2018 Bentley Continental GT revealed

The new Bentley Continental GT will soon be upon us, with its W12 engine still firmly in place.

However, the beastly donk has now been uprated to pump out a formidable 467kW/900Nm which should keep the British bourgeois moving quickly.

After all, getting more than two tonnes of grand tourer to hit 100km/h in a claimed 3.7 seconds requires a lot of grunt. It’ll then go on to reach a top speed of 333km/h.

Getting that power to the wheels has changed slightly for Bentley, with the new Continental GT employing the use of an eight-speed dual-clutch.

This means the Continental GT has had some slight tweaks since we drive the pre-production prototype, which claimed 0-100km/h In 3.9s, though we think our weight estimate of 2100kg would be close considering the diet the new version has gone on.

Part of that weight reduction is down to aspects such as the lightweight aluminium axles found front and rear, and new build materials that cut 80kg from the body alone.

Inside, an incredibly luxurious interior will make you feel like a secret agent, before the centre console rotates to reveal a touchscreen that might actually make you question whether this car was intended for Bond himself.

Bentley says: “At first glance there appears to be no screen in the centre of the dashboard. Instead, the veneer flows uninterrupted across the dashboard, while a thin chrome bezel behind the steering wheel surrounds a digital instrument display.”

“When the engine start button is pressed, however, the veneer in the middle of the dashboard glides silently forward and rotates to reveal Bentley’s largest-ever touchscreen, a 12.3” retina-quality digital MMI display, elegantly designed by Bentley with a customer-configurable home screen with three windows able to display the driver’s preferred functions, for example, navigation, media and telephone.”

Oh. And there’s a third side to the rotating dash display: “The third side on the Bentley Rotating Display reveals three elegant analogue dials displaying outside temperature, a compass and chronometer.”

Underneath the Continental, Bentley Dynamic Ride takes over the task of body control from anti-roll bars, which Bentley says “instantly counteracts lateral rolling forces when cornering and ensures maximum tyre-to-road contact.”

Air suspension is also upgraded to give the car 60 per cent more air volume in the softest setting than the previous model.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, Bentley chief executive says the new Continental is an important feather in Bentley’s cap.

“Bentley has been at the forefront of luxury Grand Touring for nearly one hundred years,” Dürheimer says.

“The new, third-generation Continental GT is the pinnacle of our design and engineering achievements and marks the next step in Bentley’s journey.

“The new Continental GT encapsulates our desire to innovate as well as celebrate our heritage and take the Bentley ownership experience to the next, unparalleled level.”