What is it?
It's an important and interesting car, this revised edition of the Bentley Continental GT. It's the first of the VW generation of models, produced since the Wolfsburg giant acquired Bentley, to have come around for rejuvenation.
Given that the GT was very well received at launch in 2003 and has become the best-selling Bentley in history in the intervening years, it’s fascinating to see what Bentley’s accomplished team believes needs changing.
The revisions have been thorough: nearly every exterior panel changes to modernise and re-balance the exterior, and there's an all-new interior which strikes again for the best quality levels in the £100k-plus class. It also includes a much better infotainment system and new-design seats that look sportier, save space and bring a weight saving of 35kg.
There are also wider tracks and suspension refinements (mostly from existing go-faster Contis), and the adoption of the Supersports’ 40:60 torque split (it used to be 50:50) and a new level of 6.0-litre W12 engine which produces an extra 15bhp and will run on petrol, E85 (85 per cent ethanol) or any biofuel mix in between).
See pics of the Bentley Continental GT in action
What's it like?
It’s a very successful revision of a great car. Bentley builds its cars beautifully, and this new interior only improves the standard. The car looks good, too, though it’ll take you a few views to appreciate the improvements fully. The lengthened nose and ‘prouder’ grille make a big difference, and the stance is improved by the wider tracks, too.
But it’s the driving that’s different. Bentley claims refinement improvements - lowered bump and road noise; controlled wind noise courtesy of double-glazing - as the big issues, but there are other benefits. Great efforts have been made to reduce steering friction, and refine the car’s geometry so that it has brilliant high-speed stability, yet excellent near-centre steering sensitivity.
There was always great cornering grip, and it's made better because the tracks are wider, but this heavy car will now throttle-steer much better than previously, something that belies its 2.3-tonne mass.
Join the debate
coolboy
Re: Bentley Continental GT
let`s start with the replies before all the folks talking about footballers get in...
concerning the outside looks, it reminds me monsieur Ettore:
"W.O makes fast, very fast trucks..."
it really looks like a truck... and I like it also because of that!
concerning everything else, I want one!
nimmler
Re: Bentley Continental GT
[quote coolboy]let`s start with the replies before all the folks talking about footballers get in...[/quote]
Yawn another footballer only cruiser. The car looks horrific. Shame on you VW.
mantaray
Re: Bentley Continental GT
[quote coolboy]
"W.O makes fast, very fast trucks..."
it really looks like a truck... and I like it also because of that!
[/quote]
+1
I always liked the GT becaus eit looks like it's hewn out of a solid piece of metal.
Shame all the footballers have taken to it.....overpaid nancyboys!
Lanehogger
Re: Bentley Continental GT
[quote Autocar]this revised edition of the Bentley Continental GT.[/quote]
What Bentley, or Autocar, have been unable to tell anyone since the new GT was unveiled is whether this is an all-new 2nd generation model or merely a heavy facelift. I suspect it's the latter.
Peter Cavellini
Re: Bentley Continental GT
Heavy revision it may have been, but, Mercedes, BMW and Porsche haven't really succeeded in stealing sales have they?,and,to me there's nothing simular on sale that looks-wise, so face lift or not Bentley seem to be getting it right.
Grunt
Re: Bentley Continental GT
Good value? You must have smoked your grandma's couch. [quote] [/quote] The Continental gets its pants comprehensively whooped in each and every department by the XJ Supersports. Style, modernity, driving enjoyment, space, acceleration & braking, fuel consumption, ride quality etc etc. [quote] [/quote] It is beyond me why any-one would pay an extra £50 000 just for the privilege of driving a souped-up version of the utter failure that is the VW Phaetus. [quote] [/quote] It was really a sad day when VW got its hands on Bentley, as unavoidably VW would do its sad badge-engineering again. And sure enough Bentley is now a commodity, a badge-swap away from VW.
JacobE
Re: Bentley Continental GT
[quote Lanehogger]merely a heavy facelift.[/quote]
Damn straight, clearly the car has the same architecture, platform and drivetrain as the previous model. The cabin is revised but still bears a pretty close resemblance to the old one. Still, it's growing on me, though I don't like that light arrangement here any more than on the Mulsanne. It looks like a moon fish coming at you, big eyes and all, and for some reason makes me think of the "Guppy" Ford Scorpio.
Interesting to note that they ran the launch in Oman - wonder what it will be like on wet, twisty British roads.
JacobE
Re: Bentley Continental GT
[quote Grunt]Style, modernity, driving enjoyment, space, acceleration & braking, fuel consumption, ride quality etc etc.[/quote]
Style and modernity are subjective Grunt. In terms of space I would expect a four door luxury saloon to be more spacious than a 2+2 luxury GT. Hell, a Skoda Superb is more spacious too. Acceleration and braking - not sure about the braking, but the old Conti was good and fitted with a hefty set of stoppers, and acceleration wise this is quicker than the XJ Supersports. I love the XJ and drive an old XJR myself, but I can absolutely recognize this Bentley's value in the marketplace in which it competes. While it may share its basic architecture with a Phaeton W12, there are a number of technical revisions, not to mention costs with the relatively speaking lower volume production, that justify the price. This is before you start considering the material quality etc that takes the Bentley cabin a step up from the actually rather good VW. The new CL63 however is as fast, more economical and modern, probably more fun, more spacious and cheaper.
doomngloom
Re: Bentley Continental GT
[quote JacobE]
[quote Grunt]Style, modernity, driving enjoyment, space, acceleration & braking, fuel consumption, ride quality etc etc.[/quote]
Style and modernity are subjective Grunt. In terms of space I would expect a four door luxury saloon to be more spacious than a 2+2 luxury GT. Hell, a Skoda Superb is more spacious too. Acceleration and braking - not sure about the braking, but the old Conti was good and fitted with a hefty set of stoppers, and acceleration wise this is quicker than the XJ Supersports. I love the XJ and drive an old XJR myself, but I can absolutely recognize this Bentley's value in the marketplace in which it competes. While it may share its basic architecture with a Phaeton W12, there are a number of technical revisions, not to mention costs with the relatively speaking lower volume production, that justify the price. This is before you start considering the material quality etc that takes the Bentley cabin a step up from the actually rather good VW. The new CL63 however is as fast, more economical and modern, probably more fun, more spacious and cheaper.[/quote]But its not a Bentley is it. They are a bit chav i admit, but its a nice feeling getting in one and an even better one when you plant the big pedal to the floor.
blowerbentley
Re: Bentley Continental GT
I really am in 2 minds about these. I admire them and can see their attraction despite the premier league footballer image. On the other hand, they have obscenely high fuel consumption and CO2 output. A really new model should be RWD, with the engine moved further back for better weight distribution, be at at least 500kg lighter and offer a CO2 figure of under 250gm/km.
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