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All Bentley Continental Models to be Flex-Fuel-Capable in June

2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible – Click above for high-res image gallery

It may not be the most interesting news you read all week, but we now have a date at which all Bentley Continentals will be able to gulp down whiskey with the best of 'em: June. Well, not exactly whiskey, but ethanol's pretty close. Bentley had made the announcement (sans date) at the Geneva Motor Show when it showed off the Continental Supersports Convertible.

Bentley sees this move as a big first step in reaching its stated goal of offering an entirely biofuel-capable lineup by 2012. In its latest form, Bentley's twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 offers up 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. That's sufficient to push the big Conti' to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds and on up to a top speed of 202 mph.

As the Continental is Bentley's most popular model line by far, this means that over half of all cars the luxury brand sells this year will be flex-fuel models. For those keeping track, the Brooklands coupe (which will soon be discontinued), Azure sedan and the soon-to-be-released Mulsanne sedan (the replacement for the long-running Arnage) are still not yet biofuel capable. According to Automotive News, the Mulsanne will be E85-capable shortly after its launch later this year.

Gallery: Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req'd]

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New Bentley Mulsanne is Only the Beginning

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

That the new Bentley Mulsanne represents a fresh start for the British luxury automaker is well known. Starting with a clean sheet of paper, the designers and engineers in Crewe completely redesigned the company's flagship saloon from the ground up. But the Mulsanne isn't where it ends, as industry sources forecast that the new sedan will also form the basis for new replacements for the Azure convertible and Brooklands coupe, both of which are based on the outgoing Arnage platform which was designed back in the late 90's when the company was still owned by Vickers Aerospace.

It remains to be seen when the replacements for the Azure and Brooklands will come along, but the new platform could also end up underpinning sister company Bugatti's upcoming model as well.

Gallery: 2010 Bentley Mulsanne