Continental GT Speed is Bentley's Fastest Car

There have been performance versions of the Continental GT before, butnone quite like the brand new 2008 Continental GT Speed. Inspiration for this faster model is said to come from the Bentley Speed Six from 1923, a vehicle which set the pace for the prestigious British brand.

As its name suggests, speed is a big part of the upgrades that this burly coupe receives. The displacement in its 6.0-liter W12 engine hasn’t gone up, but horsepower and torque have, rising by 9-percent to 600 hp, and by a whopping 15-percent of torque to 553 lb-ft. That’s a whole heck of a lot of power, even for a vehicle of this size and stature, and more than plenty to slingshot it to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds (a savings of 0.4 seconds per trip), and on to a top speed of 202 mph, which is 4 mph higher than it was in the non-Speed version. And that, ladies and gents, makes the Bentley Continental GT Speed the fastest Bentley ever produced for the road. The engine ratings on the standard Continental GT still remain, though.

But the more powerful engine isn’t the only thing that Bentley has done to make it worth of the Speed moniker. All Continental coupes have gone on a bit of diet, which resulted in the loss of 77 pounds. This being a Bentley, the usual discarding of sound-deadening insulation couldn’t be done, so its engineers focused on reducing the weight in other ways, such as using lighter materials in the suspension and a revised cooling system. An extra 44 pounds can be removed by opting for the carbon-ceramic brakes. Shaving weight also has other benefits, such as a reduction in CO2 emissions (from 660 to 637 g/mi) and better fuel economy.

To give the Continental Speed the upper hand when it comes to cornering, Bentley modified the car’s standard air suspension by lowering it 0.4 inch in the front and 0.6 inch in the back, and has installed thicker anti-swaybars to suppress body roll. Another new feature designed to improve its ability to claw its way around curves is a new Dynamic setting on the ESP stability control.

The Speed version will be launched in Frankfurt alongside the slightly updated regular Continental GT, both of which feature a new lower bumper with wider air intake, a new dark chrome grille and handsome new 20-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli tires. Inside, all new Continentals get a three-spoke steering wheel that replaces the old one that was borrowed from the Phaeton/Touareg, but aside from that, everything else is as it’s always been.

These changes, especially the new Speed model should help keep the Continental at the top of the heap in the ultra-luxury grand touring coupe segment. Production of the new Continental GT will begin this August.