The Bentley Continental GT V8 increased its collection of awards by taking the prestigious Middle East Motor Award in the Premium Luxury Coupe category, beating vehicles from other marque brands such as Rolls-Royce and Ferrari to the accolade.

The Middle East Motor Awards is acknowledged as the biggest and one of the most coveted awards of the Middle East Automotive Industry. The awards were judged by 17 automotive journalists from 10 countries that together represent the Middle Eastern Automobile industry.  Their opinions are some of the most sought after in the region making the award unbiased, credible and prestigious.

Chris Buxton Bentley Middle East Regional Director accepted the award on behalf of Bentley, and said, “I am delighted to accept this award for the Bentley Continental GT V8.   Bentley has a longstanding reputation for building exquisite cars.  Our design and engineering teams have developed this iconic GT V8 with an uncompromising focus on quality and performance. The result is a stylish four seat coupe that offers supreme levels of power, refinement and luxury.

With the new 4.0 litre V8 engine we are widening the appeal of the latest generation of Continentals, introducing a completely new driving experience. The new engine has all the exhilarating power, drama and performance you would expect from a V8 engine sporting the famous Bentley wings, effortlessly delivered with our characteristic ‘wave of torque”.

The new 4.0 litre, 500bhp twin turbocharged Bentley V8 Continental GT coupé and GTC convertible achieves exceptional standards for power-to-emissions in the high luxury sports car sector. The V8 engine delivers maximum power of 500bhp (507PS/373Kw) at 6000 rev/min and an extraordinary peak torque of 660Nm (487 lb ft) which is available across virtually the entire rev range from 1700 to 5000 rev/min, providing exhilarating performance and effortless power delivery in the Bentley tradition. Combined with a new close-ratio 8-speed automatic transmission, this translates into a sub-5 second acceleration time for the 0-100km/h sprint and a top speed of over 290km/h.

The instantly recognisable sound of this new visceral, twin turbocharged 4.0 litre V8 engine is proving especially popular in the Middle East and is set to significantly contribute to a record end-of year result for Bentley Motors in the Middle East. Ten months into the year Bentley had already passed their previous sales record for the region and sales are currently up 48% on 2011 results.