All posts in “continental”

The Continental GT Speed Convertible

In late March 2021, Bentley unveiled the impressive Continental GT Speed edition, the top of the line version in terms of performance and driver-focused in the Bentley model range, but I’m more of an open-top kind of driver, so I was really happy to see Bentley now adds their Convertible model to the ‘Speed’ range too, with the new Continental GT Speed Convertible.

Usually, the open-top version of the Bentley Continental GT gets the GTC denomination, but for the Speed version they keep it at GT Speed Convertible, strange, but that’s marketing I guess, still, this new gran tourer now offers everything we’ve seen on the Speed coupe, but with the added bonus of having your hair in the wind, enjoying the sun with the impressive burble of the massive, 6.0-liter W12 TSI engine emitting from the large exhaust at the rear.

The Continental GT Speed Convertible still comes with 650 bhp and 900 nM (664 lb-ft) of torque to deliver an acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in only 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 208 mph (335 km/h) … with the top down, I guess a trip to the hairdresser will be required after testing that top speed.

Every Bentley convertible has been known for being as quiet as the coupe once the roof comes up, and on this Continental GT Speed Convertible that is no different, Bentley proudly states: “Roof improvements deliver a convertible as quiet inside as the previous generation coupe”, which isn’t bad, to be honest, and to make things even more interesting, you have to choice of seven different roof colors … including tweed. The Z-Fold roof only takes 19 seconds to change this car from a luxurious coupe to an open GT, fully automated naturally.

Naturally, the new GT Speed Convertible comes with enhanced chassis technology, including All-Wheel Steering, an electronic rear differential, and optional carbon-ceramic disks, but also with the special Speed sport sills, dark tint grilles, and Speed badging, while three different finished are possible on the bespoke 22-inch forged Speed wheels.

Chris Craft, Member of the Board for Sales and Marketing at Bentley Motors, comments: “The new Speed is the most driver-focused Continental GT Convertible available and unique in its ability to offer extremely refined, all-season open-top Grand Touring with the added edge of astonishing performance and dynamism. Combined with exquisite, handcrafted interior details, the Continental GT Speed Convertible exemplifies all Bentley knows about creating the world’s most stylish and elegant cars for roof-down motoring.”

Being a convertible, this new Bentley requires additional commodities compared to the Continental GT Speed coupe, a neckwarmer is seamlessly integrated into the heated and vented Comfort Seats, optimizing efficiency and airflow around the electrically adjustable headrests. The styling highlight of the new neckwarmer is a chrome center vane that stretches the full width of the duct, echoing Bentley’s famous “bullseye” vents. Combined with a heated steering wheel and heated armrests, these sophisticated comfort features create a luxurious driving experience in all
environments.

Our extensive image gallery on the new Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible:

April 14, 2021 / Comments Off on The Continental GT Speed Convertible
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Bentley’s 2021 Pikes Peak racer unveiled

Bentley wants to add a third consecutive victory to their Pikes Peak performance, they already managed the Production SUV record and the Production Car record in 2018 and 2019, and now want to tackle the Time Attack 1 record with a very special, bespoke built race car driven by former ‘King of the Mountain’, Rhys Millen.

The new Bentley Continental GT3 Pikes Peak has been specifically designed to compete for the Time Attack 1 record at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb taking place on June 27 this year, the 12.42-mile course will be run on a biofuel based gasoline, a first for a competition Bentley, as a goal to offer sustainable fuels to Bentley’s customers around the world.

This specific car is a heavily modified Continental GT3 racer, run in conjunction with British Continental GT3 customer team Fastr, who have successfully campaigned their Bentley race car in time attack competitions in the UK. Teams from both Bentley and Fastr are working together with specialists from M-Sport in Cumbria to achieve the maximum possible performance from the Continental GT3 package, before taking the car to Colorado where it will be driven by Fastr with assistance from K-PAX Racing.

Taking the Time Attack 1 record will have this Continental GT3 Pikes Peak cover the climb in less than 9 minutes and 36 seconds while reaching an average speed of 78 mph over the 156 corners during a nearly 5,000 ft climb, but as the start is already at a 9,300 ft elevation, the finish at 14,100 ft high comes with a 1/3 less density for the air compared to sea level, which requires very specific settings for both the car’s aerodynamics and the engine tuning.

This 2021 Bentley Continental GT3 Pikes Peak boasts the largest rear wing ever seen on a Bentley, a massive rear diffuser helps even further while the front has a two-plane splitter fitted together with massive ‘dive planes’ on either side for optimum stability in those grueling 156 corners that have to be taken at the highest possible speed to reach that record-setting time at the finish.

At this time the Continental GT3 Pikes Peak is undergoing final testing and fine-tuning in the UK, but the car will soon be transported to the USA for high-altitude testing to make sure the car is as ready as possible for the ultimate test on June 27 at the 99th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

April 13, 2021 / Comments Off on Bentley’s 2021 Pikes Peak racer unveiled
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Bentley Continental GT Speed

Designed, engineered, developed, and handcrafted in Bentley’s carbon-neutral luxury automotive factory, the new third-generation Continental GT Speed is the ultimate performance-focused interpretation of the world’s benchmark luxury Grand Tourer.

With highly advanced chassis technology, and styling cues specific to Continental GT Speed, the extraordinary journey continues at 16:00 GMT, 23rd March 2021

March 16, 2021 / Comments Off on Bentley Continental GT Speed
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Bentley just built the 80,000th Continental GT in Crewe

The Home of Bentley in Crewe, UK has produced the 80,000th individual, made-to-order example of the Continental GT – the world’s definitive luxury grand tourer. The 80,000th car – a right-hand drive Continental GT V8 in Orange Flame – was handcrafted earlier this week, in the world’s first carbon neutral factory for luxury car production.

In 1952, the Bentley R-Type Continental made its debut; a Mulliner-bodied coupe with a top speed of just less than 120 mph. It was the fastest four-seater car in the world and very quickly earned a reputation as the ultimate in high-speed luxury.

In 2003, the Continental GT was launched – the first car of the modern Bentley era. Inspired by the R-Type, the first Continental GT established an entirely new market segment – the modern luxury Grand Tourer. Ever since, it has been the unchallenged benchmark for the sector that it founded, with an average of nearly 5,000 examples a year being delivered to customers around the world.

Today, eighteen years later, Bentley’s skilled craftspeople – many of whom will have worked on the very first example of the Continental GT (still owned by Bentley) – have handcrafted the 80,000th car. Over this period the style, technology and engineering beneath the car has evolved significantly, seeing an increase of up to 27 per cent in peak power, whilst models within the range have also achieved a reduction over the original Continental GT of 48 per cent in CO2 emissions.

Bentley’s Chairman and Chief Executive, Adrian Hallmark, comments:

“At its launch in 2003, Bentley redefined the modern grand tourer with the revolutionary Continental GT. Now in 2021, the GT continues to be the ultimate luxury grand tourer, encompassing the latest technology, performance and style. This success is a testament to the skills of our designers, engineers and craftspeople here in Crewe.”

“I had the pleasure of launching the original GT in 2003 in my first stint at Bentley, and being here for the launch of the latest generation – and the iterations that have followed – has been a source of great pride for me personally. It will continue to be the iconic backbone of the Bentley business for years to come, even as we transition to the world’s leading provider of sustainable luxury mobility.”

The platform beneath the car was upgraded to a Bentley design for the third generation, allowing a totally new stance, proportions and levels of dynamic ability that raised the bar again. Wrapped in a totally new bodywork design, with sharper lines and more flowing surfaces, the Continental GT remains a stylish and thoroughly contemporary grand tourer.

A statement of true luxury, the third generation Continental GT represents the pinnacle of Bentley’s two-door design and engineering achievements. Effortlessly elegant and more sculpted and sharply defined, the body and materials combine to create truly breath-taking cars.

With a choice of powertrains, one of the most extensive colour palettes in the world and with almost limitless interior options, unique configurations can run into billions of variations. Indeed, there are currently a total of 17 billion ways in which a customer can specify a Continental GT. Beyond that, through the services of Bentley Mulliner – Bentley’s in-house bespoke division – the only limitation is the imagination of the customer. Owning a Continental GT guarantees both individuality and exclusivity, despite being part of a family now 80,000 strong.

The 80,000th vehicle is an eye catching Continental GT V8 in Orange Flame, finished with the optional Blackline Specification and Styling Specification, both adding to the car’s presence and hinting at the GT’s performance credentials.

A Family Gathering to Celebrate
To mark the production milestone, Bentley drew on its heritage fleet to show the evolution and achievements of the Continental GT since 2003.

Marking the car through its generations were:

  • The very first production Continental GT, VIN 0001, still a taxed-and-tested car on Bentley’s fleet
  • A Continental Supersports coupe, considered by many to be the pinnacle of the first generation GT family
  • A second generation Continental GT V8 S coupe, finished in Jetstream
  • From the current press fleet, a Dragon Red Continental GT Convertible

The Continental GT has also supported Bentley’s long tradition of racing and record breaking that started in the 1920s when the Bentley Boys set the pace at European circuits. In 1922, John Duff drove his Bentley 3 Litre single handed for 24 hours, at an average speed of almost 87 mph at Brooklands to secure 39 Class D records. And in 1928, another 3 Litre driven by Dudley Froy became the first car to achieve more than 115 mph over a distance of 100 miles at the same venue.

To mark recent achievements, the line-up was joined by some of the most exciting performance-focused Continental GTs:

  • The first Ice Speed Record GT, driven by four-times World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen, which smashed the world ice speed record in 2007, reaching an average speed of 199.86 mph (321.65 km/h) on frozen sea off the coast of Finland.
  • The first-generation Continental GT3 racecar, that returned Bentley to winning ways on the racetrack in 2014 and secured victories on tracks all around the world
  • The 2019 Pikes Peak GT, which still holds the Production Class record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Driven by three-time champion Rhys Millen, the car took 8.4 seconds off the previous record along the 12.42-mile course, climbing 5,000 ft through 156 bends in just 10 minutes, 18.4 seconds.
  • The 2020 Ice Race GT, which took part in the GP Ice Race at Zell Am See in February last year on the same weekend that the final member of the line-up – the latest-generation Continental GT3 – won the Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia.

After 18 years and three generations, the Continental GT is still the quintessential grand tourer – phenomenally powerful, beautifully designed and exquisitely crafted.

January 30, 2021 / Comments Off on Bentley just built the 80,000th Continental GT in Crewe
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