Luxury automaker Bentley is welcoming the new year with a fresh range of models for the globally successful Bentley Continental GTC.

The new Continental GTC range includes an improved GTC model and a higher-performance model - the GTC Speed. The GTC Speed, debuting in the 2009 Detroit auto show, is reported to be Bentley’s most powerful convertible to date.

Looks-wise, these GTC models are as sleek and polished as they come. The exteriors come with chrome or dark-tinted matrix grilles and chrome headlamp bezels while the models’ interior boast of premium leather upholstery and wood veneers.

The most recent standard GTC model comes with features that keep with Bentley’s trademarks of luxury and refined performance. Ride comfort is improved by low-friction dampers and an adaptive cruise control system that monitors traffic. Under this model’s hood is a 6-litre W12 engine capable of producing 552 bhp, clearing a 0-60 mph sprint in 4.8 seconds.

The Continental GTC Speed sports larger wheels: 9.5J x 20-inch, multi-spoke alloy wheels with Bentley-bespoke Pirelli PZero ultra-high performance (UHP) tyres. The GTC Speed is also equipped with twin-rifled exhaust tailpipes, and an aerodynamic boot-mounted lip spoiler. The engine delivers as much as 600 bhp, 9% more than the standard GTC. With this engine in the GTC Speed, you can go from zero to sixty mph in 4.5 seconds.

Priced at $197,500 and $217,814.35 respectively, the standard Continental GTC and the Continental GTC Speed may be a little too expensive for some of us. But if you’ve got the bucks to spread around, then go for it. The looks you’ll get while cruising around in either of these beauties must be worth it.