Our colleagues at Motor Trend recently spent some time with the Bentley Continental GT at Spain’s Circuito de Navarra race track, where technical director Frank Markus tested the car’s new twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 engine option. In this latest episode of Ignition¸ Markus covers the performance specs of the heavy two-door, noting that he prefers the V-8 model instead of the pricier W-12 model.
After introducing the car with architect Frank Gehry’s wild Marqués de Riscal hotel as a backdrop, Markus embarks on the one-hour journey to the recently constructed Formula 1 circuit. On the way, we learn that the V-8 model gets 40-percent better fuel economy than the W-12 while achieving the same performance, Bentley claims. Though the Continental GT V8 costs about 10 percent less than the range-topping W-12 model, Markus says he would actually pay more to hear that full-bodied twin-turbo V-8’s sound.
Once at the track, Markus puts the Continental GT’s 500 hp and 487 lb-ft of torque to the test, accelerating to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. In the 60-0 mph braking test, the V-8-powered Continental GT stops in a solid 106 feet, thanks to its beefy carbon-ceramic brakes wide 21-inch wheels and tires. After completing tests, Markus gives his take on where the Bentley stands in its segment. Find out what he says in the episode below.
