Porsche and Bentley are related under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, and a new rumor suggests that the two might become kissing cousins. Autocar had a chance to speak with Porsche CEO Matthias Müller, and the head honcho of the German sports car vehicle brand says that a collaboration with Bentley could help push future Panamera variants foward. Per Müller,

"I think we have to discuss with Bentley whether we can put together our performance, our engineers. It should be possible."

He goes on to state that sticking to just a four-door sports car is boring. The Panamera should be revised into a handful of iterations, and Müller uses terms like "van", "combi" and "longer." If you are a Porsche loyalist, we'll give you a minute to restart your heart.

One variant we hope the Brits and the Germans can breathe life into? A Porsche 928. There have been rumors and speculation for years now, so perhaps this inter-brand teamwork is just what the doctor (would have) ordered.

Bentley will add an SUV to its lineup in 2016 but just a couple of years later the British automaker will launch another model line, expanding its lineup to five distinct offerings. The information was revealed by Bentley CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer.

Dürheimer, who also heads Bugatti, said there were two possibilities on the table for the fifth model line: a two-seater sports car or a more conventional offering (possibly a four-door coupe) positioned between the Continental GT and Mulsanne lines.

“Our designers are extremely busy right now preparing designs for each of them and we are preparing business cases,” Dürheimer told Auto Express. “We will make the decision when we have more information.”

But there are additional new Bentleys in the works, hinted the German exec. He said Bentley was looking at additional Continental GT variants plus a range of hybrids. And if that wasn’t enough, Dürheimer also hinted at a new generation of the Azure convertible and its Brooklands coupe sibling, both based on the Mulsanne platform.

“In Crewe you used to see a very nice convertible called Azure—we also had it [a Mulsanne Convertible concept] as a hidden car in Pebble Beach in 2011,” Dürheimer said. “I hear from our customers that there is remarkable demand for a car like this, and if we do the Azure, the Brooklands just comes automatically.”

It looks like the coming years will be very busy for Bentley and its team in Crewe, England.

Once a mainstay of cars and trucks across the globe, the V8 is now starting to look like an endangered species. The impending death of the CT6-V will soon displace Cadillac's precious Blackwing from its natural habitat, and for V8s of the Toyota variety, the clock is already ticking. For Bentley's historic 6.75-liter V8, the situation is even more urgent, as the species welcomed what will be its final new member on Tuesday, June 2.

Like its 36,000 forebears, the final Bentley six-and-three-quarter was hand-built by a small team of technicians in Crewe, whose seven members have a combined 105 years' experience building these V8s. This era-punctuating engine will live out its life under the hood of the last Bentley Mulsanne 6.75 Edition, a commemorative, one-of-30 model constructed by the company's in-house coachbuilder Mulliner.

Originally engineered in the 1950s when Bentley and Rolls-Royce shared a roof, the L-series V8 first powered the 1959 Bentley S2 in 6.25-liter guise. There, it made a modest 180 horsepower. After gaining 0.3 inches of stroke in 1968 to become the 6.75 as well as a Garrett turbocharger in 1982, power grew to around 300 horse in the Mulsanne Turbo, the marque's first forced-induction model since the "Blower Bentleys" of the 1920s.

Though the 6.75's days as a Rolls-Royce engine ended with the Corniche in 2002, the engine's golden era were still ahead. In 2010, Bentley substantially redesigned the 6.75, updating its crankshaft, adding cylinder deactivation and variable valve timing, and most importantly, a second turbocharger, which puffed power up to 530 horse and 774 pound-feet of torque. That's nearly triple the engine's original power output, which is made all the more impressive by the fact that Bentley reduced its emissions by over 99 percent.

As every L-series from the first 6.25 to the final 6.75 shared the same bore spacing and block architecture, the 6.75 is considered the longest-produced V8 in history, its 61-year run eclipsing even the Chevrolet small-block's 49-year lifespan.

Though Bentley's new flagship sedan, the Flying Spur, won't have a V8, the engine configuration won't be gone from the British automaker's portfolio. Four-liter, twin-turbo units will still be available in the Continental GT and Bentayga, though being Audi-derived engines at heart, they won't inspire drivers to wave the Union Jack like the ole six-and-three-quarter did.