2018 Bentley Continental GT (3rd Generation)

Bentley Continental GT3 Racecar

Bentley Motorsport unveiled an all-new Bentley Continental GT3 racecar, currently in development for the 2018 motorsport season.

The second-generation Bentley Continental GT3 is the latest dedicated racecar in an acclaimed Bentley motorsport lineage that includes the 4½ Litre, Speed Six and Speed 8 Le Mans winners. The first-generation Continental GT3 has proven to be a championship-winning endurance racer, scoring 120 podiums and 45 wins across 528 races around the world to date.

Bentley's Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush comments: "After four years of success with our Continental GT3, we're excited to reveal our second-generation car. The new car leaves no area or system untouched in the search for even better performance, and the early test results are promising. The new Continental GT road car has proved to be a great starting point for the development of a new racer, and the engineering development work is true to Bentley's impeccable standards."

The New Bentley Continental GT3

Development of the new car has been led by the engineers of Bentley Motorsport's in-house team based in Crewe, together with designers and technicians at Bentley's motorsport technical partner, M-Sport.

The new Bentley Continental GT3 has been designed from the all-new Continental GT road car, utilising it's mostly aluminium structure as the foundation to deliver a race-ready weight of significantly less than 1300 kg and helping to deliver an ideal weight distribution for racing.

The engine is a new development of the renowned and race-proven 4.0-litre Bentley twin-turbo V8, with a totally redesigned dry sump system and all-new intake and exhaust systems. Unrestricted power is in excess of 550 bhp.

Exterior aerodynamic surfaces have been crafted in the wind tunnel and are based on the shape of the road car, enhancing the muscular exterior panels with aerodynamic devices for additional downforce. Suspension and braking systems are new and bespoke to the Bentley Continental GT3.

The all-new racecar has already started a six-month test programme to pick up the mantle from its championship-winning predecessor, completing test work in the UK, France and Portugal. Upcoming development work includes full 24 hour endurance race simulations.

https://www.netcarshow.com/bentley/2018-continental_gt3_racecar/

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New Bentley Continental GT3 racer revealed

Race-going Continental GT3 weighs almost 1000kg less than the road-going version and has a 542bhp V8 under the bonnet

Bentley has revealed its new Continental GT3 race car – a precursor to a hot Continental GT road car that will likely arrive by 2020.

The GT3 has the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 as the Continental GT V8 with a Cosworth engine management system and, when not restricted to GT3 guidelines, produces around 542bhp. The previous GT3 used a tuned version of the same engine with more power but also more weight. Bentley collaborated with M-Sport on the racing model.

Kerb weight of the GT3 is down by at least 950kg; Bentley claims that the car weighs significantly less than 1300kg, compared with the road-going W12 launch car’s 2250kg.

The new GT3, based on the new Continental GT, features far more aggressive bodywork than the GT, with a deep front spoiler, wide wheel arches, aerodynamic fins and a huge rear wing. These are all optimised for aerodynamics and downforce, and are lighter than the standard car's counterparts.

Inside, there’s a FIA-spec roll-cage and six-point harness, while under-the-skin upgrades include a lightweight racing battery, race-spec anti-lock braking system and traction control, carbon fibre propshaft and four-way adjustable racing dampers.

Bentley is hoping to clinch wins in the Blancpain GT Series with the model, following a sales launch in June 2018. It will make its race debut at the opening round of the 2018 Blancpain Cup at Monza on 21 April.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-bentley-continental-gt3-racer-revealed
 
How Much New Bentley Continental GT Costs In SA

Order books for the new, third-generation Bentley Continental GT have officially opened in South Africa, with first deliveries expected to take place in the second quarter of 2018.

Priced from R3 395 000, the new version of the four-seater British grand tourer is powered by an updated 6,0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12 engine, mated for the first time to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission (complete with a launch function).

The 12-cylinder unit now sends 467 kW and 900 N.m to all four corners, allowing the new Continental GT to hit 100 km/h from standstill in a claimed 3,7 seconds, before topping out at 333 km/h.

It rides on a new adaptive chassis that employs a 48-volt dynamic ride system to ensure what it terms a “responsive ride and exceptional handling and refinement”. The Crewe-based brand says the front wheels are positioned 135 mm further forward than before, with the all-new body and materials saving more than 80 kg over the previous Continental W12 body.

Inside, you’ll find a digital, driver-focused instrument panel and the so-called Bentley Rotating Display, which features a 12,3-inch touchscreen housed in a three-sided unit. The latter revolves the veneer to reveal the touchscreen as well as three analogue dials once the driver pushes the start button.

Bentley South Africa has also opened a new, 18-car showroom in Johannesburg, complete with café, boutique shop, personalisation area and hospitality space, along with a full service centre.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/how-much-new-bentley-continental-gt-costs-in-sa/
 
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iPhone X Bentley Edition spells boastful with a winged B

When you cross two expensive brands you get a hybrid with an even bigger price tag. We don’t know what it says on that price tag in the case of this special edition iPhone X for Bentley.

It’s a limited edition, you can see that the unit in the photo is #19 out of 100. We kind of dig the look of 18K gold on black glass, though we’re not sure about Bentley logos completely displacing Apple’s.

That worry is above our pay grade, however, we couldn’t even find this model on the Golden Ace website. We suppose this means all 100 units are sold out (or perhaps they are tied to buying a Bentley).

Well, you’re probably too late to buy one, but how do you feel about gold inlay? The iPhone’s back is pretty barren and perhaps it could use a little pizzazz.

https://www.gsmarena.com/iphone_x_bentley_edition-news-29362.php

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New Bentley Continental GTC And Flying Spur Spotted Testing In Cape Town

We know Bentley will be nearly ready to unveil the Convertible version of their all-new Continental GT and they are now busy with some hot-weather testing right here in South Africa.

The cars were spotted in Cape Town more specifically and the convoy included a regular Continental GT (may be testing a V8 version), Convertible variant and what looks like the upcoming Flying Spur.

Like the coupe, the new Bentley Continental GTC will be based on the same MSB platform that underpins large, rear-drive cars like the latest Porsche Panamera.

Apart from less weight and increased rigidity, it also brings cutting-edge infotainment and driver-assistance tech to the table, plus more luxury than ever.

The new Flying Spur testing here shows off different exhaust pipes to the ones that were spotted cold-weather testing recently which could just mean it is a different variant. At this stage we are expecting the Flying Spur to be offered in a Plug-In Hybrid setup which may or may not use the same powertrain from the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, meaning a combined 680 hp output.

https://www.zero2turbo.com/2018/04/...flying-spur-spotted-testing-in-cape-town.html

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DRIVEN: Bentley Continental GT

AUSTRIA – The Continental GT is the most successful Bentley in history … With nearly 70 000 units of the first-generation model – launched in 2003 – and 2010’s second generation sold, it’s afforded the Crewe-based company the funds to develop the Mulsanne grand saloon (which sells in tiny but consistent numbers) and Bentley’s first SUV, the Bentayga, the popularity of which some company insiders admitted had surprised them.

But the vehicle you see here will always be Bentley’s mainstay, and it was therefore imperative to get it right. Throughout the two-day launch event taking in Austria, Italy and Germany, company executives stressed the extent to which they listened to their customers, incorporating much of their feedback on the first two generations of the Continental GT into the development of version three. The main improvements owners requested were better infotainment and connectivity systems, as well as the adoption of driver-assistance technology. Secondary considerations included increased performance, but without a fuel-consumption penalty.

So, what we have here is an all-new Continental. It may still have a W12 engine under its vast bonnet, and the visual cues are clearly evolutionary, but beneath that skin Bentley’s engineers have revolutionised the big coupé. Highlights include an all-aluminium body (except for the composite bootlid, which has to house antennae); more of that light material in the superstructure; a completely reworked 6,0-litre W12 engine adopted from the Bentayga and adapted to fit into the Continental; a front axle that’s been moved 135 mm forward to afford a near-50:50 mass distribution; and three-chamber air springs controlled by a new 48 V electrical system. The cabin, meanwhile, ditches the old model’s clunky infotainment system for one that’s class-leading.

Enough background. What’s it like in the flesh?

Superbly balanced and detailed. Bentley is rightly proud of its Super-Plastic forming technology, which allows it to sculpt aluminium with incredible precision. The crisp, pronounced shoulder and rear wheelarch lines are prime examples, and that latter section is the largest super-formed panel in the motoring industry.

There are some details that don’t work quite as well – the oval rear lights are, to my eyes, too small for the vast surrounding body panels – but overall the detailing is exquisite.

Wait until you get aboard, though. I haven’t experienced an interior that so successfully combines a bespoke, hand-made feel (which is exactly what it is) with incredible precision. In the vehicle we drove on the launch, every panel, stitch and seam lined up perfectly, and despite traversing some rough roads on the Italian side, the cabin didn’t squeak or rattle. A Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé might feel as solidly constructed, but it doesn’t have the depth and luster of the Bentley’s materials.

Bentley has retained the traditional wing-design facia, but it now houses a new 12,3-inch touch display that can rotate through 120 degrees to show three supplementary dials, or rotate another 120 degrees to a blank slab of wood veneer. Because there’s a chrome trim line running across the facia and through this rotating display, Bentley’s engineers spent hundreds of hours refining the swivel mechanism so that the lines would always line up to a tolerance of 0,5 mm. And they do.

The seats – beautifully sculpted buckets trimmed in diamond-quilted leather that’s both stitched and embroidered – offer a vast range of adjustment and finding a comfortable driving position for my 1,85-metre frame was a cinch. However, sitting as far back as I do, the thick A-pillars created substantial blind spots on the narrow, winding Austrian and Italian country roads.

Surely the W12 should have been consigned to the history books?

I thought so, too, and was a trifle disappointed to see it mentioned in Bentley’s press material when the Continental was first unveiled.

However, once talking to some of the engineers involved in adapting the W12, it soon became clear this engine – 30 kg lighter than before – is nearly brand-new. Combining high-pressure direct injection for the first time in a Continental GT with the old engine’s low-pressure port injection, plus cylinder deactivation and an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with seventh and eighth gears functioning as overdrive ratios, the British carmaker claims increased refinement, lower particulate emissions and improved fuel consumption. Now developing a staggering 467 kW and 900 N.m, the W12 shoots the GT to 100 km/h in a claimed 3,7 seconds and tops out at 333 km/h.

Right, how does it drive?

Extremely well, but perhaps not quite in the way you might expect. This car is far sportier than I, or my co-pilot, had anticipated. Thanks to Bentley’s active roll control system, which instantly counteracts lateral roll using actuators in the anti-roll bars that deliver up to 1 300 N.m of torque in just 0,3 seconds, plus active torque vectoring via a electronically controlled centre differential, the GT feels less like a 2,2-tonne grand tourer and more like a Porsche Panamera, itself a feat of engineering and, of course, a close relative to the Bentley. Front-end grip is especially impressive.

The steering – now electrically assisted – is linear and direct, and even weighs up in corners (where the back steps out ever so slightly when the Drive Dynamics Control [DDC] drivetrain-management system is set to the more lenient sport mode) and the new eight-speed ‘box shifts cleanly and quickly. Whether more traditional Bentley owners would warm to the exhaust system’s theatrics on the overrun is up for debate, but the ferociously punchy W12 is quiet and smooth in the more laid-back system modes, and indulgently growly in sport.

I do, however, have some reservations about the ride quality. When the vehicle is fired up, DDC defaults to “Bentley” mode, which is tuned to be halfway between sport and comfort. An engineer I spoke to explained this mode represents what they thought the ideal compromise is, but I suspect it’s a compromise too far. Even in comfort, there’s a slight pitter-patter to the ride, and it’s simply amplified in the default mode. Combined with notable tyre roar and slap over expansion joints and cat’s eyes, the GT is certainly sportier than its lineage may suggest.

An undoubted highlight are the brakes. At 420 mm front and 380 mm rear, the composite discs are the largest ever fitted to a series production car and negate the need for carbon-ceramics (I wouldn’t rule those out for the next Supersports). They’re fabulously responsive and strong.

How does the Conti compare to its rivals?

You could argue the case for a Mercedes-AMG S65 Coupé, which matches the R3,4-million Bentley on performance and price, but doesn’t possess the brand cachet or an interior of such quality. An Aston Martin DB11, meanwhile, is even sportier, much more expensive and nowhere near as rounded as the GT.

All of which points to Bentley’s clever positioning of this model. Yes, I’d prefer the ride a smidge softer and refinement to be even better, but that’s nitpicking of what is, currently, the standard-bearer for grand tourers. The Bentayga may have stolen some of the Conti’s spotlight, but it has returned to reclaim its audience.

Model:Bentley Continental GT
Price:R3 395 000
Engine:6,0-litre, W12, twinturbo-petrol
Power:467 kW @ 6 000 r/min
Torque:900 N.m @ 1 350-4 500 r/min
0-100 km/h:3,7 seconds
Top Speed:333 km/h
Fuel Consumption:12,2 L/100 km
CO2:278 g/km
Transmission:eight-speed dual-clutch
Maintenance Plan:TBC

http://www.carmag.co.za/car-reviews/driven-bentley-continental-gt/
 
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