Does Bentley’s mysterious new model signal the end of the Continental GT?

By Ronan Glon January 4, 2017

2017 Bentley Mulsanne — Ronan Glon/Digital Trends

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing, but Bentley is already looking ahead to the upcoming Geneva Auto Show that opens its doors in early March. The company has published a brief teaser video on its official Twitter account to preview its most extreme model ever.

The film does a good job of keeping the car’s overall design under wraps, but it reveals the yet-unnamed model has been upgraded with a large carbon fiber spoiler out back, carbon fiber air vents integrated into the hood, and specific alloy wheels that hide massive brakes. That’s not a lot to go on, but we can already tell the car is a brawnier evolution of the Continental GT that has been going to the gym.

It’s difficult to imagine Bentley building a lightweight, performance-oriented variant of the Continental GT without making modifications under the hood. Currently, the quickest version of the coupe is the GT Speed, which hits 60 mph from a stop in just 3.9 seconds. It’s equipped with a 6.0-liter W12 engine rated at 633 horsepower and a mighty 620 pound-feet of torque. It’s unclear how much additional power engineers can squeeze out of the 12-cylinder, though putting the GT on a diet will certainly play a large role in boosting performance.

The most extreme Bentley ever… is coming. pic.twitter.com/MiCdu19TYh

— Bentley Motors (@BentleyMotors) January 3, 2017

Of course, this is all idle speculation. The good news is that we won’t have to wait long to learn more about Bentley’s next new model. The car be introduced online this Friday, and it will greet the public for the first time in March at the Geneva show. It will likely be the last variant of the Continental GT, because the coupe will finally be replaced by a brand-new model before the year draws to a close.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

Cars

2025 Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan gets new face, bigger battery

2025 Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan front-quarter view.

The Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan arrived during the 2022 model year as the flagship of Mercedes' EV fleet. But now that it's been on sale for a few years, it's time for this flagship to get a refit so that it can stay competitive with other six-figure electric sedans like the BMW i7, Lucid Air, and Tesla Model S. The updated EQS sedan is scheduled to reach dealerships later this year as a 2025 model.

One of the most controversial features of the EQS has been its unorthodox streamlined shape, which makes the EQS one of the most aerodynamic sedans around, but also means it doesn't look much like a traditional Mercedes. For 2025, the EQS takes a step closer to that traditional look with a new grille featuring chrome bars like on the Mercedes S-Class. It also sports the brand's trademark hood ornament.

Cars

Best electric car charger deals: $100 off home charging stations

The handle of the Grizzl-E EV charger plugged into a vehicle.

A few years ago, electric vehicles were pretty rare or cost a fortune, but with more and more of the larger car brands getting into the game, there are a lot of excellent and even budget-friendly choices nowadays. That said, the electrical network for charging your cars might not be that widespread, so instead you'll have to rely on charging your car at home. Luckily, there are a lot of excellent car chargers at a discount, so if you've just bought an EV or want to upgrade your current charging solution, be sure to check out our favorite deals below.
Shockflo EV charger — $205, was $220

This EV charger by Shockflo is a Level 2 EV charger, which offers six times faster charging than a standard charger. It delivers 24 miles with just one hour of charging, and it can act as a mobile charger you can throw in the trunk or be mounted to a wall. It has an LCD display with useful information like charging rate, voltage, and charging time, as well as LED indicator lights that lets you know charging progress and errors.

Cars

Mercedes-Benz EQG: range, price, release date, and more

Concept image of the larger electric G-Wagon

The G-Class is going electric. We already knew that Mercedes-Benz was working on an electric, small-size G-Wagon, but it looks like the company is also working on a larger G-Class SUV, in the form of the EQG. In fact, Mercedes has gone as far as to show off a concept version of the off-roader.

While there's much we don't know about what will become the production model of the EQG, Mercedes has also shared a lot about it. Curious about whether the Mercedes-Benz EQG could be the EV for you? Here's everything we know so far.
Design
Fear not -- the EQG will retain many of the design aspects of the G-Class that you already know and love but with a modern face-lift. The EQG will keep the boxy design that gives the G-Class a classic look but with some additional modern styling, at least if the concept version is anything to go by.