Bentley Continental GT - The Car 007 Should Have Been Driving

Who can forget James Bond spinning around on the ice in a mere Aston Martin, being chased by a Jag in the 007 movie, “Die Another Day”? As impressive as those vehicles were, how much more quickly would he have caught the bad guy and how much more debonair would he have looked had he only been driving the ultra exotic and very fast Bentley Continental GT.

That’s right…the very traditional British marque Bentley that we often associate with limousines and English country gentlemen is undergoing a remarkable transition. The Continental GT deftly retains the Bentley image yet presents it in a gorgeously elegant, high performance package.

The Continental GT is a 2+2 Grand Touring motorcar. The styling of the GT is modern, elegant, chic, bold and something to be coveted. The considerable color palette presents the many faces of the GT. In a sky blue paint scheme, the GT comes across as daring. In silver, it looks as if it were machined from a solid block of aluminum and highly polished in a techno-chic way. The deep green that is so dark you’d swear it was black, appeals to the British motorcar traditionalist. In any of its colors or hues, the GT is impressive. I have yet to see one that I have not wanted, regardless of its color.

As modern as the exterior is, the interior comes across as very traditional in its look and feel. There’s lots of technology there, but it’s hidden below the surface. The first impression is that you’ve entered a British automotive wood and leather paradise. The array of colors, hides and woods for trim are very impressive. It is easy to personalize your vehicle. There are 16 exterior colors, 16 interior colors, 7 types of wood and multiple other buyer selectable choices. The number of possible option combinations exceeds the total production of the vehicle. According to the company, no two Bentleys are exactly alike. The wood used in the interior is hand matched. The hides for the seats are also hand selected and matched in both grain and quality. As an example of the care and attention to detail lavished on the GT, the steering wheel alone takes a craftsman 18 hours to hand assemble, carefully preparing the wood and hand stitching the leather so that it’s just perfect. Bentley spends more time making a steering wheel than some auto manufacturers take to assemble an entire compact car! Should the standard suite of choices be insufficient, the Mulliner packages provide additional opportunities to personalize your Bentley.

In addition to being a study in class and elegance, the interior is very comfortable. This is a true 2+2 vehicle which means that it actually does have room-for-adults rear seating. Correspondingly, the trunk can hold sufficient luggage for a serious weekend with friends. All 4 side windows roll all the way down and are pillarless to enhance a feeling of openness in the cockpit.

The engineering of the vehicle is not left wanting. Historically, Bentley has been the racing twin of the Rolls Royce/Bentley family. In a Rolls you’re the passenger, but you’ll want to drive the Bentley. Because of Bentley’s recent association with VW, Audi and Porsche car companies, it benefits from some of their performance hardware. The propulsion in the GT is a twin turbo 12 cylinder W12 engine. The high flying W12 outputs 552 horsepower and 479 ft.-lbs. of torque at an ultra low 1,600 rpm. All this push is routed through a wonderful 6 speed automatic with Porsche-like Tiptronic shift controls. Power is delivered to all 4 tires thanks to a full time all wheel drive system very similar to Audi’s Quattro technology. Notwithstanding the GT’s considerable heft, 5,320 lbs., the car is bulleted to 60 miles an hour in 4.7 seconds and has a top speed of 198 (not a typo) miles an hour! Not only is the GT lightning fast, but the manner that the power is offered up is similarly impressive.

This is an easy car to drive fast and equally easy to get speeding tickets in. You have little sensation of speed, even at high velocity. The progressive air suspension and muted interior, allow the car to do a remarkable job of filtering out the din of the road. You always feel in control of the GT and it responds instantly to input but the unnecessary and unwanted bits of driving in traffic or of tired road surfaces is eliminated. The Continental GT is one of the most comfortable and relaxing vehicles that we have ever tested. Undulating road surfaces, sweeping bends, freeway sprints, rain soaked back roads; nothing fazed the GT or threw if off balance.

The Bentley Continental GT is a rare and beautiful thing. Being the “entry” model in the Bentley line, its $155,000 asking price also makes it the value leader compared with the $300,000 plus Arnage models. It’s a stunning vehicle that does everything well. It’s like rare and expensive jewelry that rewards everyone: the driver, the passengers and all onlookers.