The fourth-generation Bentley Continental GT is now in Malaysia, in Speed performance flagship form. Now a plug-in hybrid V8, the new Speed is the most powerful road-going Bentley ever, and the price to park one in your porch starts from RM3.12 million including duties and sales tax, before insurance and registration. And options, of course.
It’s a departure from the norm that a new Bentley model is making its debut in Speed form. Typically, the regular variants surface first before the performance flagship crowns the range at a later date. This time, the Speed leads the line for the fourth-generation Continental GT from kick-off.
There’s plenty new about the Continental GT Speed, but the biggest news is that it’s now a plug-in hybrid riding on a fresh 400-volt electrical architecture. At the heart of the ‘Ultra Performance Hybrid’ powertrain is a 4.0-litre V8 engine with 600 PS and 800 Nm of torque. The ICE isn’t a carryover – with no traditional vacuum system and 350 bar fuel injection pressure (from 200 bar), it provides cleaner combustion and improved emissions.
Now that it has an electric motor to cancel out turbo lag, the engine uses twin single-scroll turbochargers, which reduces complexity and allows them to run hotter, minimising emissions. Also, there’s no longer need for cylinder deactivation hardware, as the ICE can be switched off entirely when the electric motor is running.
The V8’s smooth partner in crime is a 190 PS/450 Nm electric motor that resides in the transmission housing. Capable of powering the big GT by itself, the e-motor also delivers torque-fill at low engine speed and during gear shifts for extra smoothness. The motor is juiced by a 25.9 kWh battery mounted behind the rear axle – this allows for weight distribution of 49:51, which Crewe says is perfect.
The GT comes alive silently, and the system manages energy flow based on the mode chosen – pure EV, electric boost, regenerative braking and charge mode, where the engine drives the wheels and charges the battery at the same time. Full electric mode can be deployed at speeds of up 140 km/h, with throttle applications of up to 75%. The max AC charging rate is 11 kW and the pack can be fully replenished in under three hours.
Aside from blessing the Continental GT Speed with 80 km (WLTP) of pure electric drive – perfect in town – the e-motor brings total system output to 782 PS and 1,000 Nm. Compared to the outgoing W12-powered GT Speed, that’s 19% more power (from 659 PS) and 11% more torque (from 900 Nm), making this car the most powerful Bentley ever, surpassing even the second-generation Supersports and Mulliner’s Batur.
The 0-100 km/h sprint is dispatched in 3.2 seconds (four tenths faster than the previous W12 Speed), and if you keep at it, Vmax is 335 km/h – those are supercar figures in a big GT that has every imaginable luxury and feature, with an interior covered in leather and wood, let’s not forget.
All that power is delivered via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and an electronic limited slip differential to all four wheels. The system uses front-rear active torque vectoring through a centre differential, and precision vectoring across each axle itself using the brakes. Also included are all-wheel steering, Bentley Dynamic Ride active anti-roll and new dual-valve dampers and dual-chamber air springs. The ESC can be fully turned off.
Great power needs even greater stopping power and the GT uses 10-piston front calipers and four-piston rears. The standard ventilated iron brakes are 420 mm in front and 380 mm at the rear, and there’s a Carbon-Silicon-Carbide option with 440 mm front discs and 410 mm rears. Crewe says that with the latest GT, comfort mode is even more comfortable, and sport mode has even better body control than before, which again – let’s not forget – was already physics-defying.
The modern Continental GT is the car that saved Bentley, a great success for Crewe over the past three generations. Fitting then, that the latest GT is an evolution of the design, which carries three design aspects seen on the iconic R-Type Continental of 1952.
The Continental GT has its own distinct look and lines that won’t be mistaken for another big two-door, and key to this is the ‘resting beast’ stance. Bentley designers were visualising a tiger at rest – a majestic beast sitting calm, but ready to unleash massive force when it decides to pounce. The idea is manifested in the GT’s prominent haunches.
The next point of interest is ‘upright elegance’, which describes the vertical front end of the GT. Like a thoroughbred horse, we’re told. This proud chest pairs perfectly with the Bentley’s ‘endless bonnet’. Seen from the side, the long hood hints at the high-performance engine residing within. While these cues have been on all Continental GTs, Crewe got the proportions spot on with the third-generation GT, where the wheelbase grew by 105 mm. Now in peak form.
An evolutionary design needs a headlining fresh element, lest it be confused for a facelift. That new thing is the headlamp design – gone are the twin circles and in comes a single eye on each side, the first mainstream Bentley with single headlamps since the 1950s. Car guys will point to the Bacalar, but that’s a 12-unit coachbuilt special by Bentley Mulliner.
That single eye is pierced by a horizontal LED ‘eyebrow’ for a distinctive gaze. Go nearer and you’ll see that the headlamps are like art sculptures – the upper portion has a deep crystal cut diamond effect and the base of the housing has an illuminated pattern. The actual matrix headlamps have 120 separate LEDs that are digitally controlled. That’s 50% more LEDs than before for a widened field of illumination and improved fade-out.
The rear is a nip/tuck with a redesigned bumper, taillights, tail pipes and boot lid. The latter incorporates an integrated aerodynamic form to provide rear downforce without the need for a deployable spoiler, and the bumper emphasises the considerable width of the GT while being cleaner. Together, they combine for a neater look.
The Speed also gets a new 22-inch ‘Ten Swept Spoke’ wheel with a strong directional design. Like tiger claws digging into the road, the designers tell us. Finally, ‘Dark Tint Brightware’ sees the all the exterior chrome bits painted in Granite. Not to be confused with the actual black of Blackline (which remains a cost option), Dark Tint provides a more sporty, technical look that’s still elegant – I like it. DTB is exclusive to the Speed.
The cockpit of the Continental GT (and Flying Spur limo) is my favourite in the ultra-luxury segment, combining a traditional layout with modern tech. While there seems to be a physical button or knob for everything important, all the functions are also housed in the infotainment system, so it’s the best of both worlds.
This unique ana-digi approach is personified by the Bentley Rotating Display, which is still cool after all these years. The three-sided display features a 12.3-inch display, three classical analogue dials, and an unbroken side of handcrafted veneer that matches the rest of the trim. The three faces swivel at the touch of a button.
New for this generation are a ‘precision quilt pattern’ on the seats and doors (those with an eye for detail will marvel at the sculptured quilting, fading perforations and the new quilt embroidery), optional ‘wellness’ seating with postural adjust and auto climate functions, and a new ‘Dark Chrome’ theme for the brightwork.
Bentley’s partnership with Naim continues in the new Continental GT, and the top rung sound system is a 2,200W, 18-speaker setup with Active Bass Transducers built into the front seats and eight sound modes. Otherwise, you can have the 650W 10-speaker standard system or a Bang & Olufsen 1,500W 16-speaker system with illuminated speaker grilles. As before, laminated acoustic glass is used for the windscreen and side windows for a nine-decibel reduction in exterior noise.
Finally, the air con system now includes air ionisers, a new particulate matter filter and displays showing air quality inside and outside the car. The HVAC also synchronises with the car’s sat-nav, so it knows when it might be necessary to improve cabin air quality; automatically recirculating air when in a tunnel, for instance.
We’ve already driven the new Continental GT Speed at its APAC launch in Japan last year, but a short drive of the PHEV on home ground yesterday confirmed my ‘buy one V8 bruiser, free one EV cruiser’ theory. Bentley Kuala Lumpur is a stone’s throw away from KLCC, and we started with just 20 km worth of e-drive on the meter. Heading to Sepang for this shoot, we nearly reached the end of the MEX highway running purely on electric, thanks to some regeneration. It was effortless too, as 75% throttle and 140 km/h are generous limits that cover 99% of my actual normal driving.
In conversation, you’re likely to not realise the switch to ICE, as the V8 is a smooth and quiet background operator in Bentley mode, which means hybrid. You’ll definitely hear its guttural tone in Sport mode though, which we engaged on the roads around SIC. Like the car itself, the engine’s Jekyll and Hyde nature is a strength, and the GT’s new e-drive ability bumps up its duality score to 10/10.
The roads around Sepang’s airport and circuit are wavy and uneven, but the big and heavy GT coped impressively, as it did on our patchy urban roads despite wearing 22-inch wheels. On the move, the Bentley feels smaller than it actually is – easy to drive in town isn’t something you can say about most multi-million ringgit two-door cars.
Downsides? I’m not a fan of gloss black interior trim (dust, smudges, reflectiveness) and the upward-facing AC display can be challenging to read under the midday sun. The GT’s cabin isolation from the natural noise it generates while moving fast, and foreign elements such as mosquito kapcais, is good, but greedy me wouldn’t mind even more of it.
So there you have it, the fourth-generation Bentley Continental GT Speed, which is now a plug-in hybrid combining a big V8 engine with up to 80 km of pure electric drive. All the luxury and ICE performance for grand touring + physics-defying dynamics + EV goodness for daily driving makes the Continental GT Speed a truly unique proposition in the luxury space – full review here. By the way, if you need four doors, most of the above – including the V8 PHEV powertrain – is available in limo form with the latest Flying Spur Speed.
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