Wednesday 24th August 2011

New Bentley GTC Hits The Street

More power and better ball contro... er handling for footie favourite

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The second generation Bentley Conti GTC will be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show next month, picking up the improvements already bestowed on its GT coupe sibling.

As well as bolder, crisper lines featuring the dreaded DRLs, the new GTC gets a wider-track at both ends, sharper steering, retuned suspension and a new 40:60 torque split for the 4x4 system which is said to minimise understeer in hard cornering, although that's not a fault we noticed over-much (on the road) with the old one.

Still, the modifications allow "the spirited driver to manage the car's line and balance via precise throttle control", says the press release, so if you live near Crewe you might want to keep a look out for German engineers travelling sideways at high speed wearing two-and-a-half tonnes of metal and cow-hide. The average Bentley driver seems unlikely to benefit much, but it's a nice thought all the same.

'Average' owners will always appreciate a little more power of course, in which case they'll be pleased to note the output from the car's 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 engine has been raised from 560hp to 575hp - while torque has reached the magic 700Nm or 516lb ft. It's FlexFuel compatible too, which means you can run it on E85 Biofuel. (As you don't...)

The result of all this mechanical largesse is a 0-60mph time of 4.5secs, and a top speed of 195mph.

The 'Mk2' car also gets a new interior with a sweeping dash and 'Cobra style' seats, while a new touch-screen infotainment system is part of the package. And it's all yours for £149,350, which is three weeks wages if you don't spit at the ref.

NB. In spite of the lamentable footballer gags, we quite like this...

 

[Blown2CV]

yawn

[toppstuff]

Once again PH editorial descends into lame, lazy, cliched and hackneyed drivel with the old footballer stereotype.

You even describe it yourself as lamentable. It is. So stop it FFS!

Footballers drive Ferrari too. A lot of them do. You make no mention of this with a 458, so why do it here?

Anyway, back to the car. Personally, I have a lot of respect for the design and engineering put into these. And they are made here in the UK, which is marvellous.

I am a bit disappointed that the new one is so very similar in styling to the old though.

[Rawwr]

Ok front-end.
Terrible rear.
Superst roof.

[oxfordbiker]

Well, I like the car (especially the new angles round the nose) AND the jokes - so there!

[gumsie]

Bentley Continental. One of the bluff ugliest shapes on the road.
Can anyone explain to me therefore why I like this?

[Nors]

gumsie said:

Bentley Continental. One of the bluff ugliest shapes on the road.
Can anyone explain to me therefore why I like this?

Nice colour?

[LuS1fer]

gumsie said:

Bentley Continental. One of the bluff ugliest shapes on the road.
Can anyone explain to me therefore why I like this?

Seems to me that the inner headlights have been designed to look like those Japanese cartoon big puppy/baby eyes so you get a subliminal "Aaah" when you look at it.

[s99ane]

I've seen a few of the coupes now on the road and the mk2 do look really good and have a lot more road presence.
The from looks a lot sharper styled and the rear lights look great in real life.
Would like to see the new interior.

[IAJO]

i really like these but im not sure that its where i'd spend my imaginary 150k.

[Blown2CV]

one of those 'new' shape cars that you would not even realise is new unless you were bothered enough to pay attention. I have never got excited about these, I have always preferred big Bentleys; these are more than a bit chav.

[400SE Dave]

Front of the old one was no looker but the new front is worse, hate the headlights but I guess the Japs and the Chinese love it and this is probably where most will go in todays world. In the balance about the rear.

Still one of the finest GT cabrios around and built in the UK

[Chris-R]

toppstuff said:

Once again PH editorial descends into lame, lazy, cliched and hackneyed drivel with the old footballer stereotype.

You even describe it yourself as lamentable. It is. So stop it FFS!

Footballers drive Ferrari too. A lot of them do. You make no mention of this with a 458, so why do it here?

Anyway, back to the car. Personally, I have a lot of respect for the design and engineering put into these. And they are made here in the UK, which is marvellous.

I am a bit disappointed that the new one is so very similar in styling to the old though.

The Ferrari brand manages to transcend the football image doesn't it? As for cliches, if nobody loves them they'll be lost for ever...

[A Scotsman]

Actually I'm surprised to hear that footballers are good enough drivers to be given licences. Surely it can't be all of them though.

[S18DMW]

It's still ugly.

[SWoll]

toppstuff said:

Once again PH editorial descends into lame, lazy, cliched and hackneyed drivel with the old footballer stereotype.

You even describe it yourself as lamentable. It is. So stop it FFS!

Footballers drive Ferrari too. A lot of them do. You make no mention of this with a 458, so why do it here?

Anyway, back to the car. Personally, I have a lot of respect for the design and engineering put into these. And they are made here in the UK, which is marvellous.

I am a bit disappointed that the new one is so very similar in styling to the old though.

Had exactly the same reaction, so bored of people rolling out the same "Clarkson" cliches.

Had a good look at the new CGT the other day and thought it was a magnificent looking car, far more imposing and with a more luxurious air than the old model.

Dare I say, to my eyes at least, a nicer car than the DB9/Rapide...

[Ozzie Osmond]

Tasteless tat for tasteless tw@ts!

but each to their own...

[badlands1]

I luv the Bentley cars.

[Frimley111R]

I know Porsche manage it with the 911 but I never get the impression that such sublte changes to a car, from one model to the next, is a good idea. It looks so much like the previous model that I am not sure it's enough to encourage people to trade up.

[PhantomPH]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Tasteless tat for tasteless tw@ts!

but each to their own...

I feel compelled to point out that from the front, the old CGT looked a lot like a Chrysler 300C...

Like the front but hate the rear. That's half a nice car!

A colleague has the previous gen CGT and it's so effortlessly powerful it's a fantastic place to be. Something genuinely surreal about sitting in such cossetted comfort as the right boot gets planted. It's a lot like watching out the windscreen of The Enterprise when Picard says, "Engage".

[robinessex]

I doubt that any of the previous incarnation of these cars ever get driven at more than 10% of their potential, so why bother tweaking it. The one I see regularly in my local town, being driven to the bakers by a 40 yr old female, has had every single wheel kerbed. I'll ask her next time I see her, if she thinks this latest version, with less understeer and more power migt be better for her.