2006 Bentley Arnage R Sedan 4-door 6.8l 1 Of 30 Blue Train Edition on 2040-cars

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Bentley targeting Range Rover with 12-cylinder SUV

The eventual arrival of Bentley's upcoming SUV in 2016 will likely prove the most pivotal new product to come from Crewe since the debut of the Continental GT in 2003. And Bentley isn't messing around.
The British automaker is taking aim directly at the Range Rover, saying that it will be just as capable off-road. That's a mighty big claim for a company that has never made an off-roader before, but comes with good reason: Bentley estimates that nearly 30 percent of its customers have a Range Rover as well, and the company is keen to take a slice of that pie.
There are, however, several elements that will elevate the Bentley Falcon (as it's expected to be called) above Range Rover territory. For starters, according to Automotive News Europe, which spoke to Bentley marketing chief Kevin Rose at the Frankfurt show, the Falcon will be more expensive. The sticker price in Europe is expected to hover around 180,000 euros - double the flagship Range Rover's starting price. It'll also be available with four-, five- and seven-seat configurations. And it'll offer more power. A lot more power.

Bentley teases restyled production SUV

Bentley insists that customers responded positively, but journalists weren't particularly enamored with the EXP 9 F concept when it was unveiled two years ago at the Geneva Motor Show. And so it went back to the drawing board, honing the design to make it more pleasing to the eye.
The production model won't hit the road until 2016, but at its annual shareholders meeting today in London, the British automaker revealed the first image of the finished design - or at least the front end, which was arguably the most controversial element of the design in the first place.
The rendering, as you can see above, is highly stylized and obscured by flying sand (as many customer examples are likely to be in the dunes of the Middle East). But from what we can see, it appears that Bentley has moved the secondary headlights from below the primary ones to beside them. It's hard to tell, but it appears that their place on the edges of the front bumper have been replaced by air vents, giving it an altogether Continental-like front end. The shape of the grille, hood, fenders and greenhouse otherwise appear similar to the EXP 9 F we've already seen, though the air dam appears taller than the concept's.

Weekly Recap: Auto execs face life in prison for recall delays under proposed legislation

The stiff punishments are part of broader transportation legislation, but clearly McCaskill has automakers in her sights.
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill threw down the gauntlet this week, proposing a bill that could send auto executives to prison for life if they were found to have delayed a recall. She also wants to eliminate the limit for fines for auto safety violations, which are currently capped at $35 million.