KUALA LUMPUR: Following the launch of the Bentley Continental GT in Singapore to mark its arrival in the Southeast Asian region and the coupe from Crewe, England is finally here.

The 2,244kg 2+2 luxury coupe starts from RM1.9mil (after duties and taxes) with an undisclosed number of orders due to arrive by the third quarter.

The all-aluminium body panels give it a 0.29Cd drag coefficient and hides its steel-aluminium combination monocoque beneath.

The panels have been shaped using Super-Plastic Forming technology which heats the metal to over 500 degrees Celsius before high pressure air pumps it into a mould.

After cooling, it is then coated by a choice of 17 standard paint colours or a bespoke one can be had upon request as an optional extra for the 4,850mm-long, 1,954mm-wide and 1,405mm-tall coupe.

Only the tailgate is made of a composite material that gives access to the 358 litres of luggage space and hides all of its antennas below it - helping to shed 20% (85kg) of weight from the second generation model.

Under the hood beats the 6.0-litre (5,950cc) twin-turbo W12 engine with start-stop function and cylinder deactivation technology that's fed by a 90-litre fuel tank that holds , while producing 635PS at 6,000rpm and 900Nm of torque from 1,350 to 4,500rpm. Fuel economy on the combined cycle is rated at 12.2l/100km while emitting 278g/km of carbon dioxide.

The grunt is managed by an eight-speed ZF dual-clutch gearbox before reaching the active all-wheel drive system that can provide up to 38% of total torque to the front axle (Bentley and Comfort mode) or as little as 17% when in Sport mode.

Road contact comes from 21-inch wheels with 265/40 (front) and 305/35 (rear) tyres and is able to help the Coupe sprint from 0-100kph in 3.7 seconds before reaching a top speed of 333kph.

As an optional extra, the wheels can be upgraded to 22-inchers wearing 275/35 (front) and 315/30 (rear) tyres, which obscure the 10-piston (front) and four-piston (rear) calipers that bite down on the 420mm (front) and 380mm (rear) discs.

Ride and handling is taken care of by aluminium double wishbone (front) and multi-link (rear) suspension system - both fore and aft equipped with three-chamber air-suspension system that comes with 48-Volt active anti-roll bars and a continuous damping system.

Inside, the cabin boasts of the company's Rotating Display, digital instrument cluster, a choice of 15 standard leather hide colours before getting accented with unbroken veneer (one standard, 17 other options or dual veneer options).

As an optional extra, the Bentley Rotating Display can be switched between touchscreen and three analogue gauges that displays a compass, chronometer and external cabin temperature.

Driver conveniences include keyless-entry with push-start button, 20-way power-adjustable seats with cooling/heating and massage function, electric-power assisted steering with variable ratio, a heads-up display, night vision, lane assist and traffic sign recognition among others.

For audible pleasures, there are three options starting with the standard 650-watt 10-speaker system, a 1,500-watt 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen option with four DSP sound modes and Beo Sonic interface or a 2,200-watt 18-speaker (including two kinaesthetic shakers) Naim option with eight-DSP sound modes and Active Bass.

Additionally, there's also the new 12.3-inch central touchscreen system including HDD-navigation, two SD-card slots, Bluetooth connectivity with WiFi streaming, CD/DVD/radio Apple CarPlay, Sirius satellite radio, 60GB solid-state drive, 4G telephone system and Google StreetView/Earth/online POI search.

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