Bentley Continental Gt Continent Crusher

Bentley has unleashed a new iteration of its flagship coupé after a decade and a half. Is it still among the best in class? We head to Austria to find out

- Damien Reid

It’s been a long time coming but thanks to some co-development and co-operation from sister company Porsche, Bentley has released its first new Continental GT in 15 years.

Porsche’s contribution is not immediately visible but the new Continental rides on a modular platform that’s shared among the VW Group’s front-engine with rear or all-wheel drive combo cars and was first seen last year under the new Panamera. We will see it pop up next, supporting the Bentley Flying Spur.

Bentley sold 66,000 units of the previous GT making it far and away its most popular model, but it dragged on too long and was in need of a major overhaul to catch the opposition especially in terms of its transmission and fuel efficiency as well as contemporary driver assist technologies likes heads up display, active lane assistance, traffic assistance, parking aides and reversing cameras.

Thankfully all those boxes have been ticked and double checked. Under the hood resides a 626bhp, six-litre, W12 twin-turbo engine that appears familiar but is very different from those in previous Bentleys. Debuted in the Bentayga, this W12 motor has not only shed 30kg but has also been radically re-engineered with the front drive shafts punching through the sump to make it fit into the smaller engine bay and is coupled to a new ZF transmission.

It uses a new injection system comprising both port injection from the old car for more power and direct injection to ensure it meets new emission regulations. Its two turbos have also been upgraded to twin-scroll units and it features cylinder displacement which cuts out six-cylinders when cruising.