Hundreds of features have been improved to produce the swanky, new Bentley Continental GT, the luxury carmaker says, in what might not be the wisest admission for the reputable marque to make.
Most importantly, the two-door supercar now packs a more powerful W12 engine in a longer body for more rear-seat leg room - while at the same time achieving a 65kg weight reduction. So while the copywriter should be ditched for the grammatically awful slogan 'Supremacy Everyday', the GT's designers and engineers have had their work cut out.
The Continental range, which also includes an elegant convertible, Supersport and the four-door Flying Spirit, has been around since 2003 in its present form, while the name has been in use since 1952.
Bentley Hong Kong general manager Douglas Chau said at the launch of the GT this month that the company had already received 20 orders from local buyers, and the cars would be delivered by the end of the year. He expected to have received about another 30 orders by then.
While Bentley's elite flagship Mulsanne is targeted at chief executives and is perceived as a car to be driven in, the Continental is aimed primarily at the owner's driving pleasure. As Chau says: 'Unless the boss is driving a Mulsanne already, don't buy one!' That leaves the Continental to the rest of the board's directors, who may need to cash in a few stock options to get their hands on a new GT, which costs HK$3.68 million, including tax.
The GT's design is striking, maintaining the recognisable DNA, as Bentley puts it, of the old British marque - now owned by Volkswagen - while looking thoroughly contemporary. There's nothing subtle about the sculpting of the bodywork, with a bold, horizontal 'hockey stick' waistline that turns over the front wheels, and the muscular back wheel arches that round out the back - much as in the original model more than 50 years ago. An elegant, elongated arch frames the side windows and a large rear window offers a clear view for a sports coupe. Much of the weight has been reduced by replacing steel with superformed aluminium body panels.