The Bentley Continental GT and GTC V8 has been unwrapped and it’s a kinder, gentler bulldog that makes do with “just” 500 horsepower and 481 pound-feet from its 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8. That is down 20 horsepower and up just 8 pound-feet from the output of the Audi S8, with which it shares the innovatively-packaged, cylinder-deactivating V8. We’re going to guess that’s to leave unquestionable space between it and the 631-hp Continental GT, and so Bentley could reach its 40 percent improvement goal with respect to emissions and gas mileage.
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Back in 2008, Milanese design studio Zagato got together with Bentley to create the Continental GTZ, a coachbuilt version of Crewe’s prolific luxury coupe. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the design had some beautiful elements, but the GTZ wasn’t supposed to be a one-and-done affair. For a handsome fee, Zagato offered to rebody anyone’s Continental GT to mirror the show car; no more than nine examples were to be built. Unfortunately, it looks like nobody was willing to shell out the €800,000 asking price (a bit over $1M USD – plus the donor car’s MSRP) to have theirs converted.
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AutoExpress reports that Bentley plans to bring a GT2 version of the Continental to market next year. The word comes straight from Bentley head-honcho Wolfgang Durheimer, and while it’s unclear at this point whether the machine will make use of the same W12 engine at the heart of the current Continental, the story suggests that buyers can expect to enjoy up to 650 horsepower. That’s a 100 horse jump over the base model. In addition, the Continental GT2 is expected to tip the scales at a full 441 pounds lighter than its tamer sibling.
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Bentley is currently in the middle of a product update that started with the all-new Mulsanne and has now moved on to the Continental GT. We’ve gotten up close and personal with the 2012 Continental GT Coupe on more than one occasion, but we knew that more derivatives lurked in the future. The next one is now here, and it arrives in the form of the 2012 Bentley Continental GTC.
Sharing the same lower lines as its sibling hardtop coupe, the GTC opts to let the sun shine in via a power-operated retracting softtop. Under the hood sits the same 6.0-liter W12 engine that produces 567 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque in the coupe. Paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, the Continental GTC will run from 0-60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds. Keep your Church’s Warrik leather driving shoe pushed to the floor and 100 mph will pass by in 10.9 seconds as you proceed towards a top speed of 195 mph.
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For an automaker with just two model lines, Bentley sure has a lot of room to expand in the coming year or two. With the newly facelifted Continental GT now out on the market, a new Continental GTC drop-top expected to be unveiled in Frankfurt, after which we can expect the next Flying Spur, and then the inevitable Speed variants of each bodystyle.
The Mulsanne is also expected to spawn a new coupe and convertible, and reports of new model lines, including an SUV, have been circulating. But in the middle of all of this expansion, Bentley is preparing to downsize (in a sense).
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Bentley shooting brake, anyone? Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera can hook you up. The Milanese coachbuilder unveiled the Flying Star at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, and stole our hearts in the process. But since the shooting brake debuted and its order books opened, Touring has only made three examples of the custom creation. Read More »
As we said before, it’s that time when everyone starts rolling out their year-end “Best of” lists and revisits their favorite rides of 2010. Top Gear is in on the action, naming its annual award winners. Its list, as you can see, is diverse and loaded with forbidden fruit (at least for those of us in the U.S.)
Hypercar of the Year: Koenigsegg Agera
Cabrio of the Year: Maserati GranCabrio
Grand Tourer of the Year: Bentley Continental GT
Hot Hatch of the Year: Volkswagen Golf R
Family Car of the Year: BMW 520d Touring
Engine of the Year: Fiat TwinAir
Coupe of the Year: Peugot RCZ
Luxury Car of the Year: Jaguar XJ
Small Car of the Year and Car of the Year: Citroen DS3
Besides the standard categories, the three hosts also picked their favorites of 2010. Jeremy Clarkson is in love with the Pagani Zonda R, James May goes with the Bugatti Veyron Supersport and Richard Hammond is quite fond of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
Though we’ve given you the list, it’s still worth a trip over to the Top Gear website to read the reasons behind each choice.
[Source: AutoBlog]
