#cardesignreview #Bentley #ContinentalGT - the fastest truck in the world
The Bentley Continental GT. British, distinguished and weighty in both a literal and figurative sense - Ettore Bugatti once described a Bentley as the fastest truck in the world.
After the takeover of the aristocratic British brand by the Volkswagen Group, a lot had to be done. For years, expensive and handmade, but design-wise not particularly successful cars were driven out of the Crewe factories. The question: in what relevant way could the team of designers shape the continuation of Bentley's rich history?
Let’s first discuss the gen 1 Continental GT 2003-2010
When Volkswagen took over, after many years of producing little more than sporty Rolls-Royce cars, Bentley could, and should, again build a true Bentley - and thereby separate itself from the other British noble brand.
Without going retrospective in any way, the design team was inspired, in a commendable way, for the 2003 generation Continental - by the 1952 Bentley creation wearing the same name. The elongated roofline of the original was presented refreshed on this car, including a droopy rear end. The rich volumes and creamy, full skin of the car built by Bentley in the 1950s was, just like the so-called feature line, running from the front wheel to the door, strikingly and properly modernized. The proud upright grille was also adopted, albeit completely incorporated into the visually heavy body and fitted with a more sporty mesh. The typical positioning of the A-shaped headlamps was also a design theme from the ‘52 Continental: within the fender shapes, flanking the grille, the large headlamps are positioned. Lower, and outwards, the smaller lamps were mounted. The full rear fender with wide hips is also used in the 2003 Continental GT, albeit more finely defined and therefore shape wise consistent with the feature line of the front fender. The rims, in particular the Mulliner exemples on this rendering, are true sculptural masterpieces: voluminous, complex and layered.
All around this car is consistent and impressive, this was the new Bentley. Substance on wheels. A moving sculpture. Moreover, a sculpture that was designed in three dimensions not only on the outside, but also on the inside. Which brought the materials used by the Bentley crafts people even more to life. Gone was the, let’s say, empty beauty of flat planks of wood and straight patches of leather: replaced by a blend of wood, leather and chrome in a progressive spectrum of shapes that was authentic as well as unmistakably British: Bentley was back.
Then we move to the Continental GT made from 2010-2017. The decisions makers at VW must have applied a very British saying when writing the design brief: never change a winning team. In 2010, the Bentley Continental GT saw its first redesign since its launch in 2003. This revamped version of what the design team had turned into a quintessentially modern Bentley in 2003, introduced a slightly slimmer silhouette, which was more precisely defined. The more explicitly pronounced design features made this iteration worthwhile.
Larger wheels, rich in volume, improved the stance. A more pronounced, deeper grille and a greater difference between the inner, oversized headlights and outer smaller lamps, made the down the road graphic - the Bentley face - bolder. Interesting connections between various design elements on the nose and fenders, through highlights and other subtle stylistic interventions, make this Continental GT just that little bit more pronounced, than its very rounded predecessor.
The chrome elements on the sill of the car, visually not very special in the first generation, had now clearly become part of the modeling work and not only ran “through” the rear wheel, but also broke on the facet edge around it.
The rear-end is adorned by the lack of unnecessary chrome. Chrome has always been the easy, go-to material to make a car look expensive. This car doesn’t need it and still is undeniably British in appearance, with rounded yet defined edges and mild yet rich shapes. The taillights, outlined with delicate chrome, were more flattened compared to the outgoing model, emphasizing the shoulder width and improving the stance: a more horizontal look. Marvelous!
Continental GT 2018 - a slight change of heart.
Harder, sharper and a wider orientation. Bentley enters a new era with the third example of the Continental GT. This reprise is clearly inspired by the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept. And although that car is a rather well executed piece of vehicle design, the Continental GT from 2018 is considerably less pleasant - especially compared to the previous cars.
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