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2019 Bentley Continental GT First Drive Review | A grand tourer learns to dance

The Austrian Alps are a curious venue to show off that great hunter of the highways, the Bentley Continental GT. With deep green forests and soaring thrusts of exposed rock, the Alps are one of those few places where the natural world still reigns supreme. Humanity isn't going to change this place much. You can forget about six-lane freeways blasted through rock — the only way to get around is on narrow, twin lanes. True to its name, the coupe is perhaps the truest grand touring car on the market — comfort happily married to speed. I once logged a personal best time between New York City and Boston in a base GT, despite a pounding nighttime rain. Even that miserable East Coast route felt easy in the GT, which eats through highway miles in a peculiarly relentless fashion. It was born for distance. This is our first drive of the new, third-generation car, which won't be sold in North America for another year, at a starting price of $214,600. We've been told it is a changed machine — a GT still, but with more nimbleness. And now we're about to find out, having left behind quaint Austrian villages for a steep mountain road that switchbacks up toward the clouds. It's everything you hope and dream when you fantasize about the Alps. Before me is a straightaway interrupted by a quick left-right bend and an uphill switchback. A small twist of hands on the nicely weighted steering wheel and the Bentley jukes through the left-right fluidly; no need to brush the brakes until we're right up to the hairpin. Then a firm push on the stoppers and a full lock of the steering wheel and — listen to that! — tire noise from the 21-inch Pirellis as we get back on the gas early. The car stays remarkably flat despite the camber of the turn. I snap open my hands and flat-foot the accelerator. Another hairpin beckons just beyond. And so it goes, the Conti welcoming a full-throated uphill attack. We get to the top and begin the fall back down the mountain, which is even more illuminating. This is the model with the W12 — the only one available at launch, notorious for carrying too much weight in its nose. Take a previous generation on a tight downhill route and you wrestle the grille through the turns, giving up entry speed to mitigate inevitable front-end push. It was a point-and-shoot car, relying on good brakes and ample power to make up lost time through the turns. This new generation is a momentum machine. There is a newfound rhythm and flow. It is deft and it is nimble.

Bentley unveils Continental GT3 racer [w/video]

Ten years after unveiling the concept car that ultimately became the Bentley Continental GT, the iconic British company is back at the Paris Motor Show, with another high-performance "concept" car. The newest member of the Bentley family, this Continental GT3 is a concept in name only, as the company is explicit about the fact that its debut marks a return to motorsports for the brand.
The last time we saw the flying B on a racecar, it was when Bentley was claiming honors at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003. The GT3 seeks to take up that mantle, as well as the storied history of road-going Bentleys being transformed into competent racing machines.
Though technical details are nonexistent in the Bentley press release, the company has given us something to work with, in terms of the racecar that will ultimately result from this program. The GT3 will, naturally, build on the very strong performance of the Continental GT Speed, adding a rear-drive chassis, a massive aero package (the wing seen here in no joke) and "state-of-the-art motorsport hardware."

Bentley Bentayga spied on soon-to-be home turf

If we had to bet where Bentley would sell the most Bentayga crossovers, our money would be on the Middle East, with a particular focus on the oil-rich United Arab Emirates. Considering that – not to mention the blistering heat – it's no real surprise that the British manufacturer is testing its first CUV on the sand-strewn roads of Dubai. This video comes from an Arab YouTube channel that Google Translate calls "net box." It gives us a great look at the new Bentayga while both parked and in motion, traveling along Dubai's highways. While this is not the exact same vehicle we've seen in previous spy photos – the number plate on this car ends in a Z instead of a W – the camouflage job is more or less the same. There are large, obstructive headlight and taillight covers, and the same strakes designed to obscure the rear haunches. Seeing an engineer getting out of the car and standing next to it, though, does give us some sense of its overall size. Either Bentley's engineer is a giant or the Bentayga is relatively low for a crossover, relying more on a lifted ride height than just being big and tall. You can check out the video above. Like we said, it's a good first look at Crewe's first CUV in motion. Check it out, and let us know what you think in Comments.