2016 Bentley Continental GT Speed / GT V8 S coupe
They came apparently all of a sudden. About 2800 feet above ocean level and hours from the closest city of result, a gathering of roughly four-dozen camera-employing vacationers of arbitrary nationalities spun on their heels and started to snap pictures of, well, us. The way that we landed at this Norwegian peak disregard in an armada of sweet tinted 2016 Bentley Continental GT roadsters may have added to their happiness. In spite of the fact that we in the press are known for our attractive profiles and etched constitutions, it's difficult to contend with the global dialect of drive, also faultless paintwork and Bentley's stately Big B logo. While the consideration was not so much surprising, that the voyagers so quickly walked out on a brilliant showcase of Mother Nature's finest cold carvings for a photograph operation with an auto says a lot. No one was maneuvering for
prime photograph land around the Ford Kuga stopped alongside us.
prime photograph land around the Ford Kuga stopped alongside us.
Norwegian Woods
Our day started a couple of hours prior close Alesund, a vigorously forested group situated on a rough incline normal of western Norway. Given the apparently frosty pace at which changes go to the Continental GT, it was a fitting district to make a big appearance the most recent round of upgrades.
Another front guard with a reexamined lower network pair with a somewhat littler radiator encompass and new, more maintained bumpers for what Bentley calls a more "decisive position." While we concur, it's of our sentiment that the impact takes a gander at home when combined with the more outgoing hues—like the Monaco Yellow on the V8 S imagined here—than with hues chose from the conventional Bentley palette. (All things considered, Bentley might want to advise you that it will readily shading match any shade known not human eye.) Chrome bumper identifications, as already seen just on the GT Speed, now show up on the bumpers of the V8 S and W12 as restorative upgrades. The back of the auto gets to a great extent the same treatment, the reshaped guard getting a full-length segment of brightwork, and the composite decklid has been reshaped with a somewhat more maintained profile to the trailing edge. To keep the pecking request sorted, the V8 S and the GT Speed get an alternate back diffuser treatment. Some new wheel decisions land for 2016, including the 21-inch five-talked directional compounds found on the GT Speed we drove.
In spite of the fact that the inside has likewise been subjected to a round of minor overhauls—a modified sewing design in the seats, LED enlightenment, new dials and illustrations on the instrument board, bigger gearshift paddles, and extra USB ports, all standard—you shouldn't be amazed to discover that it stays consistent with its fundamental men's-clubroom goals. Cowhide flourishes, punctuated by bits of chrome and either carbon fiber or wood, and the control design is unaltered. A sportier controlling wheel gets on as a choice, as does locally available Wi-Fi network for $1330. Mulliner Driving Specification brings a one of a kind, "little jewel" sewing example to the seats, and the GT W12 and GT Speed models can be equipped with supersoft semi-aniline cowhide for the august entirety of $3200; how, precisely, Bentley figures out which bovines are the mildest remains a competitive innovation.
VIEW PHOTOS
From the Midnight Sun Where the Hot Springs Blow
For the principal segment of the drive, we chose a Continental GT Speed shrouded in a dull tint known as "Ghost." Whether Bentley picked the name as an official reference to Ian Fleming supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld is begging to be proven wrong, yet it absolutely fills the role well. What we can affirm, in any case, is that the torque swell from the 626-hp twin-turbo 6.0-liter W-12 stays as appealing as ever, each of the 607 lb-ft of torque on obligation at 2000 rpm. Perpetual all-wheel drive performs tactfully out of sight, doling out torque as required (regularly split 40/60 front/back, variable from 15/85 to 65/35 as conditions direct). The resultant quickening gives a false representation of the GT Speed's 5100-pound control weight, with 60 mph touching base in an asserted 4.0 seconds. Extra industrial facility execution figures have 100 mph going in an asserted 9.0 seconds and a top pace of 206 mph. From the long, straight go of the quickening agent (we like!) and the delicate ish brake pedal (don't care for such a great amount), to the rate touchy electric force directing (like alright) and damped yet exact development of the movement paddles (beyond any doubt, why not?), the controls move as though they are mounted with bushings made of a balance of collapsing money, Beluga caviar, and human tissue removed from Barry White's larynx.
At the finish of the improvised peak photograph session, we slipped into the yellow GT V8 S. Furnished with Bentley's "Amplified Sports Specification" unit ($19,180—yes, truly), our auto had the carbon-earthenware eight-cylinder front brakes, sports fumes, and carbon-fiber inside bits, settling on it the best decision for the once-over Norway's scandalous Trollstigen Mountain Road, a lace of single-path asphalt cut out of the side of a precipice. Botches made here could have grave outcomes. Despite the fact that the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 produces "just" 521 strength, each of the 502 lb-ft of torque are accessible at a low 1700 rpm, which gave the eight-speed ZF programmed gearbox a breather amid the twisty plummet. Short straight chutes were recognized with impacts of the throttle, trailed by braking hard for corners and afterward downshifting—the transmission will give you a chance to skip gears downshifting—to drift against motor back weight and inspire some upbeat clamor from the tailpipes. Down a quartet of chambers, the V8 S surrenders just three-tenths, Bentley says, to the W12 Speed in the zero-to-60 quantify, checking in at 4.3 seconds; zero to 100 mph is an alternate story, the V8 S taking 10.3 seconds to do what the W-12–powered GT can do in only 9.0 seconds (once more, industrial facility figures). Despite the fact that said to be lighter over the front wheels by just 57 pounds, the V8 S had the best controlling feel and reaction. The air suspension makes a reasonable showing with regards to of keeping the body on a level while at the same time segregating the harshest wheel sways. You'll always remember that it's a major auto—that it handles and additionally it does is a demonstration of stubborn building diligence.
With a base cost of $214,425, our Continental GT V8 S wore $44,020 in alternatives (amplified paint, $5715; yellow sewing, $1980; false calfskin main event, $1200; Naim for Bentley sound, $7595; and numerous, some more). Last count? A cool $258,445.
VIEW PHOTOS
This Bird Has Flown
The greatest news in Continental GT area can be found in the engine of the most person on foot 12-chamber. Looking for upgrades in mileage and emanations, Bentley has added chamber deactivation to the twin-turbo W-12. (The V-8 has had it for a considerable length of time; the W-12 in GT Speed trim doesn't get barrel deactivation.) According to Bentley, the Continental GT W12 indents a five-percent change in consolidated efficiency, despite the fact that the EPA joined rating of 15 mpg is precisely the same earned by the past W12. Be that as it may, emanations were allegedly lessened. Best of all, including chamber deactivation required remapping of the ECU, and in the process Bentley collected an extra 15 pull and 15 lb-ft of torque, which now remain at 582 and 531, individually.
As you may expect, investing energy with the GT W12 subsequent to driving the past two autos was not exactly an impactful ordeal: The weight, the inside peacefulness, the perfect fit and complete were all present in spades. The variable-uprooting framework continued on ahead without show or less than ideal hiccups, and if our handlers hadn't educated us about it we likely could never have seen its nearness.
While these autos handle well, "fresh" is no place in their vocabulary, and Bentley stays empathic that the Continental GT is a genuine fantastic tourer and "not a games auto." But rather for the individuals who want an expansive car with great styling, a cossetting inside, and pace to save, the Bentley stays cheerful to oblige.