Even though a lot of people think the Speed version of Bentley Continental GT is totally pointless and irrelevant, the British luxury car maker went ahead and announced the launch of a new and even more powerful version of the car at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. This one boasts 635 horsepower.

Sensible people argue that the marginally better performance offered by the Bentley Continental GT Speed over the normal models does not make a blind bit of difference in the real world, and so dishing out the extra dough for this car is a foolish thing to do. Bentley, on the other hand, argues that you can never have enough power and performance. Period.

So the 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 engine in the new Bentley Continental GT Speed makes 635 PS (626 bhp / 467 kW) and a record 820 Nm of torque. That gives the car a top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h), and that makes it the fastest Bentley ever produced.

The car features stiffer suspension than the previous Speed, and gets sharp front splitter, discrete side skirts and elegant rear diffuser, as well as set of 21-inch wheels and red-painted brake calipers. The Bentley Continental GT Speed, and the rest of the Conti family, also benefit from enhanced specifications and Mulliner options.

The Speed is a fabulous car, but the best Continental GT for us remains the V8 model, whose performance is more than satisfying, and because it is more fuel efficient, the fun lasts longer in it. What’s more, it sounds a lot better than the W12, which sounds like wind. In 2014, the V8 gets a new Sport speicifcation, adding Carbon-Ceramic brakes with red-painted callipers, a Sports exhaust and carbon fibre fascia panels.