► New Continental GT core and Azure models
► Detuned plug-in hybrid power but still with 671bhp
► Grab yourself a Bentley bargain
Bentley is boosting its Continental GT coupe and Continental GTC convertible range with the introduction of a second hybrid powertrain and two new model variants. The new High Performance Hybrid system arrives as the entry-point to both ranges, joining the line-up below the Ultra Performance Hybrid that launched in the GT Speed to much acclaim in 2024.
Entry-level is always a relative term, and in this case you’re hardly likely to feel shortchanged. Not only do the new plug-in hybrids still promise up to 53 miles of driving range, they’re also paired with the firm’s same melliferous 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. And even in detuned state this results in a combined 671bhp and 686lb ft.
Meanwhile, the addition of ‘core’ and Azure specifications mean buyers are no longer limited to the Speed (slightly gauche?) and Mulliner (jolly pricey, what?) variants that have exclusively made up the selection since the introduction of the fourth-generation Continental GT.
All of which means the Bentley Continental is now more affordable. Sort of.
Why would anyone want a less powerful Bentley?
That’s an excellent question – because even though opting for a new High Performance Hybrid will save you in the region of £35,000, once you’ve got stuck into the notoriously indulgent customisation options you’re never going to get out of the showroom without something of a financial hangover.
Although perhaps if it’s a choice between getting to 62mph 0.5sec faster or adding on the Naim hi-fi (or whatever) you could at least apply some kind of rationalisation. Because while these new cars are 100bhp down on the Ultra Performance Hybrid versions, they’re faster and more powerful than the old W12 and will do 0-62mph in as little as 3.7 seconds. Which is probably quick enough in most circumstances.
The heavier GTC convertible is a touch slower than the GT coupe, taking 3.9sec to go 0-62mph instead. It also has a slightly lower electric-only range of 51 miles per charge versus 53. The official CO2 figures are a faintly ludicrous 29 and 31g/km.
These four-wheel drive machines continue to feature Bentley Active Chassis Technology, including Dynamic Ride, rear-wheel steering and an eLSD. Comfort, Bentley and Sport driving modes are available as required.
What’s different about the core and Azure specifications?
The Bentley Continental GT core range (pictured here in silver) includes a gloss black finish to the matrix grille with chrome surround, matt black lower grilles and gloss black front splitter and rear diffuser. Specific ‘Harmony’ headlights are different to those fitted to the GT Speed – they have a cut crystal appearance and unique welcome sequence that also plays out in the red-finished rear lights.
There’s also more exterior chrome. On the inside you get ‘straight fluted’ seats and the choice of bright or dark chrome trimmings.
The Azure (pictured here in blue) goes down the chrome route, too, with the shiny finish also applied to the main grille’s vertical vanes. The 22-inch wheels are silver with ‘bright machined’ finishing.
The cabin is upgraded with ‘Harmony’ 3D diamond quilting and ‘Wellness’ seats as standard. You get open-pore walnut trim and enhanced interior lighting – including a panoramic glass roof for the coupe. Convertible buyers get a complementary neck warmer system.
Are these the Bentleys for the recession, then?
Not quite. The basic price starts at £202,400 in the UK, and for all that the hybrid system is very impressive, it will still require quite a bit of fuel-station forecourt action – especially if you’re pressing on.
Delightful that Bentley is reaching out to a wider audience though, ahead of the arrival of the smaller Bentley ‘luxury urban’ electric SUV that’s scheduled to go on sale in 2026.
Remind us about the rest of the Bentley Continental range
Introduced in 2024, the range-topping plug-in hybrid Continental GT Speed coupe and GTC convertible – labelled Ultra Performance Hybrids – are the fastest and most powerful Bentley production models ever made.
The brand says this is the fourth-generation Continental GT. Treat this like a major overhaul of its predecessor with a whole load of new technology introduced, and a major heart transplant undertaken.
Bentley’s grand tourer is designed to be a thumping haymaker of a car, offering ferocious power and luxury. Hence why the heavily-revised Continental GT launched with the flagship Speed variant first: to ram that point home. ‘The Speed embodies the best of what the Conti GT is all about,’ Ian Hoban, Chief Product Strategy & Delivery Officer tells CAR; ‘the Continental GT is the core of the Bentley brand and the Speed is the core of the GT brand. We’ve got to be bold.’
And bold Crewe has been, reaching new heights of power and customisation not seen before for a non-special-edition Bentley.
Come on then, tell me about that new powerplant
Bentley says the latest Speed is the brand’s ‘most powerful road-going model ever created.’
The base of it is a redesigned 584bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that now features twin single-scroll turbochargers – which are boostier and laggier than twin-scroll ones, as well as being more durable and less complicated – as e-power fills in the turbolag gaps. A single 188bhp electric motor is applied, housed within the transmission to ensure e-power is available and applied even during gearchanges, and a 25.9kWh battery pack is mounted behind the rear axle.
Naturally, given the Continental GT shares a base architecture with the Porsche Panamera, Bentley’s nicked the new Porsche four-door’s battery pack wholesale. But this Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain from Bentley is more powerful than the current (for now) flagship Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid. Total system output for the Continental GT Speed is 771bhp and a mighty 738lb ft, good for propelling 2459kg-worth of plug-in hybrid Bentley coupe to 62mph in 3.2sec, to 100mph in 6.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 208mph.
In an effort to properly test the GT Speed’s performance, Bentley ran tests through Ryfylke Tunnel in Norway. Not only did this provide the location for clocking that immense top speed, but Bentley logged that it took the GT Speed coupe just 33 seconds to reach it.
The GTC convertible model logs a 0-62mph sprint in 3.4sec and a limited top speed of 177mph.
Christophe Georges, Bentley’s global sales and marketing director, tells us that Bentley clientele are happy to buy a hybrid ‘so long as they can see a benefit.’ It also shows us another reason why the Speed needed to be first out of the gate: it had to move the game on, and clearly, from its predecessor that used the W12 engine. The fact that this new GT Speed is 11 per cent more powerful and has 19 per cent more torque is testament to that.
It’s a bonus that Bentley claims this mighty GT is capable of up to 50 miles of electric-only range, and allows the GT Speed to surge silently on the road at up to 87mph. Charging takes around two and a half hours on an 11kW charger.
Is it just about power?
Nope. The new GT is still armed to the teeth with physics-bending engineering, including the brand’s new ‘Performance Active Chassis.’ That bundles together all-wheel drive, an electronic limited-slip differential, rear-wheel steering, all-round torque vectoring, active anti-roll technology.
Given the inherent Porsche DNA in the Conti GT’s architecture, Bentley has applied the new dual-valve dampers that launched on the Panamera and electric Macan into the dual-chamber air suspension. Bentley says using these means a wider bandwidth between cushy, plush comfort and harder, tauter sport suspension setups.
What’s new about the look?
Naturally, a lot of the design is very familiar – remember that the new-generation GT is a heavy overhaul of its predecessor, rather than a ground-up engineering project.
Even so, some of the details have changed; the updated Conti GT now features single headlights – something Bentley says hasn’t been seen on a ‘mainstream, non-coachbuilt Bentley until the S2 of 1959’ – and the design of the clusters themselves echo the Bacalar and Batur. There are new wheel designs and, at the rear, Bentley says no rear spoiler is needed despite that ferocious 208mph top speed due to the shaping of the tailgate.
Take a quick glance inside and you’ll probably think nowt’s changed and, in reality, the structure of the cockpit certainly hasn’t. But that’s far from a complaint, and Bentley has focused on improving the amount (and, indeed, the sophistication) of the technology offered. As well as a new-generation infotainment and digital instruments with a suite of new digital services, Bentley’s promising regular updates to the technology including ‘traffic light prediction’ technology first seen in Audis in very select locations.
