What's all this then?
This is the updated Bentley Continental GT Speed, which was hardly in need of more power, but the 30 hand-picked engineers who build each of the 6.0-litre W12 engines have managed to find an extra 7hp, bringing the total to 642hp. There's more torque too, an extra 20Nm of the stuff, bringing the total to 840Nm and that's enough to shove the big Bentley from standstill to 62mph in just 4.1 seconds. If you're a bit ore old-fashioned and prefer a 0-60mph run, then it's a very impressive 3.9 seconds. Top speed is a distinctly naughty 206mph. Sorry officer, my foot slipped...
All that power requires body styling of appropriate menace and so Bentley is introducing the Black Edition, which gets high-gloss black finishing instead of chrome for such things as the window surrounds, headlight bezels and more. Inside, you get black carbon fibre finish for the dash, doors and centre console and you can set all that off with contrasting leather, including an eye-searing 'Cyber Yellow' amongst others. Those same contrast colours can also be applied to the front airdam, side sills and rear air diffuser if you really want to make your Conti GT look like a hot hatch from the eighties.
Paul Jones, Product Line Director for Continental GT, comments: "We have developed the GT Speed Black Edition to meet demand from customers for a model in the Continental line that offers both increased sporting capabilities and instantly recognisable styling cues. The Black Edition has a subtle but purposeful look that is backed up by exceptional performance."
Neil Briscoe - 4 Apr 2016