Coming off a successful trip to Bathurst, the refreshed Bentley Continental GT brought its family to the 2015 Geneva Auto Show.
Improvements to the GT W12, GT Speed and GT V8 S include revised front and rear bumpers, a new rear diffuser for the higher performance models, 20- and 21-inch wheels for the GT V8, and three shades of paint, two blue and one gold.
The revisions continue with the power itself, where the 6-liter W12 jumps to 582 horsepower and 531 lb-ft, from 567 horses and 516 lb-ft of torque. The W12 also uses variable displacement to improve fuel economy by shutting down half of its cylinders.
Inside, the driver’s instrument display gains a more contemporary look, while the V8 and V8 S coupes gain a hidden storage compartment that can store and charge electronic devices.
So some new ghastly exterior colors (which are mainly unsuitable for this type of car), and more fiddly details and trim on the outside.
They need a new model pronto, as they are out of things to do. The interior still looks alright, but it’s aged as well.
Bentley has disguised it well, but you can tell that it’s an older car with some reworked details. That EXP 10 thing probably previewed the next Continental GT.
Agreed. This car is rapidly becoming a characiture of itself with those MTV Cribs color schemes and tack-ons.
To my disappointment, Bentley did nothing about the underwhelming infotainment system, which appears to be an RNS-850 (seen in the Touareg). Then again, it is a remarkably simple interface that provides little fuss…appropriate for a Bentley, I suppose.
The NAV unit is junk, to put it mildly. Very unworkable and counterintuitive, even amongst its circa-2004 contemporaries. A pre-glass Soviet-era MiG-29 has a better graphical setup, imo. A complete embarassment in a ~$220k automobile.
The MiG-29 had advanced avionics for its time, I wouldn’t be surprised. The MiG-29 is also seeing service in the Ukrainian proxy war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-29
Advanced Russian avionics for its time. The Mig-29 didn’t have the tech of the comparable 4th gen American fighters. It also didn’t have the support systems in place that the “teens” fighters did.
That being said, the biggest problem with the Mig-29 is it’s lack of range and reliability. It’s certainly a capable aircraft. Too bad that most of them aren’t airworthy.
Since most of its predecessor’s electronics were powered by vacuum tubes I imagine much of the avionics were purloined from the West at the time.
“Teens” fighters?
F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18 (F/A-18 I guess)
I’m guessing the latter two will be serving well past their sell by dates given the debacle the F-35 has become. Did you know the first flight of the F-16 was in 1974? The prototype, YF-16, is on display at the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton Roads, VA (which is a neat destination if you find yourself in the area).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon
Well the F/A-18, in larger SuperHornet form, is still in production. Boeing is supposed to keep building them until at least 2017. Australia has been smart and bought a number of SuperHornets. They would have helped keep the F-22 line open, but the state department said no. Canada may also buy an updated version of the SuperHornet because it will save them $2 billion over the F-35. A number of other countries would be flying it if politics didn’t dictate otherwise.
When I lived in Tucson, I’d see F-16s everyday. The National Guard base there is a huge F-16 facility. I think only Luke AFB trains more people on the F-16. One of the Emirates States was shooting a movie there. It was like the Abu Dhabi version of Top Gun.
I would think the F/A 18 might stay in production longer if there are profitable orders for it from overseas. Due to costs alone it makes fiscal sense to purchase it over an F-35 depending on mission parameters. Unlike say in the Second World War where aircraft designs were made obsolete in a few years, the F-16 and F/A 18 -themselves 30-40 years old- will live on for decades in the sky.
I wonder how one says “I feel the need… the need for speed!” in Arabic?
The USMC would order the Super Hornet if it meant that the STOVL version of the F-35 wasn’t killed. They are so worried about it that they are taking used F/A-18Cs that are retired by the Navy. Tyler Rogoway wrote an excellent article over at Jalopnik/Foxtrot Alpha about how Canada should pick the Super Hornet over the F-35: http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-right-fighter-for-canada-is-the-super-hornet-not-t-1587492909
As far as “need for speed” in Arabic, I’ll have to ask my friend. He was in charge of media/communications for the Tucson ANG base. One of my favorite memories of living in Tucson was hanging out in the ANG hanger watching F-16s doing touch and go’s with the afterburners cranking.
One thing I wish I could see in life is a F-15 flying around.
Such a cool aircraft! Whether in gray and reddish-orange, black and purple, blue and silver, or with weird made up wings based on concept sketches and prototypes that never came close to production.
@bball
Nice link, the article fails to take into account one thing: the recently plummeted Canadian Dollar exchange rate. Given their tight budget, the F-35 is not happening especially given the near 25% hit on Canadian dollars. I’d say for them its going to be SuperHornet or a NATO friendly European competitor depending on the exchange rate (perhaps Sweden or Finland?).
@nogoyo
You’ve still got a chance to see an F-15 in flight:
“The F-15 Eagle is expected to be in service with the U.S. Air Force past 2025.[6] Newer models are still being produced for foreign users. The F-15 production line is set to end in 2019, 47 years after the type’s first flight”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle
Additional: That Canadian fighter article makes me want to go play XCOM now (the original game).
Classic lines and shape, for better or for worse. I agree that they need a new model to replace this, as they can only continue with the minor refreshes/subtle sub-models for so long. The interior is high quality in terms of materials used, but dated in design and features. Including the V8 model with this generation was a step forward, and certainly welcome, but at this point more is needed to keep this thing relevant – especially since the base for it still dates to the early 2000s.
That’s a beautiful but very pricey Mustang!
Do they need a new model, technically yes, but in reality not really. They still sell bucketloads of them and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Go to anywhere like NYC, Chicago, Miami or LA and you can’t throw a rock without hitting a Continental GT, they are like Camrys. They are basically the coupe version of a G-Wagen. One of my neighbors just got a black V8 one a couple of weeks ago, it doesn’t look much different than the original, but it still looks great and powerful. Another coupe I can think of that can kind of go on forever is the Maserati Gran Turismo, I have yet to get tired of looking at that car. All they really need to do is periodically update the tech on this car and they will be fine. The new Mercedes S-Class coupes are probably better, but at the end of the day they share a name with the B-Classes and CLAs of the world and Bentley is still Bentley. What Bentley really needs to do is to get the Flying Spur’s looks up to the Continental GT’s levels and the interior tech and amenities on par with the S-Class and then they could get a huge sales hit with that car, I almost never see them anywhere.