New Bentley Continental GT: Full Australian details

Australians are among the first in the world to take delivery of the new Bentley Continental GT, two months after its UK release and a year after its world debut at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show.

Bentley has already delivered “a handful” of about 40 Australian pre-orders for what it claims is the world’s best GT, which is priced from $422,600 including on-road costs but not stamp duty (which amounts to more than $20,000 in NSW).

That makes the British luxury brand’s new sports flagship – the first full redesign of the Bentley Continental GT in 15 years – slightly more affordable than its predecessor, which was last priced at $431,300 plus on-road costs.

However, buyers could easily spend more than $100,000 on optional extras, among which is the surprising inclusion of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as part of the City Specification package ($10,381.80).

The City pack comprises Traffic Sign Recognition, Reverse Traffic Warning, Pedestrian Warning, Hands-Free Boot Opening, Top View Camera, Auto-Dimming Door Mirrors and City Assist, which automatically brakes the vehicle if it detects an imminent collision at low speeds.

Similar AEB systems, which are a prerequisite for a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from this year, are now standard even on micro-cars like Kia’s Picanto (from $14,190).

Other advanced safety features like Lane Assist, Night Vision, Traffic Assist, Head-Up Display and Adaptive Cruise Control are packaged within the Touring Specification ($16,244.80).

“We’re prioritised what our customers want [as standard],” said Bentley’s global director of product marketing David Parker at the car’s Asia Pacific launch on the Gold Coast this week.

Another surprising option is one of the new Continental’s design drawcards, the three-sided Bentley Rotating Display, which costs $12,319.45 extra and allows drivers to flip between a veneer panel, three analogue gauges or a 12.3-inch colour infotainment touch-screen in the centre of the dashboard.

There are also various Mulliner Driving Specifications, all priced above $20,000 and featuring a range of inch-larger 22-inch wheel designs, plus cosmetic extras like diamond-quilted seat and door trim, embroidered Bentley emblems, indented hide headlining, jewel-like fuel and oil filler caps, sports pedals and piano-black or dark-stained burr walnut veneer inserts.

The most expensive option is the First Edition Specification, which for an extra $91,234 adds the City, Touring and Mood Lighting Specifications, First Edition badging inside and out, deep-pile front floor mats, the rotating display and a host of extras, some of which can be optioned separately.

These include the Front Seat Comfort Specification ($6949.80), contrast stitching ($4511.65) and the Mood Lighting Specification ($3903.90) including interior mood lighting and colour-controlled Bentley sills and treadplates.

Other individual options include diamond knurled controls ($3853.85), an extended range of solid and metallic paint colours ($11,797.50) and the choice of 16-speaker/1500-Watt Bang & Olufsen ($13,105.95) or 18-speaker/220-Watt Naim ($17,038.45) sound systems.

Other stand-alone extras on the extensive options list include red-painted brake callipers ($3210) and seven interior veneer choices including a new Koa woodgrain option and, for the first time, the ability to specify two-tone veneers ($4719).

The good news is there’s plenty of standard equipment, including a 10-speaker/650-Watt sound system, High Beam Assist, LED Matrix headlights, tail-lights and DRLs, larger-than-before 21-inch wheels, 17 standard paint colours and 15 standard leather colours.

The original Bentley Continental GT was released in 2003 as the first all-new model after the Volkswagen Group purchased Bentley from Rolls-Royce in 1998.

Since then almost 70,000 examples of the Bentley Continental GT have been sold worldwide, making it the British luxury brand’s top-seller.

Parker expects the new GT, which arrives later than planned as Bentley worked overtime to refine areas including the car’s new quicker-shifting ZF eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, to be even more popular by appealing to both loyal customers and buyers new to the brand.

Indeed – despite the launch of big new luxury coupe rivals like the facelifted S-Class Coupe and upcoming BMW 8 Series – this year’s production allocation is all but sold in Australia, where Bentley established its first national HQ in Sydney last year and where its seventh retail outlet will soon open on the Gold Coast.

Powered by an upgraded 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 TSI engine producing 473kW/900Nm (up from 423kW/700Nm), the new Bentley Continental GT is expected to again be joined by V8, Speed and Supersports variants.

For the first time, a plug-in hybrid powertrain will also be offered across the Continental range, which is underpinned by the new Porsche-developed MSB platform seen under the latest Panamera and will again include convertible (GTC) and sedan (Flying Spur) derivatives.

New from the ground up — and with one of the few carryover parts being the glovebox handle — the new Conti GT is slightly shorter (but still a rangey 4805mm), lower and up to 80kg lighter than before at still-hefty 2252kg, despite riding on a 110mm-longer wheelbase.

That helps make it almost a second quicker than its predecessor (3.7sec v 4.6), as well as faster (333km/h), while a new active all-wheel drive system, four-mode Drive Dynamics control and three-chamber air suspension with 48-volt Bentley Dynamic Ride active anti-roll system (all standard) are claimed to make it sportier than ever.

The Bentley Continental comes with a three-year, unlimited-km warranty and service intervals are 16,000km.