Here it is, the 2013 Continental GT Speed from Bentley, which now becomes the alpha ‘dawg’ within the marque’s Continental GT range, possessing 616bhp and 800Nm of twist from its 6.0L twin-turbo W12 engine mated to a ZF 8-speed close-ratio automatic transmission that’ll send you straight to 100kmh in 4.0s and onwards to a top speed of 330kmh!
The GT Speed’s 6.0L twin-turbo W12 engine has been infused with the latest ME17 engine management system that’s capable of performing 180 million individual calculations per second, allowing it to become up to 12% more frugal on fuel consumption with an 8.3km/L fuel economy rating, that is until you put it into Sport Mode, where everything gets sharpened up, especially throttle control where you get to feed the W12 engine with a lot more fuel.
The new GT Speed’s ZF 8-speed close ratio automatic transmission is capable of “Block Shifting”, which allows the gearbox to shift directly down by 4 gears that’s sure to send pulses running sky-high as quickly as the W12’s revs, and feeds all that 800Nm of torque to a permanent all-wheel-drive (AWD) that splits up the power, sending 60% to the rear and 40% to the front to help the driver minimise understeer during hard cornering by varying torque between the front and rear axles for optimum grip.
But what enjoyment is there when you’ve got all that power. Lets face it, straight-line speed can get boring quite quickly – it’s the corners that keep us smiling all the time, which is why the GT Speed’s suspension has been revised for a stiffer ride with stiffer anti-roll bars and bushes for a more communicative handling as well as to reduce the rock and roll and increase the agility and body control. There’s even a self-levelling system (Continuous Damping Control – CDC) that constantly monitors ride-height and damping according to road conditions, and can even lower the car by as much as 10mm. Steering and suspension control systems have also been recalibrated.
The GT Speed’s Electronic Stability Control has been optimised to allow for greater driver involvement, which allows for greater wheel-slippage at higher speeds but once it intervenes, engine torque is almost instantly reinstated, allowing the driver to carry on without having to feel restrained. ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Hydraulic Brake Assistance, Drag Torque Control and aquaplane detection are all fitted as standard.
But there’s always a point where you’ll need a huge amount of stopping power, which is why the the GT Speed has been outfitted with a set of cast-iron 405mm diameter front and 335mm rear ventilated brake discs and eight-piston callipers.
But if that’s not enough, there’s an optional upgrade that provide a 20kg weight savings and comes in the form of a 420mm front / 356mm rear cross-drilled Carbon Silicon-Carbide (CSiC) discs. Bentley says, the CSiC discs will provide fade-free performance and can last the lifetime of the car under normal driving conditions, while brake pad life is doubled.
With such stopping capabilities dialled in, the GT Speed envelopes those large discs with a set of 21” ten-spoke alloy rims draped your choice of bright paint or dark tint finishes and finally wrapped by 275/35 tyres.
The GT Speed’s body panels utilises extremely durable aerospace-grade 5083 aluminium alloy, something that the space shuttle’s liquid oxygen tank uses simply because it doesn’t expand and contract like most metals do and has remarkable resistance to saline corrosion, making it highly durable and resistant to rusting over the vehicle’s lifespan.
All that toughness on the exterior does well to protect the hand-crafted interior that features the use of supple leathers, polished veneers and cool-touch metals for an exceptional cabin quality. All seats can also feature diamond-quilted, perforated leather hides, door trims and rear quarter panels, with the cabin headlining finished in indented leather hide and optional embroidered Bentley emblems can be specified for the headrests.
There are 17 different hide colours to choose from with an option of dictating your cabin’s dual-tone colour split and contrast stitching throughout – including the steering wheel.
As for in-car-entertainment (ICE), the GT Speed will have an 8” touchscreen with a 30Gb on-board Infotainment system integrated with Satellite Navigation (uses both hard-disc and DVD player to access route data), telephone, ride and comfort settings as well as navigation information. Music can be played and controlled directly from an iPod® as well as from a six-disc CD changer, SD card reader or directly from the car’s hard-disc drive, which has dedicated 15GB for audio storage.
Last but not least, the GT Speed’s 8-speaker sound system uses the latest Balanced Mode Radiator technology, which is uniquely compact and flat, yet able to offer exceptional sound clarity over a rather wide range of frequency. But if that wasn’t enough, there exists an optional upgrade to an 11-speaker system designed specifically and exclusively by British audiophiles Naim for Bentley.
