While Aston Martin was busy launching the new Vantage, Bentley was also unveiling the new Continental GT Speed which promises to be the fastest production model ever made by the British automaker, being able to reach a top speed of no less than 205 mph.
Under the hood of this car is a huge W12 twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter engine that can output 616 hp and a peak torque of 590 lb.-ft, which is 61 hp and 37 hp more in comparison to the previous Speed. Thanks to this power boost, the new model can hit a top speed of 205 mph which is 3 mph more than before, while the 0-62 mph sprint is achieved in only 4 seconds, 0.3 quicker than the previous model.
The chassis of the new Speed has been stiffened by the engineers at Bentley who also uprated some of the hardware in the Continental’s air-sprung suspension. The Crewe-based automaker says that the car is capable of providing a more engaging and sportier drive, with an improved agility and tauter handling.
The steering of the car has also been retuned while the ride height has been lowered. The new Bentley Continental GT Speed is riding on 21-inch alloys wrapped around in 275/35R Pirelli P Zero tires. The engine sends that impressive horsepower through a more efficient 8-speed automatic transmission from ZF which also comes standard on the V8-powered version, while the lower-powered W12 model is stuck for now with the older 6-speed ZF gearbox.
Thanks to the implementation of this new gearbox, the fuel consumption along with the emissions of CO2 have been reduced by 12% in comparison to the GT W12, which means that the car should be able to return about 19 mpg UK and have CO2 emissions of 338 g/km. In-gear acceleration times have been improved thanks to the fact that the ratios of the gearbox are closer together in comparison to the configuration of the aforementioned six-speed transmission from ZF.
Just like all Continental models, the horsepower is sent to all of the car’s four wheels with the help of a Torsen center differential. As far as the design chances are concerned, not a lot has changed since Bentley only made some subtle revisions to the looks of the Continental, implementing a dark-tinted mesh for the lower air intake and the main grille as well, while the dual exhaust tailpipes have received a rifled finish. Regarding the interior cabin, the car now features as standard the Mulliner Driving specification of leather and trim.
The new Bentley Continental GT Speed is set to make its public debut next week during the Goodwood Festival of Speed event where the car will be taken for a demonstration run by Derek Bell, Juha Kankkunen and Guy Smith, three of the automaker’s preferred drivers.
We don’t know the price tag of this new Continental GT but we can tell you that at Goodwood next week Bentley is going to open the order book, while the first units will most likely arrive at their customers this October.
Source: Bentley via Autocar.co.uk
