Bentley Continental Flying Spur Mulliner on 2040-cars

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Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible photos hit web early

It was Indiana Jones and that whole ark episode that gave us the best example of what happens after leaks: once you break the seal, all hell breaks loose and there's no way you're putting it back. We aren't sure who lifted the lid, but official photos of the 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible showed up on Flickr last week, and so here we are presenting them to you.
If it follows the Bentley playbook as the last GT Speed - and we have no reason to believe it won't - beyond the lack of a top there won't be much difference between it and the coupe than a few minor numerals. There will be a W12 in front with 616 horsepower and 590 foot-pounds of torque running through an eight-speed transmission, and the dash from standstill to 60 miles per hour will clock in somewhere around four seconds. That's some 21-inch rolling stock setting up the stance, and unless it's gotten slower than the last GT Speed, ultimate velocity with the top up should be at least 200 mph.
It will be undeniably fast. As for the paint, you can make up your own minds about that while you peep its angles in the high-res gallery. We'll find out the rest when the world's purplest droptop is revealed at the Detroit Auto Show.

2013 Bentley Continental GTC V8

Despite having a rich history of creating comfortable cars for the chauffeured elite, Bentley has also had an edge on performance that its former compadres at Rolls-Royce could not come close to. Because while the Rollers may have been the better cars to be driven in (and some would argue, they still are), the Bentleys were better to drive.
That's still true to this day, where the company, now situated under the umbrella of the Volkswagen Group, still offers all the same luxury and refinement as before, but it also includes even better drivability than before. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Continental range, where a full line of turbocharged 12-cylinder and Speed models are on offer, to say nothing of older Supersports models that were offered and the company's newest venture into the world of racing, the GT3.
But below the Speed cars and the other W12 cruisers, Bentley now offers eight-cylinder power in its Continental range. And despite this more focused approach to offering something a bit more frugal and efficient, it still has quite the focus on driver involvement. We recently spent a week under the summer sun in this droptop V8 GTC to experience just that.

Bentley teases new Flying Spur sedan

Bentley has released another teaser video for its redesigned Flying Spur, and the next generation car is looking less like a grown up Continental GT and more like a junior Mulsanne. A viewing of the first teaser vid revealed a more upright grille, a three-spoke steering wheel, horizontal taillights and quarter panels with angles and curves certifiably lifted from the Mulsanne. After this second video, we can add lower door panels with a more aggressive shape, horizontal vents in the fenders and a rear end with the shape of proper haunches.
The English motorcar maker promises us we'll see more on February 20, when "performance and luxury unite." We'll be there in person when the "Camry for rich people" is revealed at the Geneva Motor Show next month. You'll find the videographic appetizer below.