New Carbon Specification launched for Conti GT
Supersports a bit much? Try 'a more visually distinctive, performance-focused' Bentley GT instead
From the very beginning, Bentley has been all about the wishes of its customers. Personalisation was once so extreme, of course, that the buyer would simply have a rolling chassis and powertrain from the maker, to have a coachbuilt body put on top. With bespoking and car customisation probably a bigger business than ever, certainly when it comes to luxury cars, it should come as no surprise to learn that the Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur family now has a new option available. What you’re looking at here is the Carbon Fibre Styling Specification, available for all three models from today both as a retrofit and on new factory orders.
While this isn’t the first time such a package has been offered on a GT - one in four customers of the previous model went for the similar Styling Specification - it is the first time that the saloon and drop-top have been part of the carbon crew. The latest CFSS is hand-crafted, of course, and includes the front splitter, side sills with Bentley badges, mirror caps and a ‘more inclusive’ rear diffuser. It’s about what you might expect given the car and the package description, albeit with perfectly symmetrical carbon seemingly even glossier than the norm.
Note as well the titanium pipes; go for the Carbon Fibre Styling Specification and the recently announced Akrapovic exhaust is included with the bodykit. As is Blackline Specification, which makes everything that’s chrome as standard - think grilles, window surrounds, badges - into gloss black.
And Bentley being Bentley, this isn’t just any Carbon Fibre Styling Specification. Those very pretty badges on the sills aren’t just tacked on; they’re electroformed, y’see, so they look like little jewels along the side of the car. They were designed specifically to minimise imperfections, looking like it was always meant to be there. Bentley suggests the badges exemplify its ‘meticulous approach to craftsmanship across every surface of the vehicle.’ The carbon itself, including a front splitter twice the thickness of before, has been through more than 60,000 miles of testing on the 782hp GT, as well as stress testing in a lab. So it’s tough alright.
It’s certainly a mean-looking Continental GT that results, the carbon add-ons toughening up the stance and the black accents suitably menacing. Presumably it’s really going to pop against the brighter colours in the palette, too, with the bark to match the bite thanks to the Akrapovic. So it’s very easy to see that 25 per cent number being matched or beaten this time around, even though it’s clearly going to be a pretty pricey option, what with the carbon fibre, electroforming and titanium.
That being said, the scope for retrofitting means the route to a Carbon Fibre Styling Specification Bentley is slightly less costly than doing it from factory. It could look really smart on this Kingfisher Blue two-door, for example, or this stunning Spur. Or, if this all seems a bit much for a Bentley, the carbon can be left well alone and something like British Racing Green enjoyed on its own. As always, the choice is yours when it comes to a Bentley.
They make tyres look brown as the rim black is much darker than the tyre black
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