The new Bentley Continental GT Speed holds claim to the title of the fastest production car ever produced by the fabled British marque. The Crewe-based luxury car manufacturer brought us the first images of their luxury sports grand tourer back in June, but now they’ve announced full details ahead of the 6th Moscow International Motor Show, which takes place from 27 – 30 August.
So we already know that the latest Continental GT Speed uses Bentley’s 6.0-litre, 48-valve, quad-cam, twin-turbocharged, W12 engine, which produces 460 kW and 800 Nm of torque. We also know it’s mated to a ZF-sourced, 8-speed, automatic transmission, that channels power to the road via permanent all-wheel drive and that performance figures are 0 – 100 km/h in 4.0 seconds and the top speed is 330 km/h.
The latest information from Bentley brings details of the GT Speed’s engine updates, running gear and interior highlights. Beginning with the engine, the increased power and performance is as a result of a new engine management system for the W12. Bentley say the new ECU is capable of performing 180 million calculations per second and among other things, delivers enhanced turbocharger control, torque management, as well as overall improvements to drivability. In addition, a revised Sport mode provides a sharper throttle with faster response for effortless acceleration at all speeds.
The 2013 Bentley Continental Speed GT rides on air suspension with updated spring and damper rates for improved body control. In addition, the self-leveling air suspension can lower the car by up to 10 mm over that of the standard Continental GT. The suspension works with aluminium double wishbones in front and trapezoidal multi-link configuration in the rear. The final connection to the road is via 21-inch, ten twin-spoke, alloy wheels fitted with 275/35 ZR21 tyres.
Stopping the 2 750 kg supercar-rivalling grand tourer are 405 mm cast iron brake discs in front and 335 mm units at the rear, both gripped by 8-piston calipers. For more money, the GT Speed can be had with 420 mm and 356 mm cross-drilled carbon silicon-carbide discs, in the front and rear respectively, which are 20 kg lighter compared to the standard items.
In addition to the wheels, other exterior highlights include rifled exhaust tailpipes, which are complemented by the rear lamp bezels, as well as a dark-tint matrix to the radiator shell and lower bumper grilles. Further optional styling tweaks include a carbon fibre front grille, front splitter and rear bumper diffuser.
Inside the cabin there is an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with a 30GB hard drive. It comes with an eight-speaker sound system that can be controlled straight from an iPod. DAB digital radio is also supported wherever this infrastructure is available.
The new Bentley Continental GT Speed is available to order at a price of £151 100, with the first delivers expected in October.
