June is set to show us the fourth-generation of the Bentley Continental GT. With the new model, we are going to see some of the biggest changes since its introduction over  20 years ago.

The new Continental GT will be waving goodbye to the iconic 6-litre twin turbo W12. Taking its place will be an all new ‘ultra performance V8 hybrid’. This means there will be a power boost for the Continental with it now having 771 bhp and 737 lb ft (1,000 Nm) of torque from this new powertrain. On electric power alone, you can expect 50 miles of electric range, which for the size and weight of the Continental, I would say that is not bad at all.

Alongside this, as with most new car and model announcements, ‘exciting words’ are used to describe the changes. Bentley is no exception, ‘electrocharging’ is used to describe how the hybrid system is used. Is this necessary? Honestly, I don’t think so. For me personally, it almost makes Bentley sound like they’re trying to make the Continental a supercar, when in reality, it sits in the sweet spot of luxury and performance. 

Naturally, increasing the power of the Continental will need work to the chassis to make sure it can handle all of the new power. To do this, Bentley has included active all wheel drive with torque vectoring, four-wheel steering, an electric Limited Slip Differential, electric active anti-roll control and new advanced dual-valve dampers. All these changes will work in harmony to help the Conti make full use of its increased power.