Bentley Continental GT V8 flies through the skies of Munich

Bentley showed off its new V8 Continental GT in Munich on Wednesday, picking up its luxury coupe with a Skycrane helicopter and dropping it off at SkyLounge, an exclusive space for events that is perched between two buildings in the city's downtown. The launch party included 300 VIP guests.

“A dramatic car got the debut we felt it deserved, and we took a little bit of our inspiration from Bentley's iconic ‘Winged B' emblem,” said Klaus Becker, general manager of Bentley Munich, who organized the helicopter lift. “On a practical level, the helicopter was the fastest way to get to the rooftop podium.”

The new Bentley Continental GT V8 made its North American debut at the Detroit auto show in January, where the company showed off its new twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 that gets 40 percent better fuel economy than the W12 engine. The “smaller” engine makes 500 hp and 487 lb-ft of torque, while the tried-and-true 6.0-liter W12 still makes a strong 567 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard with Bentley's new V8.