Bentley seem to be on a roll these days. There has probaly never been a wider choice of cars from their Continental, Mulsanne and Flying Spur ranges and travelling at plus or minus 200 mph seems to be the order of the day for the cars from Crewe.
It seems appropriate therefore that the company should be adding the moniker ‘Speed’ to the fastest car they have ever produced. Enter the new Bentley Continental GT Speed.
With 616 bhp on tap the car has a top speed of 205 mph (330 kph) and can gallop to 100 mph from standstill in a mightily impressive 9 seconds. In the time it has taken Usain Bolt to complete 100 metres the Bentley is a 1/4 mile away from the start-line. OK Usain is not a machine but it just puts into perpective how quickly the GT Speed can cover long distances.
Of course there are several ‘supercars’ that are more than capable of beating the Bentley in a straight line these days but there are not many that can do it with the panache and drama-free way the Crewe car does. If the car could speak it would be telling its driver to sit back and relax while it effortlessly hauls in the horizon.
The uprated twin-turbo W12 is now mated to an 8-speed ZF transmission and a big dollop of torque – 800 Nm – so that the thrust is instantly accessible and makes overtaking a blink-of-an-eye manoeuvre. To help cope with the extra power the chassis has been tweaked with uprated springs, dampers, anti-roll bars and steering. The exhaust has also been tuned to create the appropriate deep, sporty note under hard acceleration – if it is as nice as the V8’s noise then it will be a very interesting car in tunnels too.
If you are buying a ‘Speed’ GT instead of a non-Speed alternative then you might expect some cosmetic differences too. These will include 21″ ten-spoke alloy wheels, dark tint matrix radiator shell and lower bumper grilles and ‘rifled’ exhaust tailpipes.
The interiors come with the Mulliner Driving Specification featuring perforated, quilted leather and bright metal detailing plus the inevitable bits of carbon fibre. In other words they will look a tad luxurious and expensive.
To help calm your nerves after parting with your tidy sum to buy a GT Speed you will be uplifted by the thought that the new car offers up to a 12% improvement in fuel economy and CO2 emissions over the previous W12 powerplant. Confirmed pricing for the GT Speed will be announced in due course.
In the meantime if you would further details of the new Bentley Continental GT Speed give The Car Spy a call on 01732 760699 or email sales@thecarspy.net
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