Bentley gives Continental GT Speed even more power

The Bentley Continental GT Speed has never been accused of being a slouch when it came to power, bluntly incorporating the word Speed in its name, but it seems the company's engineers believe there is still room for improvement. And so for 2015 the Bentley Continental GT Speed and Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible will receive a slight bump up in power, and will now offer 626-hp and 607 lb-ft of torque. That's up from 616-hp and 590 lb-ft of torque in the 2014 versions of this 6.0-liter W12 beast. That'll be enough to proper it to 206 mph, figures which up until just a couple years ago were not really available in an Edwardian study room on wheels, and we'll get our first glimpse of the car at the Geneva Motor Show next week.

Bentley promises a 0 to 60 sprint of 4.0 seconds, which should be easily achievable with the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and all-wheel drive (even though we'd love to see the burnout that would result if all that power was going solely to the rear wheels). But the all-wheel drive will be there to keep owners out of trouble, because there aren't too many cars on the market that offer this much power along with so much curb weight.

Bentley
A slightly revised interior is new for 2015, including a new integrated stripe design.

Changes aren't confined to a retuned engine, as the 2015 model will feature a new front bumper, which should be the easiest way to distinguish it from the current 2014 model. The front bumper will incorporate mesh grilles over the intakes, with another cosmetic tweak being the slight tint added to the headlight surrounds and wheels. The brake calipers will receive a red finish, and in case the whole package won't be visible enough on the road, extroverts will now have the option of a Candy Red exterior paint color. Tweaks to the interior for the Speed model include a color split interior, which will also now feature accent stripes in contrasting colors for the doors, the inner console, the fascia wings, and the gear lever.

The revised Bentley Continental GT Speed will debut alongside the V8 version of the Flying Spur, which has received the same powerplant recently added to the Continental GT V8.

By Jay Ramey