Budget-burdened Bentley buyers can now toss the clever V12 and order themselves a third-gen Continental GT with a smaller, 4-liter twin turbo V8 engine. At 542 horses and 568 lb ft (770 Nm) of torque, the new GT V8 and its convertible stablemate are no slouches either.
The 0-60 mph (0-98 km/h) sprint is a brisk 3.9 seconds, a few tenths slower than the V12, and both models can boogie up to a top speed of 198 mph (318 km/h), which is a few clicks shy of the 207-mph (333 km/h) full fat version, but more than enough for this style of car.
Which one you'll want to go for depends on what kind of driver you are. The V12 is enormous, and uber-smooth, with clever cylinder deactivation technology to improve your highway gas mileage. It's clearly the king of the range in terms of big blingin' street cred. But the V8 will is a lot lighter, and will probably sound throatier, so it'll likely actually be more fun to drive – not to mention a touch less thirsty (Bentley is claiming a 500-mile, or 800-km, tank range) and cheaper to buy outright.
Beyond the motors and the small V8 badges on the sides, you'll struggle to tell the GT V8s apart from the GTs, which I'm sure will suit most buyers just fine. So for interior and other information, you might as well check out our previous articles on the Continental GT and Continental GT Convertible.
Pricing is yet to be announced (the V12 Continental Coupe starts at US$225,000), but deliveries will begin from Q3 2019 in the US, and Q1 2020 for the rest of the world.
Source: Bentley