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2019 Bentley Continental GT: High fashion at its best

The new 2019 Bentley Continental GT has been revealed, and it is a stunner. It shows a healthy influence from the brand's recent show cars, especially the EXP 10 Speed 6. This is a very positive thing. Whereas the exterior of the second-generation car looked exactly like that of the first, the new car sports fresh surfacing that is at once more elegant and more athletic, while also delighting in technical detailing that deepens upon second and third glance. The styling of a six-figure, ultra-luxury Grand Tourer must evolve slowly for a number of reasons. Their wealthy buyers – looking for a prime valet spot at the country club more than at the night club – tend to be a bit more conservative in their tastes than those in the market for a knife-edged exotic. They also prefer their recently purchased six-figure, ultra-luxury Grand Tourer not to be rendered irrelevant in the status game by the introduction of a radically differentiated new model. This is especially true for Bentley and its Continental GT. This model, launched back in 2004, though tracing its roots back much further, brought the company's design out of the anachronistically (if delightfully) baroque and into the aerodynamically imposing modern era. It was the first true 21st century Bentley, decades ahead of the neoclassic design it replaced while faithfully harkening back to cues from the marque's venerable history, especially its long flanking body line, and conspicuous rear haunches. It immediately became Bentley's best seller, a position it has maintained until this year, when it's been outsold slightly by the gauche and indistinct Bentayga SUV. We believe this error will correct once the new GT is available. Much of the success of the design comes from its transference to a platform shared with the new Porsche Panamera. The previous-generation Continentals were built on underpinnings originally created for the VW Phaeton, a configuration that was, at heart, front-drive with all-wheel-drive capabilities, packaging that required engine placement ahead of the front axle. This new stablemate has a rear-wheel-drive bias, allowing for more traditional and gracious grand touring proportions on the surface. It reflects the movement of the engine farther back on the chassis, with a long hood and more hunkered-down and planted rear. We detect luscious shades of 1960s Ferrari Superfast cues in this tapering front-to-rear, side-to-side and along the flanks.

Bentley will race Pikes Peak for the first time — in a Bentayga SUV

Bentley is throwing its hat in the ring for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb first time, saying it's targeting a new SUV race record with its Bentayga. The British luxury marque will enter the W12 version, not the slightly less-powerful V8 version that it recently unveiled, when the Race to the Clouds takes place June 24. The brand's motorsports department in Crewe, England, is working to develop the vehicle for the 12.42-mile assault under the direction of motorsports director Brian Gush. They'll be working with a 2017 model and its 6.0-liter W12 engine, which makes 600 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque and goes 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, its all-wheel-drive transmission, four-mode adjustable air suspension and its 48-volt active anti-roll system. A driver will be announced later. Bentley's motorsports efforts have mostly focused on GT3 versions of its Continental GT coupe, which have a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 powering the rear wheels and goes on sale in June, and on special-edition models like the Continental 24. So it'll be interesting to see how the motorsports crew tunes the Bentayga, which debuted back in 2015 as the brand's first production SUV and the fastest, most powerful entrant in its segment. The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a grueling race up the famed mountain near Colorado Springs, featuring 156 corners and a finish line at 14,115 feet above sea level. This year will be the event's 96th running.Related Video: Featured Gallery 2016 Bentley Bentayga: First Drive View 36 Photos Image Credit: Bentley Motorsports Bentley SUV Luxury Performance pikes peak bentley bentayga Sport Utility

Is Bentley testing a hardcore Continental GT V8?

The Bentley Continental GT V8 is a darn good car. The GT V8 S, even more so. It's only logical, then that an even hotter Conti GT would be commensurately better. At least, we're hoping that's what the minds at Bentley's Crewe, UK headquarters were thinking when they dispatched this bewinged GT V8 to the Nürburgring.
This Conti GT stands out not only because of its wing, but because of its improved aerodynamics as a whole. A new front fascia, complete with a body-color lip spoiler is the big visual takeaway of this car's sportier intensions, while our spies claim this white whale rides on a lowered, firmer suspension.
The real question about this car has to do with its powerplant, though. What's under hood? The GT V8 S returns an impressive 521 horsepower while the base Conti W12 churns out 567 ponies, meaning there isn't a lot of wiggle room between what is currently the priciest V8 model and the cheapest twelve-cylinder car. The 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8, though, is certainly capable of handling more than 521 hp, as Audi uses a 560-hp variant in the RS7. Our spies, meanwhile, suggest that this may merely be an even lighter version of the GT V8 S - maybe like an RS model - that is lighter and stiffer, but no more powerful.