The Bently day

2009 Bentley Continental GT Pop Art

BMW had their Art Cars and Mini has specialty celebrity designed automobiles, but Bentley decided to take things a step further and recruit contemporary artist Romero Britto to create the centerpiece for their “Come to my world” exhibition in Germany. The English automaker provided Mr. Britto with a Continental GT as a canvas, prepared with a Bentley Blue base coat for the South Florida artist to get to work.

The car is covered in colorful, comic-like figures featuring a large multi colored flower on the hood, winged heart on the driver’s door, ladybug inspired door mirrors and a few orange and purple stars. The negative space is covered with Britto’s recognizable signature, similar to the mathematical symbol for pi; it is consists of a “T” followed by a squiggly line that sometimes goes down like a backwards “J” and other times is just a continuation of the character before it. The entire feeling of this piece of 200 MPH artwork is that it is as playful as the GT is fun to drive.

2010 Bentley Continental Series 51

In 1961 Bentley’s first official styling department was established in Crewe by the gifted John Blatchley. It was the place where the 1950s Bentley Continentals models were designed. To honor the year, Bentley will unveil at the Frankfurt Motor Show a special edition Continental GT and GTC.

The new Continental Series 51 model will feature a highly-distinctive interior color palette and unique exterior design cues. The GTC version displayed in Frankfurt will feature a Imperial Blue as a main and secondary hide, Linen seat and door inserts and Newmarket Tan as the accent color.

Both GT and GTC version will feature 20” 14-spoke polished Diamond wheel with a dark centre cap provides Series 51 cars with a purposeful and stylish appearance. The cars will be further distinguished by a signature ‘51’ badge on the front wings.

UPDATE 01/14/10 The British coach builder Bentley Motors had a few surprises in store for the crowd at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit when they presented the all new Bentley Mulsanne and ’Series 51’ designer edition Continental GTC convertible. The first new car show of the season marks the North American car show debut for the 51 that was previewed in Frankfurt and is still wowing audiences on this side of the pond with its unique persona due to the infinite configuration combination that are available through Bentley’s extensive color and trim catalog that promises to make owners feel unique. Form the looks of things both new cars are sure to be hit here in the U.S.

2010 Bentley Continental Flying SpurSpeed China

On one side you have the visually influenced Bentley and, on the other, you have the mechanically influenced Bentley. The second special edition unveiled today by Bentley at 2010 Auto China Motor Show, Beijing is the Continental Flying SpurSpeed China. This special edition comes with a range of engineering upgrades developed for the Chinese market.

It gets a bespoke ’comfort’ suspension which emphasizes the car’s superior ride quality for both driver and passengers, whilst ensuring the class-leading performance of the W12 6-liter engine is in no way diminished. The car is capable of achieving a potential top speed of 200mph and a 0-60mph sprint time of just 4.5 seconds.

The Continental Flying SpurSpeed China is distinguished by sporty 20-inch multi-spoke Speed wheels, a range of design features that accentuate its special edition status, ’Speed China’ treadplates and wing badges and a special display case for the ignition key.

It probably would have been a good idea just to combine the Flying SpurSpeed China’s engineering upgrades with the Bentley Continental GT Design Series China’s bold color choices to make one helluva sedan or coupe

2010 Bentley Continental GT Bullet Grey by TopCar

Top Car is offering a new version of their Continental GT Bullet. Back in 2009, they gave us a black-matte edition, this time they came with a gray edition with carbon fiber insertions.

The exterior package consists of bonnet with additional air intakes, radiator grille GT Speed, front bumper with set LED daytime lights, front bumper lip, tinted front and rear lights, two composite side skirts with additional air inlets, rear bumper and diffuser, rear wing, exhaust tips, black window frames, and lower side moldings.

Basically, this edition is just about the same thing as the matte black edition they presented us with last September. The only difference is the change in exterior color. Top Car is lucky that the Continental GT Bullet is already stunning or else we would have been bored with this edition before we even started writing about it.

2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

The British maker Bentley will unveil the convertible version of its most powerful and fastest Continental ever in March at the Geneva Motor Show. The 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible will go on sale in June (all markets) and it is expected to have a price of aprox. $300k.

As with the coupe version, the Supersports Convertible is powered by a 6-liter W12 twin-turbocharged engine that delivers a total of 621bhp 6000 rpm and 590lb ft of torque at 2000-4500 rpm. It makes the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.9 seconds, while top speed goes up to 202 mph.

The new convertible also features: ZF 6HP26 transmission with ’Quickshift’ system that cuts shift times by 50%, all-wheel drive system, Continuous Damping Control (CDC) system, stiffer suspension, lightweight, 20-inch, 10-spoke alloy wheels offering 22lb weight saving per car, carbon-ceramic brakes, lightweight, carbon fiber, front sports seats, saving 99lb per car, Alcantara, carbon fiber and ’Soft Grip’ leather and of course, FlexFuel capability.

Updated 03/03/2010: Bentley today revealed the first video of the fastest four-seat production convertible car in the world. Check it out!

Updated 03/31/2010: The Continental Supersports Convertible made its North American debut today at the New York Auto Show. At the event, Bentley announced the car will be available this summer, starting at $280,400.

Updated 06/28/2010: Bentley unveiled today a new image gallery of the Continental Supersports Convertible. Check them out!

Updated 07/06/2010: The new Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible made its official public driving debut at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed. With several searing runs up the famous hill, it forcibly underlined its supercar performance credentials. Images in the picture gallery.

2012 Bentley Continental GT Preview

We have to love spy photographers. It’s great when they get in there and snap shots of cars that want to keep top secret. The latest vehicle to be uncovered is the 2012 Bentley Continental GT. From the looks of these photographs the next Continental GT will be receiving a face lift and it looks as if the designers performing the surgery think there’s not much to change. Cosmetic changes are very subtle, almost unrecognizable to the untrained eye. The new Continental will feature new headlights - similar to those of the new Mulsanne - new, revised, front air ducts, and a new set of wheels. Does anyone else see an Aston Martin morphed into the side of the car or is it just us?

The 2012 Continental is also expected to go on a diet by using an aluminum space frame, comparable to that of the Audi R8. Expect improved performance from the 6.0 liter W12 although the new Continental will most likely not receive a substantial amount of power. A redesigned interior will provide the driver with new, modern conveniences while also allowing them to customize their ride.

The 2012 Bentley Continental GT will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show in October with sales beginning in 2011. Prices will start at £130,000.