2017 Bentley Continental GT SuperSports

The new 12-cylinder Bentley Continental Supersports is the most powerful Bentley ever. Sporting 700 hp and 750 lb-ft it’s also the quickest and the fastest Bentley ever, with a zero-to-60-mph time of 3.4 seconds onto a top speed of 209 mph. An eight-speed automatic is the only transmission choice. The car weighs 5027 pounds. To rein in all that mass, carbon-ceramic brakes are standard, as is a brake-based torque-vectoring system. The Supersports retains the Continental’s rear-biased all-wheel-drive system, and gets a dynamic braking system that brakes the inside rear wheel when cornering at speed.

In order to attain these performance figures, Bentley did serious work to its powertrain. The W12 engine – so named because its 12 cylinders are arranged in a ‘W’ formation as opposed to a ‘V’ – has received enlarged turbochargers, an upgraded cranktrain, new conrod bearings and a better intercooler.

The new Supersports will be limited to just 710 units – matching the car’s 710PS metric power output – across coupe and convertible body styles.

Opting for the nifty convertible imposes a significant price penalty. The convertible is base priced at $325,325, nearly $30,000 more than the coupe, which carries a $296,025 sticker. Of course for that money you get a built-in neck warmer, which Bentley says “makes open-air driving an appealing and comfortable prospect even on the cooler days of spring and autumn”.