As the English philosopher Francis Bacon once said, "Nothing is pleasant that is not spiced with variety." Most car manufacturers, after efforts like the 2012 Bentley Continental GT->ke401, would have been happier to call it a day. However, Bentley->ke15 looked at this automotive Adonis and decided "everything can be improved." This style of constant tweaking has resulted in multiple versions of the GT Continental. The first of these "tweaks" for the 2012 Bentley Continental GT is the new GT Speed.

This Adonis in an Armani suit will be given a shot in the arm. The previous GT Speed had 9% more power and 15% more torque than the base GT Continental. If this same increase applies to the new GT Speed, the W-12 will be pump out around 621 horses and 590 ft/lbs of torque. This would install the GT Speed as a next door neighbor to the top of the line Continental Supersports.

Full story after the jump.

In addition to this adrenaline injection, expect Bentley to be busy stripping away the weight. This weight saving will build on the base GT Continental savings of 143 pounds. These two will combine to propel the GT Speed to 60 mph in the 3.8-3.9 second range. How much is this Britannic ballistic missile you ask? The base GT Speed will most likely reside north of 200K.

We love the squared jaw Continental GT Speed. It's like seeing a rugby player in a tuxedo, he may be dressed nice but you get the sense he could crush you. We see this car as one of the best looking cars of 2012. It takes an Armani suit and somehow manages to make it practical enough to use everyday and yet exclusive enough to turn heads. The icing on the cake is that this classy car doesn't look down on juvenile pursuits and will beat almost anything in a race between the lights. With the Bentley Continental GT Speed, Bentley has redefined what a grand tourer can be, both inside and out. This superb effort has kept true the precedent set forth by Francis Bacon and proved that variety is indeed the spice of life. The 2012 Bentley Continental GT Speed is a spice we definitely want in our cabinet.