Tuesday 7th September 2010

Latest Pictures: The New Bentley Continental GT

The latest bruiser from Crewe steps into the ring at 3pm

---

Out with the old...

Bentley Motors will take the wraps off its next-gen Continental GT during an online reveal at 3pm BST today.

Don't worry if you miss it, as the website hosting the action will keep the show rolling for seven days after the event itself. We're presuming it's not really a live affair, or PH would have been invited (surely?!), which begs the question when is a reveal not a reveal...

Pointless philosophising aside, www.continentalgt.com is where you need to point your browser. (You're welcome to come back to our place if you want to chat about it afterwards, naturally!)

....and in with the new

"The week-long public reveal (available both day and night) will be an opportunity for viewers to enjoy the drama of a formal motor show 'unveil' as well as taking several bespoke and virtual tours of the Continental GT by selecting a range of camera angles and distances which are all designed to showcase the Continental's new sculpted, athletic body and powerful styling lines," according to a message from the show's promoter.

Over 22,000 Continental GTs have been delivered to customers since it was introduced, they say. (In case you were wondering, there are only 20 football teams in the premier league - you do the maths!)

The new one has been widely scooped elsewhere.

[lordlee]

I don't think I like that front end treatment one bit but j shall reserve judgement until I have seen it in the flesh

[fatboy b]

Another busy day in the design studio

[teen_cerbera]

Im very fussy about the wheels and colour spec on the previous shape Conti's, on paper it sounds horrible, but that one above looks amazing!

Im looking forward to seeing the new car, hope it hasnt got dodgy headlamps like the Mulsanne.

[GFWilliams]

So long as they keep the LED brake light above the rear screen. Only bit I've liked about the car!

[Liquid Knight]

Is there like enough room for like yer no like football stuff like in it?

Does the Wayne Rooney edition have enough room to hide a prostitute in the boot?

[Jebi]

teen_cerbera said:

that one above looks amazing!

Isn't that the old one .....according to the caption beneath it?

If not, it looks no different to me!

[jake15919]

fatboy b said:

Another busy day in the design studio

The Porsche designers must have given them some advice on the 'new' look.

[chim]

The one in the picture is the OLD one FFS,

[Jebi]

chim said:

The one in the picture is the OLD one FFS,

REEEEEEEEEEEPOST!

[teen_cerbera]

Jebi said:

teen_cerbera said:

that one above looks amazing!

Isn't that the old one .....according to the caption beneath it?

If not, it looks no different to me!

Sorry I wasnt very clear, I know its the old/present shape Conti, I was just commenting how nice it looked in that colour with those wheels.

[Unf]

Liquid Knight said:

Does the Wayne Rooney edition have enough room to hide a prostitute in the boot?

Cheers - I now have a laptop covered in tea........

[Beefmeister]

Unf said:

Liquid Knight said:

Does the Wayne Rooney edition have enough room to hide a prostitute in the boot?

Cheers - I now have a laptop covered in tea........

I assume because you dropped your cup of tea in horror at how bad the joke was?

[SWoll]

jake15919 said:

fatboy b said:

Another busy day in the design studio

The Porsche designers must have given them some advice on the 'new' look.

Why would Bentley want to completely redesign a vehicle that has been as hugely successful for them as the Conti GT?

It makes total commercial sense to not mess with a winning formula too much and drive away your loyal customers.

There are enough manufacturers to choose from, if you dont like Bentleys styling then you buy an Aston instead, for example.

Look what happened to Subarus UK sales when they dramatically restyled the Impreza in 2000 and again in 2008....

[SWoll]

Liquid Knight said:

Is there like enough room for like yer no like football stuff like in it?

Does the Wayne Rooney edition have enough room to hide a prostitute in the boot?

Please stop jumping on "Clarkson" stereotypes, its just dull.....

[FourWheelDrift]

Jebi said:

chim said:

The one in the picture is the OLD one FFS,

REEEEEEEEEEEPOST!

Try clicking the link at the bottom of the story to see the new one everyone is talking about.

[jake15919]

SWoll said:

jake15919 said:

fatboy b said:

Another busy day in the design studio

The Porsche designers must have given them some advice on the 'new' look.

Why would Bentley want to completely redesign a vehicle that has been as hugely successful for them as the Conti GT?

It makes total commercial sense to not mess with a winning formula too much and drive away your loyal customers.

There are enough manufacturers to choose from, if you dont like Bentleys styling then you buy an Aston instead, for example.

Look what happened to Subarus UK sales when they dramatically restyled the Impreza in 2000 and again in 2008....

Bentley released the Brookland which in my opinion was a stunning car that screamed Bentley.The Mulsanne looks a bit odd but it is clearly a Bentley. The Conti and Flying Spur on the other hand look dull and uninspiring. They look like early A8s/ VW Passats.

You mention Aston. Astons all seem similar but have the advantage of being stunningly good looking. The Conti on the other hand isn't, and wont be in the immediate future judging by the Bentley website.

Look at Rolls Royce. The Phantom range and Ghost are modern, interesting, classy and clearly top of the tree. They are Rolls Royce. The Continental range on the other hand are not Bentley.

Edited by jake15919 on Tuesday 7th September 11:39

[Jebi]

FourWheelDrift said:

Jebi said:

chim said:

The one in the picture is the OLD one FFS,

REEEEEEEEEEEPOST!

Try clicking the link at the bottom of the story to see the new one everyone is talking about.

He was talking about the one in the picture on the post above though

[SWoll]

jake15919 said:

SWoll said:

jake15919 said:

fatboy b said:

Another busy day in the design studio

The Porsche designers must have given them some advice on the 'new' look.

Why would Bentley want to completely redesign a vehicle that has been as hugely successful for them as the Conti GT?

It makes total commercial sense to not mess with a winning formula too much and drive away your loyal customers.

There are enough manufacturers to choose from, if you dont like Bentleys styling then you buy an Aston instead, for example.

Look what happened to Subarus UK sales when they dramatically restyled the Impreza in 2000 and again in 2008....

Bentley released the Brookland which in my opinion was a stunning car that screamed Bentley.The Mulsanne looks a bit odd but it is clearly a Bentley. The Conti and Flying Spur on the other hand look dull and uninspiring. They look like early A8s/ VW Passats.

You mention Aston. Astons all seem similar but have the advantage of being stunningly good looking. The Conti on the other hand isn't, and wont be in the immediate future judging bu the Bentley website.

Look at Rolls Royce. The Phantom range and Ghost are modern, interesting, classy and clearly top of the tree. They are Rolls Royce. The Continental range on the other hand are not Bentley.

Think you might want to add a IMHO to your posts. Styling is a very subjective subject and as such it is virtually impossible to please everyone.

I also don't think you picked up on the point of my post TBH, I'm not defending Bentleys styling decisions (though I do like the Conti GT personally.) but as a commercial exercise the Conti GT it has been hugely successful for Bentley and it would be crazy for them to dramatically restyle it. They are running a business after all.

[jake15919]

SWoll said:

jake15919 said:

SWoll said:

jake15919 said:

fatboy b said:

Another busy day in the design studio

The Porsche designers must have given them some advice on the 'new' look.

Why would Bentley want to completely redesign a vehicle that has been as hugely successful for them as the Conti GT?

It makes total commercial sense to not mess with a winning formula too much and drive away your loyal customers.

There are enough manufacturers to choose from, if you dont like Bentleys styling then you buy an Aston instead, for example.

Look what happened to Subarus UK sales when they dramatically restyled the Impreza in 2000 and again in 2008....

Bentley released the Brookland which in my opinion was a stunning car that screamed Bentley.The Mulsanne looks a bit odd but it is clearly a Bentley. The Conti and Flying Spur on the other hand look dull and uninspiring. They look like early A8s/ VW Passats.

You mention Aston. Astons all seem similar but have the advantage of being stunningly good looking. The Conti on the other hand isn't, and wont be in the immediate future judging bu the Bentley website.

Look at Rolls Royce. The Phantom range and Ghost are modern, interesting, classy and clearly top of the tree. They are Rolls Royce. The Continental range on the other hand are not Bentley.

Think you might want to add a IMHO to your posts. Styling is a very subjective subject and as such it is virtually impossible to please everyone.

I also don't think you picked up on the point of my post TBH, I'm not defending Bentleys styling decisions (though I do like the Conti GT personally.) but as a commercial exercise the Conti GT it has been hugely successful for Bentley and it would be crazy for them to dramatically restyle it. They are running a business after all.

I totally accept your point that the Conti has been a sales success, and as such playing safe may be the right option at this time, but what happens when the new customers move on because the product is not significantly different/ new?

Never could work out why IMHO was necessary when giving an opinion. Just thought it was self-explanatory.

[10 Pence Short]

The whole thing is very faux class. The marketing is saying by having one you will have class, the reality is that if it needs to say that, you don't and you won't.

Commercially I'm sure it'll work, because there are more wealthy people with dubious taste and the need to be seen to be wealthy than those who prefer to avoid making statements.

It's sad, in that to my mind the Bentley playing poor man to Rolls was infinately more preferable to the new VAG incarnation.