Bentley to debut V8 Continental at Detroit show

2011-bentley-continental-gt-46 For an automaker with just two model lines, Bentley sure has a lot of room to expand in the coming year or two. With the newly facelifted Continental GT now out on the market, a new Continental GTC drop-top expected to be unveiled in Frankfurt, after which we can expect the next Flying Spur, and then the inevitable Speed variants of each bodystyle.

The Mulsanne is also expected to spawn a new coupe and convertible, and reports of new model lines, including an SUV, have been circulating. But in the middle of all of this expansion, Bentley is preparing to downsize (in a sense).

It's been no secret that Continental range will add a turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine option alongside the 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 currently on offer. And now comes word that the new mill will drop at January's Detroit Auto Show.

No word on output just yet, but you can expect it to undercut the 567 horsepower of the current twelve by some margin. And as Alex Nunez reports at ConsumerSearch, the lighter engine is tipped to provide a sportier drive than the larger mill it joins.

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