2018 Bentley Continental GT – Stealing the Aston’s show

There is plenty of wrong with current Bentley’s Continental GT. Yes, it is majestic in appearance and incredibly lavish on the inside, but the current model is also six years old stuff planted on fourteen years old architecture. Also sitting on Phaeton’s platform kind of dilute deluxe flavor of the whole deal, taking into affect VW’s former flagship model pure fail on the global market. And that lavish interior barely changed since 2003, nor neither exterior went much further. Brits gather up their senses finally, and brand new (but really new) 2018 Bentley Continental GT has arrived.

BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT EXTERIOR

Upon the first contact with the new stuff, you may exclaim that it is just another nip and tuck in Bentley’s style. But pay closer attention now. EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept previewing this moment promised a lot and British actually managed to deliver plenty of that. Conti has finally deserted plump world of obesity and entered a new era of masculine athleticism. It hasn’t become DB11, but huge progress is evident.

source:topgear.com                                                                 2018 Bentley Continental GT Exterior

And the best thing is that it hasn’t lost anything from that grandiose flavor, it even got better upon infused with some dose of grace now. And it’s not just all due to that leaner body, wider grille, and oval tail lights did their share too, while more aggressive front intakes and dynamic lines added here and there sealed the deal.

INTERIOR

Same story on the inside. It’s still lavish. Or better palatial. But, cumbersome, protruding dash gave way to utter most elegance without losing anything on the front of opulence. And everything is yours, to design it from the ground. How come? Well, you have 15 choices of different leather upholstery, 8 options for veneers, including a dual-veneer feature for the first time multiplying that number, 17 exterior colors and 15 (yes 15!) choices of floor carpets.

source:topspeed.com                                           2018 Bentley Continental GT Interior

And now there is also some neat trickery. Center console has “tripolar” disorder as it can carry 12.3-inch touch screen, some analog dials or simply act as a patch of chosen trimming. The mechanism in charge of performing rotation of special part of the center console has 40 moving components and two separate motors, as simple just don’t go with these echelons.

2018 BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT SPECS

When we said in that first paragraph within the brackets that new Conti is really new we meant it fully. Finally, old underpinnings went to history and new generation lays upon the MSB platform also used by Porsche’s Panamera. So, not just that new model shed some visual weight, actual figures are down by 220 to 286 pounds. Also, we predict that large part of the current ponderous cornering behavior is set on a road without return. And then, Bentley additionally flavored sporty aspirations with the implementation of 8-speed dual clutch automatic over the previous same speed regular unit and stuffed underneath active sway bars as ones used in the Bentayga.

source:topgear.com                                                            2018 Bentley Continental GT Engine

As for brute power? It was never an issue and now there is even more of it. W12 engine (not V but W), strapped with two twin-scroll turbos now pumps out 635 hp (over 50 hp more) and 664 lb-ft of torque (over 130 lb-ft extra) going to all four wheels, which results in 3.6 seconds to 60 mph or seven-tenths less than before. Top speed is at 207 mph or 9 mph up. New engine options will surely follow, including base V8 in the future. If anybody cares, the monstrous engine has cylinder deactivation and there is start/stop feature, which along with other stuff brings down fuel consumption by 16 percent.

2018 BENTLEY CONTINENTAL RELEASE DATE AND PRICE

At the same time as Aston decided to bring a properly fresh product to ultimate GT echelon after many years of neglect, Bentley did it too. Price should stay in the realm of $200k and above (yet to be precisely announced), but it definitely gives more merits than in case of the outgoing model. You have the cash? Good. You can already book your 2018 Bentley Continental GT and delivers are scheduled for the beginning of the next year.

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