Bentley brought fourteen cars to Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026. Three of those cars represent distinct product news, and taken together they show how Bentley is layering its Continental range now that the platform has both a hybrid V8 and a lighter, hybrid-free variant.
Continental GT S: dynamic debut, hybrid V8
The Continental GT S is the new mid-tier hybrid version of the Continental GT. It ran the Goodwood hillclimb on July 9, 2026 in its dynamic debut, and Bentley confirmed the following:
- Powertrain: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid
- Power: 680 PS (671 hp), 930 Nm
- 0-60 mph: 3.3 seconds
- Positioning: below the Continental GT Speed hybrid, above the base V8
The GT S sits in the middle of the Continental range, which is where Bentley wants the hybrid volume. If you were shopping a Continental GT after the platform's mid-cycle refresh landed earlier this year and did not want the top-trim Speed, this is now the answer.
Continental Supersports: UK debut, no hybrid, RWD
The Supersports is the other end of the argument. It uses the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 without the hybrid module, in a rear-wheel-drive-only configuration. Bentley confirmed a UK debut at Goodwood 2026 with these numbers:
- Power: 666 PS (657 hp)
- Drivetrain: RWD only
- Weight: under 2,000 kg
- Production: 500 units total
The Supersports is Bentley's argument that a Continental does not need every drive system fitted to be a Continental. It is lighter than the GT S. It is slower on paper. It is also the first RWD Continental in decades, and 500 units is a small enough number that the buyers know each other.
Supersports "Design Theme": Mulliner's first side-to-side paint fade
Bentley's Mulliner division debuted a special edition of the Supersports built around a new paint technique. The car uses a side-to-side gradient fade rather than the top-to-bottom fades Bentley has done before. The fade is applied by hand and required a bespoke masking process Mulliner has never used at production scale.
Three colour combinations are available at launch:
- Dragon: gold to burgundy
- Electric: silver to teal
- Brodgar: bronze to green
Each Design Theme car is finished by hand at Mulliner, allocated separately from the standard Supersports run, and priced accordingly. Bentley did not confirm the total production for the Design Theme series but implied it will remain a small subset of the 500-unit Supersports total.
The layering that matters
Read the three announcements together and the story is clear: Bentley is keeping the hybrid pathway (GT S) and the non-hybrid pathway (Supersports) both viable on the Continental platform, and using Mulliner to build the halo trim on the non-hybrid side. That is a bet that a segment of Continental buyers still specifically want a Bentley without a battery involved. Given that Bentley's first EV (the Torcal) has a September 2026 world reveal scheduled, this parallel play makes more sense the longer you look at it.
See how they slot against Continental rivals on our fastest cars list.
The basics
| Continental GT S | Supersports (UK) | Supersports Design Theme | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 4.0L V8 hybrid | 4.0L V8 (no hybrid) | 4.0L V8 (no hybrid) |
| Power | 680 PS | 666 PS | 666 PS |
| Drivetrain | AWD | RWD | RWD |
| 0-60 mph | 3.3 s | not yet published | not yet published |
| Production | Regular production | 500 units | Subset of the 500 |
| Debut | Goodwood, July 9, 2026 | Goodwood, July 9, 2026 (UK) | Goodwood, July 9, 2026 |
***
Sources: Fourteen Bentleys not to miss at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed (Bentley Media); Goodwood 2026 debuts (Motor1); Goodwood 2026 live (Auto Express). Photography: Bentley Motors.