Bentley Continental GT Speed is the flagship model in the Continental range, at least until the new SuperSport arrives. And the SS must be something truly special for people to chose it over the Speed, because it’s a wonderful car, an ultimate GT if you will. Bentley just released new pics and details on this car, and reading through it you can’t help but respect the Speed’s performance, luxury, and refinement.

So what have we got here? Well, on the surface it looks like any other 2013 Conti GT, but there are some subtle details that hints at the car’s specialness. They include 21-inch, ten-spoke alloy wheels, dark-tint matrix to the radiator shell and lower bumper grilles and ‘rifled’ exhaust tailpipes. New shades of colors are also available for this big, fast Bentley.

Inside the cabin you get a better clue this is no ordinary Continental, mainly because all the wood trims have been replaced with bright metal detailing. The interior also benefits from quilted, perforated leather, and optional trims including exclusive-to-Speed dark tint aluminium as well as carbon fibre.

All the extra garnish aside, the Continental GT Speed – as its name suggests – is very fast. Under that long and glorious bonnet lives a W12 twin-turbo engine. This unit also powers the normal GT and GTC models, but where the normal models only get 575 horsepower the Speed’s W12 is good for 625 PS (616 bhp) and 800 Nm (590 lb.ft) of torque.

Delivered to all four wheels via a new ZF eight-speed close-ratio automatic transmission, that power translates into a 0 to 60mph time of 4.0 seconds dead, and a top speed of 205 mph (330 km/h).

The AWD system and sufficient ground clearance makes the GT Speed a very usable super GT. Where your Ferrari 599 gets stuck because it’s too low, or the road is too slippery for it to put its power down, the Speed will keep going without braking a sweat. What’s more, with a base price of $215,000, the Speed is considerably cheaper than similarly fast Ferraris.