Spyshots: 2018 Bentley Continental GT Reveals Production Intakes, Larger Grille

A prototype for the first all-new Conti GT since the 2003 original was recently spotted doing its thing in Southern Europe. The front end of the tester is the most revealing part of the car.

The teardrop camo around the headlights is not slimmer, which means we can now get a better idea of how the Crewe-specific cluster will look like.

The front grille appears to have grown slightly, thus being even more imposing than that of the outgoing model.

Then we have the front apron air intakes, which are now clearly visible. We're probably dealing with the standard car here, if we may call the W12 model that and we'll remind you that each version gets its own front apron design, so these are far from the only intakes we'll get to see on the newcomer.

Moving to the posterior of the luxurious two-plus-two, we'll quickly go over the humorous side of the "how am I driving" sticker to mention the rear valance, which also seems to be here in production guise.

Since we mentioned the lavish vehicle's W12 heart, we'll remind you hat the 5,950cc mill of the current model will be retired. The new car will come with a 5,998cc powerplant, which has already showcased its potential on the Bentayga.

The automaker's 3.993cc V8 will obviously be on the list and, for the first time, so will a hybrid powertrain. The gas-electric setup will employ a V6 engine, which means we should see the Conti borrowing the 462 hp powertrain of the Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid.

Underneath the sculpted body of the Grand Tourer, we'll find the new MSB platform of the VW Group. The generation change is thus set to deliver weight benefits, with the machine set to lose at least 100 kg (220 lbs).

Bentley will drop the 2018 Continental GT next month, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Meanwhile, here's a video of a prototype being tested on the Nurburgring.