Bentley Continental 2015 News

NSW Police Force bring some serious toys out to play at the Bathurst 1000

Bentley of Britain will launch a full-scale two-car attack on Bathurst next year.The ultra-luxury carmaker has just confirmed a factory entry in the Bathurst 12-hour sports car race in February, fielding a pair of its Continental GT3 racers.It is not expecting to win but has already achieved victories in Europe and the USA in the first season with its production-based competition car, which is powered by a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine producing up to 600 horsepower.“We are coming with the factory team to the Bathurst 12-hour. We decided last week at our headquarters in Britain,” the chairman and chief executive of Bentley Motors, Wolfgang Durheimer, revealed exclusively at the Paris motor show today.“It will be two cars. The program will be run from our headquarters in Crewe.”Durheimer also reveals that the effort in 2015 will be the start of a multi-year program for Bentley and he’s not expecting to win at the first attempt.“We know that we are in the underdog position because we have a new car and no track data from the race, but we will do our best to give a good impression,” he said“We are extremely pleased to bring the Bentley brand to a very knowledgeable audience and an outstanding historic racetrack in Australia. I have only heard and read about about Bathurst, but I believe it is the Australian Nurburgring.“I am thrilled to do one lap on my own. Yes, I am hoping to get to the race.”The Bathurst 12-hour has become a major international event in recent years, attracting a number of European entries including the Mercedes-Benz gullwing that finished second this year to a Ferrari 458 crewed by Craig Lowndes and John Bowe.But it is at the heart of a major confrontation with V8 Supercar racing, which has scheduled its pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park on the same weekend in a decision that reflects clashes between rival television networks and the availability of marquee drivers including Lowndes and Shane van Gisbergen.Durheimer said the lead car in the Bentley team will be shared by factory drivers Guy Smith, Steven Kane and Andy Meyrick but there had been no decision on the second car.“For the second car, we didn’t decide yet. Applications are still possible,” he smiled.Durheimer is promising much more than a race entry, even though factory motorsport personnel will soon travel to Bathurst to collect data and logistics information on the event and track.“We do it entirely as a factory team, but I’m absolutely sure we will get connected to our dealer body. And the guys in Australia will support us as much as possible."We will do a major activation. GT racing, for us, is about getting access to the pits, to the team, to the strategy. We are absolutely approachable,” he said."We build very exclusive cars and we like the prestigious approach, but in terms of racing activities we have both feet on the ground and don’t intend to be the high fliers.“We let the parents and the kids get involved.”Durheimer said the program is already in top gear to make deadlines for the February event.“My guys will come in the European winter time to asses the data. I don’t think it will be a one-off event for us.“We know we need to be extremely humble to approach this track and these experienced drivers. Luckily we have scored a victory in the US in our first racing season and we were second in the Blancpain endurance season in Europe for teams and drivers.” 

This new 2013 Continental GT Speed Convertible is one of the last models in Bentley’s Continental range to receive its mid-cycle update, with new versions of the Supersports and Flying Spur now the only models still under wraps. Though just a mid-cycle update, the changes that have been incorporated for Bentley’s latest Continental range are significant. They include slightly sharper styling, a revised interior, and a host of other upgrades under its skin. The GT Speed Convertible, like its hardtop cousin, gets a twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W-12 engine rated at 460 kW and 800 Nm of torque. The mighty powerplant is matched to the latest ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and drives all four wheels via a Torsen center differential. Despite the slight bump in power and torque, Bentley claims a 15 percent improvement in driving range, fuel economy and emissions. Fuel economy is expected to be around 15.7L/ 100km for the combined cycle. The GT Speed hardtop gets simlar figures except it's a bit thirstier in city driving. The 0-100 km/h sprint takes around 4.1 seconds, just 0.1 of a second off the pace of the hardtop, while the top speed is 325 km/h, making this the fastest four-seat convertible in the world. Not bad considering the vehicle has a curb weight of 2495 kilograms and can comfortable seat four in ultimate luxury. Boot space is a reasonable 260 litres. For the chassis, Bentley engineers have increased the width of the track, sharpened up the steering and lowered the suspension by 10 millimeters compared to the outgoing model. The suspension consists of double wishbones up front and a multi-link setup in the rear, all with self-leveling air suspension and anti-roll bars. The all-wheel-drive settings have also been made rear-biased. The wheels are a unique set of 21-inch alloys and come shod with Pirelli P Zero ultra high-performance tires. The brake discs are steel, though Bentley offers a carbon silicon carbide set as an option. Inside, the Continental GT Speed Convertible gets the Mulliner Driving Specification (first shown on the Mulsanne in Geneva this year) as standard equipment, along with soft-touch leather hides, an extensive range of wood veneers, cool-touch metals and deep-pile carpets. One special touch for the Continental GT Speed models is Bentley’s dark tint aluminum ‘engine spin’ finish, inspired by the dashboards of the automaker’s Le Mans winners of the 1920s. The infotainment system features Bentley’s latest software upgrades, which vary from region to region but include refinements such as point of interest mapping, optional satellite landscape imagery, live traffic data and, where the infrastructure supports it, digital radio. The system features 15 GB of available music space, as well as the facility to play music via an iPod, MP3 player, the car’s own six-disc CD changer or SD card. Stay tuned for the car’s debut in Detroit on January 15. www.motorauthority.com  

   

As a builder of limousines for the British royal family, Hollywood stars and European aristocrats, the UK-based company always manages to get plenty of publicity. For Melbourne, it has chosen two Continental GTCs — a Glacier White and Monaco Yellow Continental — as the halo cars. They will be joined by the Bentley Flying Spur Speed and Continental GT Speed coupe, both potent additions to the Continental range. Inspired by the grace and power of Bentley’s bloodline, the Continental GT Speed delivers enormous power and tauter handling. Enhanced dynamics build on a heritage of high performance dating to 1919. The GT Speed’s 6.0-litre W12 engine develops an enormous 449kW/750Nm, propelling the car to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds. It is the most powerful production Bentley ever built and the first to top 322km/h.   The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show...  

Bentley has added a more powerful Speed model to its Continental Flying Spur range and beefed up the power of its audio system. The 12-cylinder Speed is the British company's most powerful four-door model yet. With 447kW of power, it has the same potent performance as its stablemate, the Continental GT Speed, hurtling from standstill to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds and hitting a top speed of 322km/h. It also features a lowered ride height, uprated and redesigned suspension, retuned steering and comes with bespoke Pirelli P-Zero UHP performance tyres. Outside, the Speed is differentiated by a dark-tinted radiator and air intake grilles and wider rifled exhaust tail pipes and 20inch multi-spoke alloy wheels. The new Bentley Continental Flying Spur also puts more power into its sound system with an optional 1100-watt Naim amplifier, the most powerful in a production car. British hi-fi firm Naim has designed a sound system with 15 custom-built speakers, dual sub-woofers and a next-generation Digital Signal Processor. So occupants can enjoy the music, rather than listen to road, wind and tyre noise, a range of noise-absorbent materials has been added. They include acoustic glazing, tri-laminate body undertrays and wheelarch liners. Subtle exterior styling changes for the Flying Spur include a more upright grille and bolder lower air and a more aggressive rear bumper, with three new exterior colours and four duo-tone paint combinations. Inside, there is a greater choice of crafted wood marquetry and chrome inlays, seat piping and two new hide colours. The new Flying Spur may now be optioned up with a follow-to-stop, radar-based Adaptive Cruise Control which monitors traffic ahead and manages the throttle and brakes to maintain a pre-set time gap, up to a driver-selected set speed. The aluminium-intensive suspension of the Flying Spur features revised spring and dampers and bespoke 19-inch Pirelli UHP tyres. All Flying Spur models come with the largest brakes of any production passenger car on sale today, with 405mm x 36mm ventilated front discs and 335mm x 22mm rears. Under normal driving conditions the brake discs will last the lifetime of the car.   Bentley Continental Flying Spur ENGINE: aluminium alloy, twin-turbocharged, 5998cc, DOHC, 4-valve, 12-cylinder POWER: 412kW @ 6100rpm; 449kW @ 6000rpm (Speed) TORQUE: 650Nm @1600rpm; 750Nm @ 1750rpm (Speed) TRANSMISSION: ZF 6-speed automatic, continuous all-wheel drive SUSPENSION: multi-link, computer-controlled self-levelling air suspension, anti-roll bars BRAKES: Front - 405mm ventilated discs (optional 420mm carbon/silicon carbide, cross-drilled discs); Rear - 335mm ventilated discs (optional 356mm carbon/silicon carbide, cross-drilled discs), ABS, electronic stability DIMENSIONS (mm): 5290 (l), 2118 (w), 3065 (wheelbase) WEIGHT: 2475kg WHEELS/TYRES: Flying Spur: 9J 19-inch Alloy (optional 9J 20-inch alloy) 275/40x19 bespoke Pirelli P Zero (optional 275/35x20); Speed: 9.5J X 20 Alloy, 275/35 x 20 Pirelli P-Zero FUEL: PULP, 90 litre tank ECONOMY: 16.6litres/100km (combined) CO2 EMISSIONS: 396g/km  

Speed is good for Bentley. It was very good in the 1920s, when a Speed badge signalled everything special about the British brand's sportiest models.