Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur gain design updates and power
Bentley's luxury coupe and saloon get minor styling tweaks, cabin upgrades and more power for the Geneva Motor Show
Bentley has announced a raft of updates to its Continental GT and Flying Spur range for the 2015 model year, ahead of the cars debuting in the flesh at next month's Geneva Motor Show. The former gets a small nip-and-tuck to the exterior, while both get an uprated W12 powertrain, interior upgrades and new technology.
The British firm claims the Continental GT facelift is "aimed at sharpening the on-road presence" of the luxury coupe and convertible. They appear to be relatively subtle tweaks, but there is a revised front bumper with smaller air intakes and a new vent insert in the wings. There's revised badging on all models, and at the back a more sculpted bootlid combines with a new rear bumper and diffuser.
New wheel designs and paint colours are available on the GT too, allowing owners to make their cars stand out. Inside, all models get new leather seat patterns, with diamond quilting on the 616bhp GT Speed. Softer hides and extra leather colours are also optional.
The cabin gets new chrome fixtures and black inserts on the centre console, while the instruments get revised dials and graphics, and LED ambient lighting now illuminates more areas. V8 models get a hidden device charging compartment between the rear seats, and the option of a WiFi hotspot is available on all models.
The Continental GT's long-standing W12 engine gets more updates to improve performance and efficiency. Power is boosted from 567bhp to 582bhp, while torque increases by 20Nm to 720Nm. Fuel economy is improved by 5% thanks to the introduction of cylinder deactivation technology, allowing the engine to run on six-cylinders under part-throttle. The mechanicals of the V8 and GT Speed versions remain unchanged.
Unlike the Continental GT, the Flying Spur remains identical on the outside bar some new alloy wheel designs. But it gains similar interior trim and upholstery upgrades, the WiFi tech and its more powerful W12 engine gets the same efficiency updates as the coupe's. We'll see both cars on display at Geneva next month.
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