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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

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The new Continental GT Speed

Bentley just released their most performance-focused luxury Grand Tourer ever in their 101-year history, inspired by the 3-Liter Speed models from the 1920s, the first generation Continental GT Speed from 2007 was already a very impressive interpretation of a two-door, four-seat luxury car, but today’s third-generation continues this bloodline as the most powerful expression of Continental GT values, exciting and dynamic, with unique Speed detailing to enhance the ownership experience and offering customers more control over the character of the car.

“The world’s most luxurious Grand Tourer is now truly more capable than ever before, with a new sportier edge which will appeal to performance-focused drivers. The Speed is the latest chapter in the Continental GT story, helping Bentley customers to create their own extraordinary journeys.” Dr. Matthias Rabe, Member of the Board for Engineering at Bentley Motors

The new Bentley Continental GT Speed comes with Electronic All-Wheel steering, meaning not only the front wheels turn, but also the rear wheels steer in a direction depending on speed, at low speed they turn in the opposite direction for a shorter turn radius, while at higher speeds the rear wheels steer in the same direction as the front wheels for more stability, combined with the Active All-Wheel drive this offers an unparalleled driving character for such a large GT.

The Bentley Continental GT Speed offers different driving modes to be selected by the driver, while for the BENTLEY mode and the COMFORT mode, power is balanced between the front and the rear wheels, for the SPORT mode there is a more rear-biased torque–split offered.

This is also the first Bentley to come with an electronic rear differential (eLSD), which together with the traction control and active chassis offers better lateral capacity, more longitudinal stability, enhanced on-throttle adjustability, and boasts improved traction in less-than-ideal road conditions.

The impressive Bentley three-chamber active air suspension with adaptive damping and Dynamic Ride greatly contributes to the level of precision and confidence behind the steering wheel of this new Speed version, this 48V active anti-roll control system features powerful electric motors within each anti-roll bar to resist body roll. In their firmest setting, the motors can deliver 1300 Nm in 0.3 secs to counteract cornering forces and keep the body level.

Optionally you can have new Carbon Ceramic brakes on the Bentley Continental GT Speed, massive braking power comes from ten-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers, adding this option to your order will cut 33kg of weight, and help you to keep those stunning 22-inch wheels clean.

The new Continental GT Speed comes with the famous W12 TSI engine, 6.0-Liter delivers 650 bhp and an impressive 900 Nm of torque, a top speed of 208 mph (335 km/h) is reached almost effortless, while acceleration figures come in at 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds (0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds).

Even the 8-speed transmission has been modified for the new Continental GT Speed, which offers twice as fast shifting in SPORT model on the Speed compared to the regular W12 powered Continental GT.

There is no denying a Bentley Continental GT looks decent enough as is, but for the Speed version, things got developed even further, with a darker treatment of both the front grille and the lower intakes. But also the side sills are bespoke to the Speed model, as are those stunning Speed scripts on the side.

Also bespoke for the GT Speed model are stunning 22-inch wheels finished in silver, optionally available in dark tint or glossy black, while the fuel and oil filler caps come in a ‘Jewel’ finish, and the doorsills show an illuminated Bentley script with the Speed addition.

For the interior of this Continental GT Speed, Bentley went with a special, two-tone combination of smooth leather and Alcantara on the seats, the door panels, and even on the steering wheel. Bentley offers you the option of 15 main colors and 11 secondary hides for the interior, not a fan of Alcantara? No problem, you can opt for a full leather-covered interior too, and the renowned Bentley ‘Diamond in Diamond’ quilting just looks amazing inside the GT Speed.

Why not pay your local Bentley dealership a visit to admire this amazing new GT Speed and possibly put in an order for one?

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

March 24, 2021 / Comments Off

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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

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$3.6 million Aspark Owl electric supercar preorders begin

Japan’s Aspark is taking preorders for its battery-electric Owl at the Paris Motor Show, promising deliveries starting in mid-2020 for the supercar, first revealed a year ago in Frankfurt, that promises a sprint time of less than 2 seconds.

Bloomberg reports the Japanese engineering firm is taking nonrefundable deposits of 1 million euros — about $1.15 million at today’s conversion rate — and plans to build 50 examples. Total cost of the car will be the equivalent of $3.6 million.

Osaka-based Aspark’s Owl first turned heads at last year’s Frankfurt auto show, saying that its 0-62 mph time of 2 seconds was a key focus in developing the car. It’s now promising to hit that sprint in just 1.99 seconds. In February, the company released a video of the Owl launching in a brisk 1.87 seconds, which rivals the claims made for the next-generation Tesla Roadster, though the prototype was reportedly fitted with racing tires.

The latest specs, per Bloomberg, peg the Owl at 1,150 horsepower and 652 pound-feet of torque, with a dry weight of around 3,300 pounds. That’s up significantly from last year, when the company said it weighed less than 1,900 pounds, though engineers are reportedly still finalizing the powertrain and debating how many electric motors to use. Top speed remains 174 mph, and range is 186 miles on a full charge. You’ll reportedly have to wait another year or so to test-drive it, however.

It’s worth pointing out that the Owl’s specs are dwarfed by fellow electric supercars like the 1,914-hp Rimac C_Two, said to do 0-60 mph in just 1.85 seconds and have a top speed of 258 mph, with 404 miles of range. It’s also a relative bargain at a cool $2.1 million. The new Tesla Roadster, when it launches, will go 620 miles on a charge and be priced at just $250,000.

The Owl is on display this week at the Paris Motor Show.

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October 4, 2018 / Comments Off

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Koenigsegg Agera successor could be named … Ragnarok?

Koenigsegg has already given the very Nordic names Thor and Väder to its final two examples of its outgoing Agera RS supercar, so why not double down on that lineage and name the successor Ragnarok, after the violent Norse armageddon?

That’s the name The Supercar Blog, citing an unnamed source “close to Koenigsegg,” reports is likely to be used for the car replacing the Agera, which will be revealed at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. We saw this mythical supercar teased in a silhouette sketch that shows a large rear wing and diffuser, and founder Christian von Koenigsegg said the car will be “more capable than the Agera RS,” which produces 1,160 horsepower from its twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8.

Separately, a rumor from the McLaren Life forum suggests the upcoming speed demon will offer 1,440 horsepower, some hybridization, a higher engine redline of 9,000 rpm and a target weight of less than 1,200 kg (about 2,645 pounds). By comparison, the all-carbon-fiber Agera RS Gryphon does 1,360 hp and weighs 3,075 pounds. The name Ragnarok has also floated around on that forum for a couple months as a possible name.

Should we take these rumors seriously? Who knows. But it’s fun to speculate. Last fall, you’ll recall, the Agera RS set a record for highest average top speed of 277.87 mph in the Nevada desert, and the chase is on for the holy grail of a 300-mph hypercar.

For reference’s sake, the opening events of Ragnarok from “The Norse Myths” reads like so: “First of all Midgard” — that’s the world inhabited by man — “will be wrenched and racked by wars for three winters. Fathers will slaughter sons; brothers will be drenched in one another’s blood. Mothers will desert their menfolk and seduce their own sons; brothers will bed with sisters.” You get the idea.

Those unpleasantries aside, it’s certainly fun to imagine a “Mad Max”-style dystopian movie called “War of the Supercars” starring a Koenigsegg Ragnarok.

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August 31, 2018 / Comments Off

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The Devel Sixteen hypercar, and its 5,000-hp engine, are real

Devel Motors unveiled the final concept version of its ambitious Sixteen hypercar at the Dubai Motor Show this week, a car that it claims will reach speeds of around 310 miles per hour when it finally goes into production.

That would make it the world’s fastest car if the claim can hold up, beating out the 277.9 mph mark just set by the Koenigsegg Agera RS and posing a challenge to the likes of the Bugattis and John Hennesseys of the world. The Dubai-based specialty company first announced its ambitions four years ago and has since joined forces with Italian firm Manifattura Automobile Torino, which worked on James Glickenhaus’ SCG 003 and the Apollo Intensa Emozione, and Muskegon, Mich.-based Steve Morris Engines.

The powertrain supplier, speaking of which, recently released a video of the 81-mm quad-turbo, 12.3-liter V16 engine it’s developed for the car, reaching 5,007 horsepower on a dynamometer. The screaming sound is unbelievable.

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Even if the car, the design of which is inspired by a jet engine, can make good on its audacious claims, the Sixteen won’t be street legal. Devel developer Rashid Al-Attari told CNN the Sixteen is “more of a dragster” and says the company is developing two versions permissible on roads: A 2,000-hp V8 and a V16 quad-turbo that makes 3,000 hp. They’ll cost $1.6 million and $1.8 million, respectively, though the company apparently has no plans to limit production numbers.

Car vlogger Shmee can take you on a walkaround of the car and the accompany Devel Sixty off-roader in the video below.

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The company expects to complete the car, including testing, “in the next 12 to 18 months,” Al-Attari said.

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November 16, 2017 / Comments Off

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5,000-hp, 300-mph Devel Sixteen hypercar to show in Dubai

Years from now, automotive historians may write of this era as the War of the Supercars, fought by niche manufacturers that specialize in finely tuned, low-volume and ultra-high-end machines finding daft ways to outdo one another for the mantle of horsepower and speed at a time when many believe the writing is on the wall for the internal combustion engine. In just the past month, we’ve seen bold feats, claims or product introductions from the likes of Koenigsegg, Hennessey and McLaren.

Now comes news that the Devel Sixteen, a supposed 5,000-horsepower beast capable of surpassing 310 mph, will finally make its debut next week at the Dubai Motor Show, per Road and Track. If the Dubai-based firm can back up those numbers, it would be the world’s fastest supercar.

The prototype was first introduced in Dubai back in 2013, and we wrote about the Michigan-based company developing the quad-turbo, 12.36-liter V16 engine and its attempts to juice that much horsepower two years ago. R&T says Devel is now partnering with Italian firm Manifattura Automobile Torino, which worked on James Glickenhaus’ SCG 003 and the Apollo Intense Emotion supercars, to build the Sixteen. This will be an interesting one to watch.

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November 9, 2017 / Comments Off

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