the the benchmark in its class, something the old CL63 AMG never really managed. Power comes from AMG’s twin-turbo 5.5 litre V8 with 577bhp – up 37bhp on the CL 63 AMG – and 663lb/ft of torque, enough to hit 62mph in 4.3 seconds, despite which it comes with an official economy rating of 27.4mpg.

Ford offers $1m of design scholarships in memory of William Clay Ford

Ford Motor Company has put aside $1million to be awarded in automotive design scholarships over the next 20 years in order to commemorate the life of William Clay Ford who passed away on Sunday. The Ford Fund will release $10,000 each to five college sophomores or juniors per year who are following a career in car design. William Clay Ford was the last surviving grandchild of company founder Henry Ford and design was his lifelong passion.

Cluttered-up cars failing MOT test

CLUTTERED-UP cars are causing thousands of drivers to fail the MOT test. Some vehicles are not passing the test as the screenwash is not topped up, the survey by Whatcar.com found. Test centres are also failing vehicles as they have stickers on the windscreen that block the driver's view, while some drivers even turn up for a test sporting no number plates.

Budget 2014 – what it means for the motorist

Chancellor George Osborne today addressed parliament with his 2014 Budget statement. There was plenty in there to talk about, but what we were desperate to find out was how Osborne’s financial plan for the next 12 months was going to help the average motorist in the UK. Here, we’ve got everything you need to know about the 2014 Budget when it comes to cars. From the fuel duty freeze to Vehicle Excise Duty road tax reforms, company car tax to classic car tax, this is what Budget 2014 means for drivers in Britain.

New Bentley SUV teased

The new design for the Bentley SUV teased There’s little doubt Bentley will make a success of its SUV, despite the original EXP 9 F Concept getting far more brickbats than plaudits. So Bentley have been back at their drawing boards making the Bentley SUV (which could be the Bentley Falcon) look more like a Bentley, and the tease is now beginning for its arrival in Bentley showrooms in early 2016 with a single photo (above). As expected, Bentley has replaced the blunt Mulsanne-like front end of their SUV with a nose that looks like its been taken from the Flying Spur, and no doubt added a few more curves on the bits we don’t see in the tease photo.

Kia won't build Soul Koup, but it could

There are no plans whatsoever to bring a Soul coupe to the market, Kia said when we gave a spokesperson a call. "We're constantly evaluating the market," he told us, "but there are no future Soul derivatives in the works, no ideas currently being explored." This contradicts a rumor currently spreading across the Internet. They have all concluded that Kia's two-door Soul will look like the above.

Report: Britain averaged over 50mpg in 2013

Land Rover According to the latest figures from industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Britain averaged OVER 50mpg last year. The institution analysed efficiency figures for all new cars sold in the UK in 2013, working out the average CO2 emissions from the 2.26 million cars sold in Britain last year and coming up with a figure of 128.3g/km. On Bing: see pictures of vehicle CO2 emissionsFind out how much an economical used car costs on Auto Trader　 That’s already below the 130g/km CO2 average target manufacturers have set themselves for 2015 and marks a 16th successive year of reductions.

Black Widow's Corvette Stingray debuts at Captain America premiere

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” comes out in U.S. theaters on April 4. It's the ninth movie in the modern “Avengers” series, and the second for hero Captain America.

Ecclestone wants to bring the noise

FORMULA ONE supremo Bernie Ecclestone has vowed to address growing concerns surrounding the sport's lack of an appealing noise. Following Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Ron Walker, chairman of the organising company that stages the race, complained to close friend Ecclestone about the lack of sound. The piercing scream of the old V8 engine has gone, and in its place we now have a huskier tone, complete with whistles and whirrs from the 1.6-litre V6 turbo as F1 tries to become greener.

Peugeot Ramps Up Production For New 308

FRENCH car maker Peugeot is to crank up production of its new 308 model as demand has rocketed for the recently crowned 2014 European Car of the Year. Built at Peugeot’s Sochaux plant in France, the firm has announced it’s to add a night shift from June, with the result that 600 jobs are being created and output will increase to a total of 1,563 cars per day. The firm has said it has already taken over 60,000 orders, while the decision to up production coincides with the launch this summer of an estate version, the 308 SW.

Leno invites Ricardo HyBoost Ford Focus to the garage

Jay Leno invited Tom Apostolos to the garage this week. He’s the president of Ricardo Americas, a tech company partially responsible for the hybrid powerplant on the McLaren P1. Leno and Apostolos talk about hybrids, and how you have to drive them tens of years and hundreds of thousands of miles to get any added value out of them.

Citroen DS3 Cabrio Racing arrives in the UK – just 10 at £29,305

The Citroen DS3 Cabrio Racing arrives in the UK The Citroen DS3 Cabrio Racing arrived at Goodwood last summer as a concept, but after the production run of the DS3 Racing a cabrio version seemed a certainty for production. That production run for the DS3 Cabrio Racing was confirmed by Citroen in December and now it’s going on sale in the UK. With all the extra grunt of the DS3 Racing – 207bhp from its 1.6 litre THP engine, enough for 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 145mph – and a raft of changes from a regular DS3 including sports exhaust, wider track, revised steering, uprated brakes and switchable ESC, the DS3 Cabrio Racing promises real hot-hatch fun in the sunshine.

The next presidential limousine might look like this

A few days ago, the United States Secret Service posted the bid requirements for a new presidential limousine, which is set to debut during the 2017 inauguration of our nation's 45th chief executive. It's hard to believe that the General Motors-built Cadillac dubbed "The Beast" is already due for replacement, but the fleet of presidential limousines is cycled every four or eight years, with bids accepted from any American automaker. We'll spoil the show for you: the odds of a company other than General Motors winning the bid is pretty slim.

Big news on GM's big SUVs

Good news and bad news for General Motors' large cash cows, the full-sized SUVs. The bad news: The massive sport-ute market has shrunk roughly in half to around 300,000 a year. The good news for GM: This drove some competitors either out of market or into the near-niche category, leaving the new-for-2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC Yukon and Denali, and Cadillac Escalade with a big share of this very profitable segment.

Women-only Rallye A

Somewhere in the deserts of Morocco there's an array of thin plumes of dust heading west towards Erfoud, near the Algeria border. The 160 teams of women have no directions, GPS, even binoculars. For the next 13 hours, they must make their way across the Western Sahara to the next checkpoint.

More than 5,000 fines issued for lane hogging and tailgating

Dan Chung | Newscom | RTR Following MSN Cars’ exclusive freedom of information investigation into lane hogging, it has emerged that more than 5,000 drivers have been stopped under new careless driving laws since 16 August 2013. A series of freedom of information requests by Auto Express revealed that 1,454 people have been issued with on-the-spot fines for careless driving – which includes lane hogging and tailgating – in Scotland alone.Police authorities turning a blind eye to lane hoggersFixed Penalty Notice driving offences explained   Thames Valley police the biggest issuer of fines for lane hogging Although many areas won’t provide specific information on exactly why drivers have been stopped (usually just classing it as driving without due care and attention or inconsiderate driving), out of those that did Thames Valley issued the most fines for lane hogging – prosecuting 48 drivers for this offence since August last year. This compares with 84 undertaking offences and 46 tailgaters.

One Lap of the Web: It's always St. Patrick's Day when you're Irish

-- If your crippling hangover didn't remind you today, yesterday was St. Patrick's Day. You know what that means: today is a good time to catch up on both green-themed car news.

Paris bans some cars to cut smog

PARIS is taking drastic measures to combat its worst air pollution in years, banning around half of the city's cars and trucks from its streets in an attempt to reduce the toxic smog that has shrouded the French capital for more than a week. Cars with even-numbered licence plates were prohibited from driving in Paris and its suburbs today, following a government decision over the weekend. Around 700 police were patrolling the morning rush-hour, handing out tickets to offenders.

Volvo cars will be able to tell if you're driving tired

Volvo is currently testing in-car sensors that can monitor driver alertness -- ones that can determine if the driver is becoming tired and inattentive. A number of simple systems that basically generate warnings after a certain period of nonstop driving are now available in cars. They take into account the average speed and time elapsed since the vehicle was started.

Renault’s All In A Twizy Over Big Screen Fame

HUMANS, not cars, are the usual stars of the silver screen, but Renault is clearly proud of the latest performance given by its quirky Twizy electric car. The role call of Terry Gilliam's latest project should prove familiar to film buffs - Christoph Waltz, Matt Damon, Mélanie Thierry – although not all budding critics will be up to speed on the Twizy’s current body of work. Gilliam's The Zero Theorem is the story of an eccentric and lonely IT genius, suffering from existential neurosis, and looking for the meaning of life.

Footballer dangerous driving trial

A FORMER PREMIER LEAGUE footballer is to go on trial today charged with dangerous driving after a three-car crash left a motorist with a fractured elbow. Ex-Sheffield United striker Marlon King is alleged to have committed the offence on his 33rd birthday while driving a Porsche Panamera on the A46 in Nottinghamshire last April. A 35-year-old man was airlifted to hospital after the collision at Winthorpe, near Newark, which was witnessed by an off-duty police officer on the afternoon of April 26.