To Piggyback off of LateNight's styling analysis, I will follow each of his up with a review and analisys of each part of the cars fundamental engineering. I may be an opinionated person, but I will subdue that for these bits and will present an unbiased engineering summary.
First off: Powerplant.
<img src=http://autozine.kyul.net/0_Inspiration/53/eb218_eng.jpg>
The engine is a 6.0L W12 formation consisting of two 15 degree V6 banks, which are themselves banked 90 degrees against each other on a common crankshaft. This unique engine layout offers a supremely compact engine. As a result, the front of the bentley need not be excessively long to accomdate the engine. Furthermore, this short engines allows for a near full front midship mounting, which yileds impressive weight distrobution.
While the 6.0L W12 was sourced from parrent company volkswagen, it is uniquely tuned for bentley and is produced in england. The modifications come to the variable valve timing system as well as the twin turbochargers and fuel and ignition timing, all of which have been altered from the standard volkswagen faire to produce an excessively authoratative 1,600rpm torque plateau, yet the engine's versatility allows for a fairly lofty power peak at 6,100 rpms.
Peak power is set to come in at an impressive 550hp. This is produced by a DOHC layout of heads, sporting four valves per cylender, electronically controlled variable valve timing, as well as dual intercooled INCON turbochargers, each boosting it's own respective pair of banks (the W engine has 4 banks!). The fundamental layout of these four valves heads can trace it's roots to the european spec. VR6 engine, which has been succesfully produced for years.
The only drawback of this W configuration is that, while it is very smooth in practice, it does not offer the inherent balance of a V12. It's doubtful you would notice a difference unless you drove the GT back to back with a V12 car.
The driveline:
<img src=http://www.canadiantracker.com/members/images/nacs2-TH.jpg>
The Bentley's formidable W12 power is directed through a ZF 6HP32 automatic transmission, the only available choice for this car. This transmission, the first available six speed automatic, debuted in the BMW E65 7 Series, and has since taken residence in a number of volkswagen and jaguar products. The ZF 6spd is a known slick shifter, clicking off very quick and buttery smooth shifts which approach undetectable. It's unusually low stall torque convertor has the capacity to take advantage of the unique low end torque properties of the twin turbo W12, surely offering a great off the line snap. The only fault in this transmission is that the gearing is more than a bit tallish, which can be a good thing, keeping your luxury bentley quiet and calm in demeanor when being driven in a sophisticated manor, but does hinder when one is driving for excileration.
The power is put to the wheels from there by an all wheel drive system with a viscious planetary geared central differential. It is the same Torsen permanent all wheel drive system utilized in audi's "quattro" system. This allows for a permanent gearing without the loss of ability to retransfer torque as neccesary. This system has been proven reliable on hundreds of thousands of cars. While not the most modern, the Torsen T-1 System is very good. It allows for great amounts of power to be seemlessly put down in a variety of adverse conditions, making this one of the most versatile bentley's made.
Chasis:
<img src=http://www.baileycar.com/bentley-gt.jpg>
The chasis which the Continental GT rides on was directly sourced from the upcoming Volkswagen Phaeton full size luxury sedan. With the full size sedan chasis comes a full size sedan weight, tipping the scales at a curb weight of 5,060lbs, it is every bit as heavy as a bentley should be. The front suspension from this is a relatively sophisticated system using a dual control arm layout, in which the A-Arms are layed out in the double wishbone setup, but are never physically convergent, forming a "virtual king pin", which removes any possibility of torque steer. The rear suspension is a trapezoidal multi-link layout, a design championed by Audi, which has made it's way into some of VW newer products, such as Phaeton, upon which GT is based. All around, variable air springs are used to suspend the vehicle, allowing for variable dampening pressure and ride height.
Zero to sixty times are rated by the factory to be 4.7 secconds, and 4.8 secconds in the 0-100kph. Top speed is said to be 190mph, fuel economy has yet to be released, but expectations are that it will be every bit as extravegant as the car.
Conclusion:
This will be a world class tourer, and a phenomenal car, it won't be a phenomenal bentley, and even though it is a bargain for a bentley, you can get everything it has in a CL600 for about 2/3 the price. The engineering is both tried and true as well as modern, cutting edge, and performance is impressive. What the laws of physics take away, some should be redeamed by technology. Overall, I give it a B.on engineering.
Pros:
Very powerful
New level of dealer support
All componentry is top notch
VW Parts bin brings new levels of reliability
AWD brings all weather capability
Impossibly versatile engine
Front suspension is cuttng edge
6spd Auto is the best available
W engine does wonders for weight distrobution
Cons:
VW Parts bin washes any unique engineering character away
grossly overweight
No Manual Transmission offered
W, while very smooth, does not offer silken V12 demeanor