Continental GT

When the Bentley Continental coupé was introduced in 2003, it defined a new kind of Bentley: a powerful, highly usable GT that stayed true to the company’s spirit. The new 16 MY Bentley Continental GT sets the bar higher in terms of design, engineering, craftsmanship, performance and everyday practicality.

The latest car takes full advantage of advanced production techniques such as aluminium Super Forming for the front wings and unique LED daytime-running lights. Everywhere you will find new materials, technology and improvements, from the sculpted new aerodynamic body that makes the new Bentley Continental GT bolder and more elegant than ever, to the new front seat designs that provide even more support.

At the front, the new Bentley Continental is even bolder than before. The front grills have been updated to 'a crisp modern echo of the original 1950s R-Type Continental – to create distinct surfaces giving a wide, confident and sporting feel'. While the classic four-lamp headlight array clearly uses the latest jewel-like Bi-Xenon headlights incorporating LED main beam support function to the front and LED to the rear. The track is now 41mm wider at the front and 48mm at the rear, while the boot-lid design features a powerful ‘double horse-shoe’ shape inspired by the Bentley Mulsanne.

Flared, elliptical exhaust finishers hint at the new Bentley Continental’s deep-rooted sporting credentials.

Even the famous 6.0-litre W12 twin-turbocharged powertrain has been enhanced. It now produces 582bhp and 531lb/ft of torque, mated to a sophisticated new Quickshift transmission that changes ratios in 200 milliseconds and enables double downshifting. It can even run on sustainable bioethanol as well as petrol or a mixture of the two, thanks to Bentley’s FlexFuel technology.

To give the new Bentley Continental GT more poise to best exploit its extra power, its all-wheel drive system now has a sporty 40/60 rear torque bias, which minimises understeer in hard cornering, leaving the driver more opportunity to balance the car using precise throttle inputs.

Throughout the new car, components have been lightened, from the heart of the engine to the new smaller diamond quilting on the seats. With its performance focus sharpened in so many ways, the new Bentley Continental GT reaches 60mph in just 4.3 seconds, and achieves a top speed of 198mph.