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Bentley’s venerable Continental GT and Flying Spur get a styling and tech refresh

It’s hard to believe the Bentley Continental range has been on sale mostly unchanged for over a decade. Bentley has managed to keep the cars relevant with periodic updates, but even the last round of those was in 2011.

At the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, Bentley will unveil yet another refresh of the Continental GT coupe and convertible, and the Flying Spur sedan.

All models will still be recognizable, but that does include some styling changes. They include a new front fascia and grille, more sculpted fenders and trunk lid, and a rear diffuser for the sportier Continental GT V8 S and GT Speed.

The Continental also jumps on the fender-vent bandwagon, with a little extra bling that blends with a character line coming off the front wheel well. There are also several new 20- and 21-inch wheel designs for buyers to choose from.

The two engine choices will remain a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 and a 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W12. In most models, the latter gets a boost in power, from 567 horsepower to 582, and from 516 pound-feet of torque to 531.

Bentley won’t say if that extra power improves performance, but it does claim the revised engine will return five-percent better fuel economy thanks to cylinder deactivation.

That system is also available on the Flying Spur sedan, although power output for its version of the W12 remains unchanged at 616 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque.

On the inside, Bentley says all of the driver controls have been redesigned to be more ergonomic. There’s also new LED lighting, a rear storage compartment with charging for smartphones and tablets, and available in-car Wi-Fi.

The updated Bentley Continental GT, and Flying Spur will debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show March 3. Deliveries will begin this summer, meaning these will probably be considered 2016 models.

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Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
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