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Bentley Continental GT Gets Sporty S Treatment

Standard styling and performance upgrades give Bentley's grand tourer an edge.

Steven Ewing Former managing editor
Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.
Steven Ewing
Bentley Continental GT S on a bridge
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Bentley Continental GT S on a bridge

The S-specific upgrades look great.

Bentley

When Bentley launched the new Bentayga S, we figured it was only a matter of time before the company's other cars got a similar treatment. That makes Monday's announcement of the new Continental GT S no real surprise, though thanks to a number of styling and performance improvements, there's still plenty to be excited about.

Bentley will offer the S upgrade on both the Continental GT coupe and GTC convertible. Visual enhancements include new 22-inch wheels, darkened front and rear lights and black chrome trim. (Smaller 21-inch wheels are also available.) Inside, the cabin has a mix of leather and Dinamica suede upholstery, with "S" embroidery on the model-specific sport seats.

Power comes from the same twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine used in other Continental GTs, putting out 542 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. S models come standard with a sport exhaust -- which sounds pretty rad in the Bentayga S -- as well as Bentley's Dynamic Ride 48-volt anti-roll technology, helping to keep the Conti as flat as possible while cornering.

No pricing information is available just yet, but considering we're talking about a Bentley Continental GT, a price tag in the mid-$200,000 range sounds about right. That might seem like a lot, but considering we like the Bentayga S better than the more powerful Bentayga Speed, this might be the best performance buy in the Conti GT range.

Bentley Continental GT S Has V8 Power, More Style

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