Bentley Continental GT Speed gets more power

The Bentley Continental GT Speed has never been accused of being a slouch when it comes to power -- bluntly incorporating "Speed" in its name -- but it seems the company's engineers believed there was still room for improvement. And so, for 2015, the Bentley Continental GT Speed and Bentley Continental GT Speed convertible will receive a slight bump in power, now offering 626 hp and 607 lb-ft of torque. That's up from 616 hp and 590 lb-ft in the 2014 versions of this 6.0-liter W12 beast. That'll be enough to propel it to 206 mph, figures which, up until just a couple years ago, were not really available in an Edwardian study room on wheels. We'll get our first glimpse of the car at the Geneva motor show next week.



Bentley promises a 0-60 sprint of 4.0 seconds, which should be easily achievable with the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and all-wheel drive (even though we'd love to see the burnout that would result if all that power was going solely to the rear wheels). The all-wheel drive will be there to keep owners out of trouble, because there aren't too many cars on the market that offer this much power along with so much curb weight.

Changes aren't confined to a retuned engine, as the 2015 model will feature a new front bumper, which should be the easiest way to distinguish it from the 2014 model. The front bumper will incorporate mesh grilles over the intakes, with another cosmetic tweak being the slight tint added to the headlight surrounds and wheels. The brake calipers will receive a red finish, and in case the whole package isn't visible enough on the road, extroverts will now have the option of a candy-red exterior paint color. Tweaks to the interior for the Speed model include a color split interior, which will also now feature accent stripes in contrasting colors for the doors, the inner console, the fascia wings and the gear lever.



The revised Bentley Continental GT Speed will debut alongside the V8 version of the Flying Spur, which receives the same powerplant recently added to the Continental GT V8.