Check out Bentley’s new 208 mph Continental GT Speed ​​for $ 275,000

Bentley Motors is not resting on its laurels after a record sales year in 2020 for the famous British luxury car maker.

The Volkswagen-owned company on Tuesday unveiled the 2022 Continental GT Speed, a new performance version of its best-selling car nameplate. Bentley calls the vehicle “the best and most efficient Bentley ever.”

The car is expected to cost around $ 274,900 when it goes on sale in the US and Europe in the third quarter, followed by other markets in the fourth quarter.

The two-door performance car is powered by a 6.0-liter 12-cylinder engine that produces 650 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. The car goes from 0 to 100 km / h in 3.5 seconds. Its top speed is 208 mph, according to the automaker. The performance is slightly better than the Bentley Continental GT and Continental GT convertible with the same engine. It also features performance parts and additional tuning, officials said.

“The new Continental GT Speed ​​represents the pinnacle of grand touring performance,” said Matthias Rabe, Bentley’s director of engineering, in a statement.

The third-generation Continental GT Speed ​​could be one of the last, if not the last, of the non-electrified versions of the car. Bentley plans to offer plug-in hybrid or battery-electric electric vehicles exclusively by 2026, and fully electric vehicles only by 2030.

“This is a big change for a company that has grown with 6.75 liter and W12 engines,” Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said at a media event. “We know that the legislation, customer tastes and characteristics of battery-powered electric transmissions are a perfect fit with Bentley’s strategy, so we are very excited about it.”

Hallmark said the company is not planning plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) with V-12 engines. He said V-8 engines combined with electrification are expected to achieve similar or better performance. PHEVs combine battery technology with internal combustion engines.

Bentley sold 11,206 vehicles in 2020 – despite a seven-week shutdown of its plant in England at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last spring. It broke the company’s 2019 record of 11,006 units. The Bentley Continental GT and Continental GT Convertible combined to account for 39% of its sales.