2012 Bentley Continental Gt Coupe 2d on 2040-cars

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Meet the all-new, third-generation Bentley Flying Spur

The all-new, third-generation Bentley Flying Spur rolls into our lives behind a retracting, illuminated Flying B hood ornament. The grand tourer sedan sibling to the Continental GT also brings a new platform with a longer wheelbase, a new design, more technology, and fluted leather and wood finery. About the only thing that doesn't change is horsepower, with the 6.0-liter W12 putting out the same 626 horsepower as the top-level Flying Spur W 12 S trim of the second-generation sedan. Torque, however, makes a substantial jump from 605 to 664 pound-feet. The same MSB architecture that serves the Continental GT and the Porsche Panamera has been called up for duty. A wheelbase stretched by 5.1 inches over the previous Flying Spur delivers handling benefits and attends especially to the comfort of rear-seat passengers. Superformed aluminum panels create sharper, smoother lines everywhere, starting with the sedan's face. A much wider grille re-establishes proportions up front, as well as a corporate look that goes its own way from the Continental. Vertical vanes in the grille channel the 1957 Bentley S1 Continental Flying Spur, and sit just ahead of a gloss black matrix mesh. The lower grille comes in gloss black matrix as well, but can be specced in bright chrome. The LED matrix headlamps have been fitted with chrome sleeves in order to glimmer even when the lights are off. A prominent crease emphasizes the shoulders and haunches. Beneath that, the front fender vents adopt a larger and more obvious "B" shape, the lower doors accented by a chrome strip running between the wheel arches. Those arches will be filled with either the standard 21-inch wheels, or two new 22-inch wheels on sedans optioned with Mulliner Specification. In back, wrap-around taillights take on the illuminated "B" graphic, and the license plate holder moves to the lower bumper, leaving only the Bentley wings and the word "Bentley" to adorn the decklid. The interior overhaul befits Bentley's move into its second century. A high-definition digital instrument binnacle sits behind the new steering wheel. A 12.3-inch screen on the instrument panel handles infotainment needs and performs several tricks, one of which is a proximity sensor that primes the system for commands as a hand draws near. Another trick is that the screen is set into a three-sided, rotating shape. A press of a button flips the screen to reveal a panel with three analogue gauges - temperature, compass and chronometer.

2020 Bentley Continental GT plug-in hybrid spied undisguised

While at first, and even second glance, the Bentley Continental GT in the photos looks pretty unremarkable. In every sense, it's just a normal example of the latest Continental GT. On that third glance, though, you'll notice one extremely subtle detail that's off: it has a second fuel-filler door. That leads us to believe that Bentley has a plug-in hybrid version of the Continental GT on the way, and it's almost ready for production. And when we say this is a subtle change, we mean it. Unlike many PHEVs that have both filler doors on one side, this Bentley has one door per side. So from the side, there's nothing to tip you off to the strange addition. You can only notice the extra door from the rear, which shows both doors on the tops of the rear fenders. Either that, or you would have to know that the regular Continental GT's gasoline fuel door is on the right side of the car, not the left. As for what sort of hybrid powertrain is in this Continental GT, we would suspect it's the same as that in the Bentayga Hybrid revealed at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. It uses a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 with an electric motor. Power and fuel economy haven't been announced for that powertrain, but Bentley says it is capable of driving the big SUV for 31 miles on a charge on the European cycle. We would expect the lighter, more aerodynamic Continental GT could probably eke out a few more mpg with the same setup. Considering that this test car was completely undisguised, and that it will likely use an existing powertrain, we expect this hybrid Bentley to be officially revealed soon. An announcement early next year with sales coming later that year seems plausible. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2020 Bentley Continental GT plug-in hybrid spy shots View 11 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Green Spy Photos Bentley Coupe Hybrid Luxury Performance bentley hybrid

New Bentley Supersports coming in 2014

A report in Autocar says the next Bentley Continental Supersports will be ready for retail duty in 2014. If true, the coupe is meant to follow the same formula as the first generation, which means weight loss, honed reflexes and "improving braking power," that last one an eyebrow raiser because the Continental series already has some of the largest diameter brakes available on a production car.
A vulgar gain in horsepower isn't planned, however; the Supersports was never primarily about pure grunt, but rather being more connected to the grunt the Continental had. The previous Supersports (Bentley no longer offers it) put out 621 horsepower, but it's said that the coming model will move up to 650 hp, and that would put healthy distance between it and the 616-hp Continental GT Speed.
The Supersports would take a place at the head of the Continental line-up, but be briefly usurped there by a road-going version of the Continental GT3 race car if that comes to fruition. But whereas the street-legal GT3 car would be limited production, the new Supersports would be a series offering.