Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Bentley, Luxury
First we found out about it, then we saw it at Pebble Beach, and now we've got the full skinny on the 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed. There's more to the crown prince king of the Continental GT range than its 616 horsepower, 590 pound-feed, eight-speed transmission, 205-mph top speed and four-second run from zero to 60.
The W12 engine has been fitted with an energy recuperation system that optimizes the use of the electrical system and alternator - during deceleration, for instance, energy is stored for use later. It's a feature that has spread to all members of the GT line along with the eight-speed transmission, and combined with new engine management software, the result is an improvement of up to 12 percent in fuel economy for all but the GTC droptop, which improves by 10 percent. The hardtop GT line now returns a combined 19.5 mpg, the convertible gets a combined 19 mpg even.
It's not all about conservation, though: when you want to get on it, the eight-speed can "block shift" four gears, going instantly from eighth to fourth for quicker giddyup. Making the most of that speed is the revised steering and reworked suspension with stiffer springs, anti-roll bars and bushings, guided by new software. The exhaust is an evolution of that used on the Continental Supersports Ice Speed Record car, producing a deeper sound under acceleration. Bringing the proceedings to a stop are huge iron discs with eight-piston calipers, or even huger carbon discs said to last for the life of the car.
To know more, have a read of the press release below, or enjoy the deep blue details in the high-res photo gallery.
Continue reading Bentley releases full specs, new images of Continental GT Speed [w/video]
Bentley releases full specs, new images of Continental GT Speed [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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