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Bentley gives Continental the plug as facelift model debuts
Replacing the W12, the first hybrid Continental in the moniker's 22 year history also becomes its most powerful ever.
Subtle changes have taken place, despite Bentley billing the facelift as in fact an all-new generation. Image: Bentley
Its most recent addition having been the drop-top version of the Batur that farewelled the long-serving 6.0-litre W12 engine, Bentley has taken the wraps off of the facelift Continental that also becomes a hybrid for the first time.
Evolutionary looks
Showcased in both GT coupe and convertible GTC guises, the Continental, though billed as the fourth generation and not an update of the third unveiled in 2018, receives both exterior and interior touches from the Batur and Bacalar in addition to the new powerplant.
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Continuing to share its MSB platform with the Flying Spur and Porsche Panamera, the Continental’s exterior tweaks are subtle, but easy to spot in the shape of new Matrix LED headlights said to have been inspired from the S2 of 1959, a restyled bumper and grille, and a slightly revised bonnet.
Riding on newly designed tinted and polished 22-inch alloy wheels with a silver or black finish, Bentley has also redesigned the rear bumper and bootlid, while fitting slimmer LED light clusters still appearing similar to the pre-facelift GT and GTC.
In the case of the latter, the fabric roof offers a choice of seven colours and according to Bentley, can be opened and closed in 19 seconds at speeds up to 48 km/h.
New underneath
Residing underneath its exterior, the inclusion of the hybrid system, in the form of a plug-in hybrid, has seen Bentley revise the twin-valve damper air suspension and its electronic control unit to provide what it claims “better body control during compression and rebound directional changes”.
Along with the reprogramming of the Electronic Stability Control system and the 48-volt Dynamic Ride active anti-roll bars, the torque vectoring system, rear-wheel steering and electronic limited slip differential have all been retuned or overhauled to compensate for the electric motor and battery pack.
Unchanged are the choice of braking systems, the standard being a 10-piston caliper at the front and four at the rear setup with disc sizes of 420 mm and 380 mm, and the option a coated in carbon silicon carbide set-up with respective disc diameters of 440 mm and 410 mm.
Minor interior changes
More minor are the changes inside where the Rotating Display 12.3-inch infotainment system remains, along with the 30 colour ambient lighting system.
In fact, the main inclusions are a new quilted upholstery pattern on the seats, dark chrome finishes for the door handles and switches, and a choice of three sound systems; the standard 650-watt 10-speaker, a 16-speaker, 1 500-wattt Bang & Olufsen and the 18-speaker Naim with so-called Active Bass Transduce pumping-out 2 200-watts.
Speed means hybrid
Unsurprisingly, the main focus involves the plug-in hybrid powertrain that replaces the W12 as the solitary option for the Continental GT and GTC.
Combining the Volkswagen Group’s familiar twin-turbo 4.0 TSI V8 with a 25.9-kWh battery pack driving a 140kW/450Nm electric motor on the rear axle, the combined outputs totals 575kW/1 000Nm.
The first Continental to deliver more than 1 000 Nm of torque, which warrants the newcomer carrying the Speed designation from the start, both the GT and GTC will get from 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds before reaching a top speed of 335 km/h.
As ever, drive is routed to all four wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The claimed all-electric range is 81 km with Bentley reporting a waiting time of two hours 45 min using the on-board 11 kW charger.
Providing seating for four regardless of the roof choice, the emissions-free driving takes place up to 140 km/h, though four new driving modes are present; EV, EV Boost, Regen and Charge.
Not yet confirmed
Its outputs also making it the most powerful Continental ever since the nameplate’s revival in 2002, Continental GT and GTC Speed will officially enter production at the Crewe plant in the third quarter of the year.
For now, South African market availability remains unknown.
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