Mere hours before the official premiere of the 2025 Bentley Continental GT in front of the real world's public without the signature W12 for the Speed version but with an all-new ultra-performance hybrid V8 powertrain, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has done it again.
A little more than two decades ago, Volkswagen didn't get the British ultra-luxury brands together – Rolls-Royce went on its merry way to Bavaria's BMW AG, and they were stuck with the ugly duckling Bentley. No worries, VW AG decided to make lemonade with luxury lemons and kicked into high gear Bentley's modern rebirth when it introduced the Continental GT grand tourer coupe in 2003.
Back then, they also premiered a W12 brute – which was used by all subsequent models, including the Bentayga. However, the iconic engine was retired earlier this year in preparation for the next step in the Bentley saga. Naturally, it was only traditional that the new powertrain would be seconded by the fourth generation of the Conti GT. Now featuring a plug-in hybrid twin-turbo V8 dubbed Ultra Performance Hybrid, they would 'hold hands' for the grand unveiling on Tuesday, June 25 at 16:00 British Standard Time.
Which, by the way, is in a matter of hours. So, you would think that with no pre-event leaks to speak of, the rumor mill would stay put. Well, not exactly – as the parallel universes of vehicular CGI have some impatient folks, indeed. More precisely, Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has taken up the task of CGI-revealing the all-new Conti GT just minutes ahead of time.
Well, at least it's an impressive effort – with the virtual design project dressed in a shade that evokes the classic British Racing Green – and the unofficial illustrations using all the available information based on the most recent spies and teasers. Well, the fourth generation Continental GT, coming just six years after its predecessor's launch – which is not a long time in the ultra-luxury stratosphere – is not going to look completely different from its W12-powered ancestors in Speed form. Of course, it's another matter entirely what happens under the hood.
Over there, the upcoming model is going to beat the most potent W12 Bentley – the Mulliner Batur with 18 coupes, and 16 convertibles had the 6.0-liter TFSI W12 mill rocking 750 ps or 740 hp and 1,000 Nm or 737 lb-ft of torque. Now, the new plug-in hybrid V8 will churn out no less than 782 ps (771 hp) and even feature an advertised WLTP electric range of 50 miles (80 kilometers). Curiously, it doesn't reach the same level as the Lamborghini Urus SE, which has 800 ps (789 hp) under its PHEV belt. So, which one would you choose?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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