Bentley Motors announced on Nov. 9 a replacement infotainment unit for second-generation Continental GT, Continental GT Convertible and Flying Spur cars built from 2012 to 2019. The kit swaps the original console screen for a 9.7-inch touchscreen with 2K resolution and adds Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The same unit also absorbs the physical heater controls, moving climate settings onto the touchscreen. Bentley’s release gives no price. Autoblog’s Rex Sanchez reported the news on Nov. 10, a day after the Crewe, UK release.
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A 9.7-inch 2K screen with wired and wireless phone links
The release calls the display a full 9.7-inch touchscreen with 2K resolution, built to replace the existing console unit in one piece. Bentley says phones connect by Bluetooth or through a wired USB-A port in the centre console, and the wired link also charges the handset. Calls can be placed or answered by touch or voice, with contact lists and recent calls shown on the screen, and phone audio plays through the car’s sound system with bass, treble and balance adjustments. Navigation gets the latest mapping data, 2D or 3D route guidance, points of interest and speed-limit information, and maps can be updated afterward. Radio support covers FM, AM, an improved DAB+ tuner that replaces plain DAB where it was previously fitted and, for the U.S., SiriusXM. Voice commands are described as simpler, and the graphics were developed with Bentley’s design team to echo its latest models.
The upgrade is sold through Bentley retailers, according to the Bentley media release, and Autoblog reports that interested owners were told to contact those retailers. Autoblog describes the covered cars by generation, noting the second-generation Continental GT launched in 2011 and was succeeded in 2018, while the second-generation Flying Spur ran from 2013 to 2019. Those spans differ slightly from Bentley’s 2012-to-2019 wording, so an owner of an early or late car should confirm eligibility before booking. Autoblog also describes both wired and wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, which fits Bentley’s Bluetooth-or-USB-A description, and calls the kit factory-backed, meaning it comes from Bentley itself and not from an aftermarket firm.
Giving up the physical heater controls
The trade named in the release is plain: the new unit replaces the console screen and the physical heater controls together. Bentley presents the result as a cleaner-looking console, with climate functions handled through the touchscreen. Autoblog’s Rex Sanchez calls the loss of dedicated climate controls a possible drawback, and nothing in either document says the original buttons can be kept alongside the new screen. Autoblog treats that lost hardware as the real cost of the upgrade, while Bentley, in the release, attaches no number to the cost in money.
Climate buttons have become a flashpoint across the industry. Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schäfer told Top Gear, as reported by InsideEVs, that door handles and buttons are non-negotiable for him and that he sees no reason for touch-sensitive sliders, blaming an iPhone-style design approach that made it hard to steer designers back toward intuitive physical controls. The Drive notes that Schäfer promised in late 2023 to bring physical buttons back after criticism of touch-based temperature controls, and reports that Schäfer also admitted some infotainment features were hard to find and that the first fix could be awful for customers. Autoblog says he has since called the move to touch-sensitive controls a mistake.
Porsche Classic and the older-car retrofit market
Bentley is not alone in modernizing the cabins of cars that left the factory with dated software. Porsche Classic’s Communication Management Plus unit, covered by Motor1 in January 2023, fits 2005-2008 997-generation 911s, 987-generation Boxsters and Caymans, and first-generation Cayennes. It carries a seven-inch display with CarPlay and Android Auto, and it was designed to match the factory console buttons rather than remove them. It replaces the original head unit without modifications, works with the original speakers, amplifier and antenna, keeps showing navigation on the instrument cluster, and adds a trip computer and a memory for personal settings on some models. Porsche priced it at 1,520.37 euros in Germany, with navigation maps sold separately, which gives a rough yardstick for what such retrofits cost even though Bentley has published no figure of its own. Motor1’s Adrian Padeanu reported the Porsche offer on Jan. 19, 2023.
Aston Martin took another route, according to Autoblog, introducing its first in-house infotainment system in 2023 and becoming the first brand to support Apple CarPlay Ultra in 2025.
The Bentley release quotes no executive; its only named people are product communications contacts Jonathan Smedley and Mike Sayer. Price, installation time and whether any button-retaining version exists are all unanswered, and retailers are the only route Bentley has offered for finding out. For an owner, the decision turns on three things the release does not settle: what the kit costs, whether a particular build year qualifies, and how much the loss of the heater buttons matters in daily driving.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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