2012 Bentley Continental GT with a little fresh bodywork

One of the neatest little features of the 2012 Bentley Continental GT is a sunglass case that fits over the top of the cupholders in the center console, which helps disguise their presence.
Like the Supersports models, the all-wheel-drive Continental GT has a 40/60 front/rear torque bias and more positive gear changes, thanks to the torque-converter 6-speed automatic having programming taken directly from the sporty Supersports’ Speedshift gearbox.

The Bentley Continental GT returns in 2012 with slightly refreshed bodywork, more dynamic handling, improved comfort, more rear-seat legroom and up-to-date electronics. Like an aging Hollywood star, the 2012 Bentley Continental GT has "had a little work done."

The four-passenger 2012 Bentley Continental GT comes in one very well-appointed trim level. Standard features include 20-inch alloy wheels, automatic xenon headlights, LED running lights, heated outside mirrors, front and rear parking sensors, a power trunk lid, heated 10-way power front seats with memory functions and four-way lumbar adjustment, a power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, premium leather upholstery, wood veneer trim and Bluetooth. The Mulliner Driving Specification package includes special 21-inch wheels and unique leather and interior trim.

Initially, the 2012 Bentley Continental GT will be powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 engine that produces 567 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque -- an increase of 15 hp and 37 lb-ft over the previous model. The GT's updated all-wheel-drive system features a 40:60 rear-torque bias to the rear wheels for performance-minded drivers. The 2012 Bentley Continental GT comes standard with stability control, traction control, antilock brakes with brake assist, side airbags for all seats and driver knee airbags.

There's also a three-spoke steering wheel to replace the predecessor's four-spoke item. From supple leathers to rich wood veneers, the interior lives up to the GT's rather exorbitant price tag. Front seat comfort is excellent, but the rear seats may draw criticism from adult-sized passengers.

All of that thrust, however, is tempered by the 2012 Bentley Continental GT's portly 5,000-pound curb weight. The 2012 Bentley Continental GT's forte is in those last two letters.
Redesigned for 2012, the all-wheel drive Bentley Continental GT coupe's styling updates include a more upright matrix radiator grille, a "double horseshoe" rear profile, unique jewelled headlamps with LED daytime-running lights, 20-inch aluminum wheels, and an all-new handcrafted interior. 21-inch aluminum wheels are available in chrome and painted finishes.
An 11-speaker Naim for Bentley system, created exclusively for the Continental GT by British specialists Naim, employs Dirac Dimensions digital signal processing.

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2011 Bentley Continental Flying Spur

The standard Bentley Continental Flying Spur features a more upright grille and bolder lower air intake, while the new rear bumper delivers a more aggressive and sleek appearance.

The double-glazed windows, a standard feature since launch, now feature a sophisticated acoustic laminate inner layer for all side and rear windows. High-performance 'Speed' edition
Like its GT coupe counterpart, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur can now be ordered in Speed guise. Inspired by Bentley's legendary Speed models that first appeared in 1923, the Flying Spur Speed offers a range of headline performance figures including a 0-60 mph sprint time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph.

Added grip comes from the 9.5Jx20 multi-spoke alloy wheels with bespoke Pirelli P-Zero UHP performance tires.

The Bentley Flying Spur Speed is distinguished by subtle design cues which emphasize its performance credentials, including dark-tinted radiator and air intake grilles, wider rifled exhaust tail pipes and unique 20-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels.

Background
The Flying Spur was introduced for the 2006 model year. Bentley also decided to update the Flying Spur's electronic stability program and offer optional carbon ceramic brakes should owners try and test that 195 mph top speed. The standard Spur's engine offers 552 horsepower at 6,100 rpm and 479 lb-ft of torque at 1,600 rpm. Standard equipment on the Spur includes twin HID headlights with washer jets, 19-inch alloy wheels, a tire pressure monitoring system, cruise control, keyless entry and ignition, rain-sensing windshield wipers and a choice of 16 colors. The front seats feature lumbar massage, memory and heat settings. The rear seat's outer occupants enjoy lumbar massage and heating settings as well.

Awaiting its 2012 model-year update, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur is back for 2011 and in showrooms, largely carried over from 2010.

The Flying Spur still looks contemporary, if more sedate than the Conti GT that shares its architecture. Inside, the Flying Spur's dual-binnacle dash is dressed in walnut or chestnut veneers, all precisely hand-cut and matched to create a mirror-image grain symmetry. A twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W-12 engine channels 552 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque in the Spur. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur exudes refinement and sophistication in its driving experience. Strong, silent, and fast, the Spur quietly glides over road imperfections and is unruffled at 100-mph-plus speeds. The steering's without much sensation, but the Spur is incredibly stable at speed.

Like the Continental GT coupe, the Continental Flying Spur has all-wheel drive.

New for 2011
A Series 51 model allows customers to customize exterior and interior colors and features.

Exterior
Though a sedan, the Continental Flying Spur closely matches the appearance of the Continental GT coupe. Exterior features include:
Upright chrome grille
Large lower air intakes
19-inch wheels
Interior features include:
Available Naim 1,100-watt amplifier
Available backseat DVD system
Twin-turbo 6.0-liter W-12 engine produces 552 hp and 479 pounds-feet of torque
Adjustable air suspension

Safety
Standard safety equipment includes:
Eight airbags, including full-length side curtain airbags and side-impact airbags for both front and rear occupants
Electronic stability system
Continental Flying Spur Speed
Introduced in 2009, this package gives the Flying Spur a boost in power and an upgrade in ride and handling, along with a few exterior features.
Ride height lowered 10 millimeters versus standard Continental Flying Spur
20-inch multispoke alloy wheels

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2011 Bentley Continental Supersports

2011 Bentley Continental Supersports gains a new convertible stablemate (reviewed separately) but the coupe returns unchanged.

The 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports seems trapped between two disparate worlds. Furthermore, it's fairly likely that the next Continental Supersports will adopt many of the 2012 Continental GT's improvements.

The 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports is a two-seat high-performance version of the Continental GT coupe that is offered in a single well-appointed trim level.

There are fewer options available on the lightweight, performance-oriented Supersports compared to the regular GT.

The 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports is powered by a 6.0-liter W12 that produces a whopping 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. All-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic transmission are standard. In Edmunds performance testing, the Supersports hit 60 mph from a standstill in 3.8 seconds on its way to its stated top speed of 204 mph. Standard safety features for the Continental Supersports include antilock carbon-ceramic disc brakes, stability and traction control, and side curtain airbags.

Seat issues aside, the Supersports' interior is as beautifully made as any other Bentley.
Tipping the scales at approximately 5,000 pounds, the 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports is no featherweight.

The trouble with the 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible is that it doesn't look like an exotic high-performance car.

"The idea of a Bentley is not either-or," says Franz-Joseph Paefgen, Bentley's chairman and CEO. The zero to 60 miles an hour acceleration time is 3.9 seconds, according to Bentley's tests, and the top speed is 202 miles an hour. Twin turbochargers force-feed cubic acres of air into the cylinders to produce the engine's 590 pounds-feet of torque.

The rear-biased all-wheel drive is automatic and unobtrusive. The convertible top is multilayered fabric, which avoids a trend among some other luxury cars whose convertibles have folding metal tops. But the Bentley people say their customers prefer soft tops because it demonstrates conclusively that they can afford both a convertible and a hard top coupe. The company’s research shows that, on average, Bentley buyers keep their cars only about 18 months.

With its exotic engineering, the Bentley Supersports has only a few negatives in addition to its hefty price tag. With the introduction of the Supersports convertible, Bentley now has a full sports-car house. There are three hard tops and three convertibles in GT, GT Speed and Supersports versions.

The Supersports is the extreme Bentley convertible, offering a highly focussed, pure Bentley driving experience. The Continental Supersports Convertible further strengthens Bentley’s supercar range, following the introduction of the Continental Supersports Coupé in 2009. The new Supersports Convertible, with the same 630PS (621bhp/463kW) twin-turbocharged W12 engine, is the fastest, most potent drop top Bentley has ever built, offering the ultimate Bentley driving experience in the world’s most dramatic convertible.

“The new Supersports Convertible blends thrilling performance and dramatic styling with luxury and practicality in the Bentley open-top tradition. Extreme power combines with pioneering FlexFuel technology, now shared with all Continental models, reflecting Bentley’s ongoing commitment to more environmental motoring.”

The new Continental Supersports Convertible is a car that must be driven to be fully understood. A highly focussed, pure Bentley driving experience

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2011 Bentley's Continental GTC

2011 Bentley's Continental GTC is the convertible version of the automaker's Continental GT coupe. A performance model, called GTC Speed, debuted in 2009. Exterior features include:

Interior
The GTC can seat up to four people on front and rear bucket seats, though the rear seats would likely only be comfortable for children.

Continental GTC Speed
The twin-turbo W-12 can go from zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and reach a maximum
More substantively, the 2011 Conti gets a boost in horsepower from its 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 engine, hitting 567 horsepower and 516 pound-feet. To keep that power in the right place, the rear track is wider, front-to-rear bias of the all-wheel-drive system is now 40/60 front-to-rear, and the coefficient of drag has been reduced to 0.33. 0-60 mph? Top speed? 198 mph.

Joining that are a sleeker dash, climate-controlled "Cobra" seats sculpted to provide more rear legroom, and leather-lined door pouches with water bottle holders. It's everything the current Continental GT is.

When the last-generation Continental GT debuted in 2003, it proved surprisingly popular—not because the grand touring coupe wasn’t exceptional, but because it wasn’t cheap.

The Continental GT is not only a modern icon, it’s also largely responsible for changing the image of the brand from stodgy to sporting. (A small percentage of the population knows that Bentley won Le Mans in 2003, a much larger percentage knows about Bentley because of its top seller.)

The message behind these changes has carried over into the car’s performance, which has improved due to three key factors: more engine, less weight, more refinement.

While the twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W12 engine of the original model was powerful (406 kW; 649 Nm), the new version is even more so (423 kW; 700 Nm). A quick blast along the desert roads of Oman proved that the new Continental GT represents a marked improvement. The revised 6-speed automatic transmission shifts gears in half the time, giving the Bentley a distinctly racier feeling compared to the original (although it’s still no dual-clutch speedster.)

The top speed claim could not be verified—at 210 km/h, a message on the instrument panel warned that the tires weren’t properly inflated for such speeds. It turns out that the technicians had prepared the coupe for comfortable touring not edge-of-your-seat drag racing.

The all-wheel drive system now features a basic 40/60 torque split (front/rear), which has carried over from the outgoing, high-performance Continental Supersports model. Of course, the traction control system varies the torque distribution if it detects wheel slippage at the back. As an everyday driver, the Continental GT is definitely more than a little intimidating: It’s big, it’s fast and it’s expensive. The Continental GT is a true 2+2 coupe, meaning that the back seat is suitable only for small children.

The front seats were also made lighter, in part by moving the seat-belt mechanism to the car’s B-pillar. The seats are sporty and supportive.

All things considered, the Continental GT is a more mature, higher-performing and more engaging version of its predecessor.

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The New Bentley Bontinental GTC 2011

The New Continental GT 2011 is one of Bentley's sexiest machines ever, and the brand's best-selling model. Granted, the nearly two-inch-wider track (65.51 inches front/65.15 inches rear) and standard 20-inch, five-spoke wheels (21-inch optional) also add to the effect. (The logo's wings are a longstanding Conti design flourish, stemming from the 1950 R-Type Continental.) Also shaped in Mulsanne fashion are the car's skinny, elliptical chrome exhaust tips, which expel the fumes created by the twin-turbocharged, 567-horsepower 6.0-liter W-12.

No other car in the premium sports car segment offers such a dichotomy of luxury and performance.

Power lines streak from front to back, accentuating the body like a finely pressed suit. Aluminum Super Forming heats body panels to 500° Celsius, eliminating the need for spot welding on the front wing panels and trunk lid. Flared elliptical tailpipes are chromed while the rear Bentley signature “floating” LED lamps extend around the corner accentuating size and stance.
At its core, Bentley has designed a sports coupe of the highest magnitude. Power stems from a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W12 engine. Steering wheel mounted paddle-shifters allow for rapid transition between gears. Mated to a 6-speed ZF Quickshift automatic transmission, it takes only 4.4 seconds to reach 60 mph. Additional performance figures indicate passing times of 1.7 seconds from 30-50 mph and 2.9 seconds from 50-75 mph. Top speed is set at 198 mph.
Speed is not the only factor propelling the new Bentley Continental GT to the top of its class. Continuous damping aids performance; the ride is supple yet tight with very little lean or body roll even at high speeds.

Standard wheel sizes are 20-inch 5-spoke aluminum alloys with two 21-inch Elegant and split-rim Sports variations optional. Large 405 mm (16-in.) front and 335 mm (13.2-in.) rear ventilated disc brakes bring the new Continental GT to a rapid and controlled stop. Optional 420 mm (16.5-in.) front and 356 mm (14-in.) rear cross-drilled carbon ceramic brakes supply the best stopping power.

Soft-touch leather is placed throughout the hand-crafted cabin. Rear seats are surprisingly comfortable, even for those over six-feet tall and a center armrest offers storage and rear ventilation adjustment. The 2011 Bentley Continental GT will offer the 6.0 W12 engine as its only source of power at launch. Worldwide sales for the original Bentley Continental topped 45,000 units since its introduction in 2003. A lofty achievement in the premium sports coupe segment, the 2011 Bentley Continental GT seems poised and capable to take the lead once more.

The 2011 Bentley Continental GT is just the second generation of the blockbuster coupe that rumbled ashore eight years ago. 0-60 mph? Top speed? 198 mph.

It's everything the current Continental GT is. For Crewe's design and engineering teams, the new Continental GT coupe is an opportunity to set a bold and exciting direction for one of Bentley's most revered names – the Continental.

Now the new Continental GT 4-seat coupe builds on the success of its iconic predecessor, capturing that GT spirit but with even higher standards of design, engineering, luxury, craftsmanship, dynamic performance, everyday practicality and refinement. The contemporary interior offers new levels of cabin design, comfort and hand-crafted luxury. This advanced power unit will deliver a 40 percent reduction in emissions compared with the W12 engine and will offer a class-leading CO2 emissions-to-power ratio with Bentley levels of performance and refinement.

Both engines are coupled to an all-wheel drive system with a sporty 40:60 rear-torque bias (compared with the 50:50 bias of the original Continental GT), minimising understeer during hard cornering and allowing the experienced driver to control the car's line and balance via precise throttle control. - Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman and Chief Executive

"The new GT coupe interior combines form, practicality and innovation. The Continental GT's new infotainment system also provides the ultimate in in-car audio entertainment. An eight-speaker sound system is offered as standard employing the latest Balanced Mode Radiator technology. An 11-speaker Naim for Bentley system – created exclusively for the Continental GT by British audiophiles Naim – employs revolutionary Dirac Dimensions ™ digital signal processing. At launch, the new Continental GT coupe is powered by the latest evolution of Bentley's acclaimed 12-cylinder, 6-litre twin-turbocharged engine, now calibrated to provide even greater performance, thanks to increases in power, torque and fuel efficiency.

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2011 Bentley Mulsanne Reviews

2011 Bentley Mulsanne.
Bentley describes the Mulsanne’s design as a “unique fusion of sportiness, coachbuilt elegance, and solidity.” Six inches longer than the Arnage but similar in height and width, the Mulsanne is indeed flagship-sized. The base wheels are 20 inches in diameter, and two 21-inch variants are optional, the latter wrapped in 265/40 series Pirelli P Zeros like the ones found on Bentley’s Speed variants.

Arguably the most important part of any luxury car is its interior, and the Mulsanne’s is both loaded with modern technology and lined in traditional luxury. A Naim for Bentley premium audio system is available as an option, complete with 20 speakers, eight DSP modes, and—get this—a 2200-watt in-car amplifier. “It will be priced at the pinnacle of the ultra-luxury segment,” said a Bentley insider.

It harnesses near-absolute power in the form of a big, low-revving V-8 engine, swaths of wood and leather and real chrome, and elegant proportions, staking its claim as one of the finest four-doors on the planet.

According to Bentley executives, the 2011 Mulsanne is "a big, heavy car, and unashamedly so." The engine is a 6.75-liter V-8 engine, which drives the rear wheels through a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. When pushed, the engine noise is a muted roar, and the Mulsanne gathers speed swiftly but almost discreetly. Details matter inside the Mulsanne.

TheCarConnection focuses on reviewing mass-market vehicles. Our sister site MotorAuthority covers the world of luxury and performance vehicles--and they've filed this first drive of the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne.

The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne is the best car for you if you desire the latest in automotive luxury and status – and are only peripherally concerned about what it costs.

The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne is the magnificent new flagship from the marque second only to Rolls-Royce as Britain’s best-known purveyor of sumptuous motorcars. Should you wait for the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne or redecorate the cottage on Martha’s Vineyard?

The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne styling builds on the tradition of classic Bentleys and manages to look both extravagant and tasteful. Present is the upright Bentley crosshatch grille, long bonnet (hood to us Yanks), and sweeping rear overhang. Bentley employs aerospace technology called superforming to shape the complex aluminum front fenders. Dimensionally, the Mulsanne is assertive. An entire Mini Cooper would just about fit within the Mulsanne’s 128.6-inch wheelbase.

The "2011 Mulsanne" symbolizes a sort of closure to a confusing Bentley odyssey. It’s the first car designed and built purely as a Bentley since the 1930s. Volkswagen took over Bentley in 1998, and the smaller, highly successful Bentley Continental series launched in 2004 was based on VW’s Phaeton sedan. Bentley acknowledges VW’s financial backing in the creation of the Mulsanne. The origins of Mulsanne’s 6.8-liter V-8 can be traced to classic Bentley V-8s of that displacement. Torque is the force that does the heavy lifting during acceleration and the Bentley ideal is seemingly effortless torque. Unlike the all-wheel-drive Continental series, the 2011 Mulsanne is strictly rear-wheel drive to preserve styling objectives and a certain Bentley driving feel. Standard wheels are fulsome 20-inch alloys; 21s are optional.

The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne features story is one of opulence and opportunity. “Our customers are individualists,” Bentley sales and marketing chief Stuart McCullough says. A 40 GB hard disc drives the navigation functions and the standard 14-speaker audio system, which includes USB iPod interface and Bluetooth connectivity.

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