CONTINENTAL SHIFT

FRONTRUNNERS The Bentley Continental GT gets leaner, lighter and faster.

The third- generation of the Bentley Continental GT ushers in the most comprehensive raft of changes in the model’s history.

Taking cues from the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept car, especially in its front- end treatment, the incoming car also sports new visual proportions such as a flatter roofline and a longer bonnet line.

Oddly enough, its actual dimensions haven’t changed all that much – at 4,850mm long overall, versus 4,806mm before, the perceived new lines are just a result of visual trickery from its designer (and Bentley’s head of exterior design) John Paul Gregory.

Also new is the more pronounced sharpness of the rear haunches. This was made possible through manufacturing advancements in the shaping of its aluminium body panels.

Underneath its aluminium skin is even more high-tech trickery and a near-total rethink of the running gear underpinning the car.

It’s up to 80kg lighter than the outgoing car, the front axle pushed further forward and the engine now sits further back, all in the pursuit of better weight distribution for better handling.

Providing the thrust for that handling is a reworked version of the twin-turbo W12, with an output of 626bhp that’s capable of catapulting the all-wheel- drive coupe from a standstill to 100km/hr in 3.7 seconds, reaching a top speed of 333km/hr.

Malaysian dealer Wearnes Automotive is currently taking orders for the new Bentley Continental GT. www.bentleymotors.com ≠

KDior Homme turns up the charm with its Black Carpet collection.

ris Van Assche, the creative mind behind the House of Dior Homme, has reworked the evening suit by pushing it towards more extreme interpretations. Its Black Carpet collection features the sophisticated glamour of a formal suit executed in a spontaneous, street-style effect. The Lily of the Valley jacket (RM41,000), for instance, reinterprets Monsieur Dior’s favourite good luck charm in the form of small bead openwork for a thoroughly modern, arresting evening look.

Where This Flower Blooms

SSalvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci Auctioned by Christie’s in New York for US$ 450.3 million ( RM1.8 billion).

mashing multiple auction records, Leonardo da Vinci’s painting holds the story of the most unexpected artistic rediscovery of the 21st century, since it was presumed to have been destroyed. Dating from around 1500, Salvator Mundi emerged in 2005 when it was purchased from an American estate, following which it underwent several years of restoration and authentication. In 2011, it was publicly unveiled in London. www.christies.com