Here's a simple question: if 550 horsepower is good, what is better? How about 600 horsepower? That, in a nutshell, is the strategy behind Bentley's newest offering, the Continental GT Speed, for 2008.
As the Volkswagen-owned British luxury brand considered upgrading its successful Continental GT coupe, owners told the company, 'don't change our car, just give us more of what we already have."
The result, explains engineering chief, Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, is the first production Bentley capable of topping 200mph. The horsepower figure and top speed capability may sound academic in today's driving environment, but such numbers are important to buyers of cars in the GT class. One of the reasons is that the luxury market niche occupied by the GT has grown more crowded since the car's debut in 2003. Crowded, that is, by ultra-luxury standards. When it was launched, the GT pretty much had the $150,000 to $200,000 segment to itself. But other brands noted Bentley's success and have since joined the party with models such as Aston Martin's DB9, the Mercedes-Benz S65, Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo (another VW-owned brand).
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