2013 Bentley Continental GT V8

A few days ago, we reported that Bentley was in the middle of developing a new turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine that will be primarily used on a number of their new models. One model that will carry this powertrain is the new Bentley Continental GTC, which is already penciled in for its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. Now, the latest coming out of the British luxury automaker is that a V8-powered Continental GT is also in the works with a tentative unveiling scheduled for January 2012 at the Detroit Auto Show.As it stands, all of Bentley’s Continental models carry a 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 engine, so it’s going to be interesting to see just what the new 4.0-liter V8 engine has to offer. According to Bentley, this new eight-pot will offer lower emissions and better fuel economy for the Continental line-up.There’s no word yet on what kind of output the new V8 will have, but for those with exceedingly optimistic expectations, the new 4.0-liter V8 engine will not be as powerful as the existing 6.0-liter W12 engine, which comes with 567 horsepower.With the brand’s new direction expected to highlight better fuel economy and lowered emissions - along with everyone else in the auto industry - this shouldn’t come as a surprise to us anymore. However, it does allow for an interesting few months for Bentley’s Continental line-up.