Bentley Goes Full Retard?
 

What started out as a smooth, cohesive and graceful design seems to be slowly going the way of Lamborghini circa 1980s. OK, perhaps not that bad, yet with each redesign they seem to make the GT more clownish IMHO.

www.bentleymedia.com/release/620/

All it needs now is a big rear wing and some pertruding front lower lip. Scissor doors optional of course.

Type R badge comes standard. hilarious

I think is looks more like a Ford Mustang than a Lambo.:p

Have you ever noticed that the original design is most always the best?

For example I have a 2002 Audi ALMS TT that I favor the look of better than any of the "updates". I really like the way our 2008 GT Speed looks compared to the last update and now another. Guess they can't leave well enough alone. Or maybe if ours looks out dated it will loose it's panache and we will trade it.
Well not me, mine only has 4000 miles on it and at my age it should definitely out last me.

Those front bumper vents remind me of what BMW has done on their 3 series and most noticeably on the M3/M4. They're too much in my opinion.

Agree Dr D, I remember the re-original ?2006? Maserati and it looked really nice. The newer Maser models seem much less so.


Gene, agree about the TT.


Well, the good news is that the new Mercedes S Class are looking quite nice and come loaded with some great modern tech too.

I quite like the front, but, is it me or does the trunk now stick out like a small box. I wonder if that is so Bentley can say the trunk had more space?
I don't like the look of the trunk one little bit and it could very well put me off that model completely......:(

Seems they added an arse-lip of disproportion. Like one of the ricer widget things painted into the car, only trying even harder.

Marketing is the culprit!
their bloody tendency to permanently create the ''need factor'' obliges them to come up with novelties every time.

unfortunately for them the original design was close to perfection and all the ''improvements'' they made was a step to a more ''tortured'' design.

if they keep going that way in a few MY the CGT will look like a glorified Nissan GTR!

look to the Maserati QP the original design, made by Pinin Farina, was incredible for a four door. They decided to ask their in-house design team to design the new model...results, it looks like and AUDI behind and a Mercedes CLS in the front.

the interior improvements of both the CGT and the Maserati are well done.

No, this "wonderful" trunk design has been out since the 2012 refresh. It looks horrible from the side. Here it is in all it's glory on my car.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...e6fbb9d141.jpg

It does not help that the trunks on a lot of 2012+ cars are not properly aligned (I spoke with at least 2 owners confirming the same thing), which only makes the lid stick out even more.

Several people already asked me if the car has been in an accident :) I typically say that it has been, and the accident occurred at Bentley's design studio.

As lazy and inept programmers might say: the trunk it is not a bug, it is a 'feature' within the software. Now compare that trunk monstrosity to the new version of 'Bentley beauty'.




FUUUUUUUUUUUUNGLY!

Whilst not the vehicle ever here (image found on web), compare to the original design to the 'new and improved' version. See how the smooth lines flow within the original design. Bentley wisely also followed the 'oval' theme with all the lights, exhausts, etc quite nicely imho.


On the plus side, the earlier cars use a lot of far less expensive aftermarket Audi/VW parts and as time passes independent service centers and DIY guys find easier ways to repair common/known problems.

I spent some time looking at the high res pictures of the new "design" and got even more disappointed.

I cant even understand the point of this refresh? A more sporty look? Fail. A more modern one? Fail. More understated yet beautiful? Double fail.

I appreciate all the interior changes, although almost all of them were previously available on earlier cars and were killed by Bentley for no good reason. Two-piece steering wheel and alcantara headliner were available on pre-2012 cars. Supersports had the useless rear console deleted, so now you can also do that on a 2016 V8S models.

The exterior though....geez....its like those guys got together, got high and said "OK, we just released something called "Bentaiga", lets see what else we can ruin". That front bumper....man. Tired/outdated wheel styles. The lip on top of the trunk. Huge ugly chrome strip all-around. Horrible.

Let me make a prediction. Since this is the last change before a fully redesigned CGT comes out in 2017/2018, the next thing they will do is take a 2016 Speed, add 10hp, install seats, hood vents and wheels from the GT3-R, tint all the chrome, put a $285K price tag on it and call it a 2016 SuperSports. And yes, they will also allow you to pay them $6K to put the rear seats back in.

I am so happy I got a 2014 car just in time to avoid this "refresh". Not sure I would go for a 2016 CGT after seeing today's pictures.

I am scared to even think what they are going to do with the all new CGT coming out in 2017/2018. This is very frustrating because I don't like all other AWD 4-seat coupes on the market today (each for various reasons) and CGT is the only car that works perfectly for me in every respect (performance, comfort, looks, reliability, value, etc.). If Bentley botches it, I will end up in a very desperate position a few years down the road.

Lets hope those guys at Crewe wake up.

Wtf
 

I agree with the others about the chrome strip. As it is the chrome rings around the lights were ugly and cheap and tacky. And now they are putting an ugly ass chrome strip on the sides and back? Wtf?? The chrome strip is super super super ugly! This is not a 1980s car where chrome was considered cool. Wow please fire the idiot who thinks 80s era chrome strips look good. Is there a way to petition to remove this ugly chrome strip? Have they gone mad? Do they read our user forms to get feedback from their buyers?

The front grille is ugly also. Now I can't replace the ugly slanted lower grilles with a metal chrome bentley matrix replacement because it will look odd. I like to have all metal grills in the front to accentuate the bentley look which really does start with the iconic front grilles. Now with the slanted wierd air damn lower grill look I can't replace the cheap plastic lower grill.

Anyone else agree???

Well written. As much as i love the Bentley line I don't HAVE to buy their ugly crap. I hope I don;t have to by a Merc after all the dishing I have done on them.;) I do like Mercedes.

Maybe just a new pickup truck and forget it.

I dont think I'll be OK with a MB. Their designs are just starting to come back from all the bland, ugly cars they produces in the past 10 years, but they are not all there yet. The new S-Class is nice, but when I saw the rear of the coupe, I threw up in my mouth.

All I can say is....Lincoln called and they want their 1988 Mark VIII Back!


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...8dda8f752d.jpg


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...668937d31c.jpg


Looking beyond the exterior....compromises start right away. If you want a V12, you cannot get AWD and it STARTS at $233K+. If you want AWD, you have to get a V8 version. If you want decent performance, heated seats/steering wheel and things like carbon fiber accents, you are looking at $173K+ for an S63 AMG. Once you decide to get it, locating a car you want will be like finding a rainbow-colored unicorn and any dealer will try to rape you because you want to custom-order a car and they are afraid you will back out of the deal.

Last but not least is the ownership experience. Obviously everyone's mileage may vary, but my local MB dealership is a "old fashioned" in a sense that they overprice every single car they sell, try to play games with numbers (i.e. "let me talk to the manager", etc.), damage cars when servicing them, etc. And forget about them coming to your house with a flatbed, getting your car and bringing you a loaner. To get that, I have to work with an MB dealership 40+ miles away in New Jersey. Or I can just get a Bentley :)

P.S. I cannot BELIEVE MB copied Bentley's A/C vents, including a cheap imitation of the organ pulls:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...21f90ea239.jpg


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...11f76cadff.jpg

Someone should suggest a fake Breitling clock to them too...it would complete the picture :)