The base spec Bentley Continental GT will still have 670bhp
More potent than the last W12 Speeds, these new Continentals still pack 670bhp, albeit in a classier, more stately visual package than the Speed flagships
As expected after the full-fat ‘Speed’ models with which Bentley’s new hybrid era launched, the ‘standard’ Continental GT and Flying Spur models have followed, here to face off against the Aston Martin DB12 and Maserati GranTurismo. Still hybrid, still with V8s, good for a still impressive 670bhp, these models establish a new price of entry in the Bentley GT range, from £202,400 for the coupe.
Apart from having their muscles deflated to the tune of 100bhp, they are more stately in their appearance than the Speed variants – more Cote d’Azur on a summer’s evening than Dalston recording studio at 3am. We know from testing that’s taken us from Anglesey, to the Lake District, to the Alps, that the Speeds are spectacular performers but still calm, cossetting cruisers once you retract your horns. So, where will these new models fit in, beyond simply being £40k cheaper and more subtle to look at than the Speeds?
Owing to the fact it’s been wound back a bit (though Bentley hasn’t specified whether that’s via detuning the V8, or the software that controls the electric motor), the powertrain that Bentley calls the ‘Ultra Performance Hybrid’ in the Speed models is called ‘High Performance Hybrid’ here.
Still, a combined 670bhp and 686lb ft from the 4-litre twin-turbo V8 and in-transmission electric motor should be quite enough to keep the new Contis competitive in Top Trumps against the Aston and Maserati. If you’re not encyclopedic with your specs knowledge, then you might not have realised the numbers in these Bentleys are dead ringers for those of the Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid, with which this powertrain is shared. Incidentally, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid's specs match those of the Bentley Speed models.
> Bentley has no plans to stop using V8s
The same 25.9kWh battery, and therefore the same 50-plus-mile battery electric range, as the Speed comes in these new Bentleys, which presumably means the weight is similar, starting at over 2.4 tons for the coupe. Still, the Continental GT Coupe should be good for 0-62mph in 3.7sec (3.9 for the GTC and Spur). In short, the new Bentley Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur outperform the W12 speed of the previous generation, so they’re far from ‘cooking’ models.
Happily, they should be able to handle their mass when the going gets trans-Penine with as much skill as we know the Speeds do, given the hardware they get. No longer Speed-exclusive, the electronic limited-slip diff carries over to the new range, from the Continental, to the Flying Spur, as does Bentley’s 48-volt active chassis anti-roll control and rear-wheel steering. These base cars also keep the twin-chamber air springs behind Bentley’s Dynamic Ride system, which broaden so effectively the Speed’s scope for both comfort and body control. All are controlled as on the Speed via that distinctive rotary dial in the cabin that surrounds the start button, with Comfort, Bentley and Sport settings.
Visually, the body lines and shapes are all the same as on the Bentley Continental Speed models, though the brightwork is significantly brighter here. The headlights with their crystalline detailing aren’t so shaded, while the rears are now red rather than clear when they’re off. Brighter in chrome too are elements of the grilles, body, window, light and exhaust trims. These are Bentleys very much as Bentley people remember them – stately, elegant, fit for a Monarch – with none of the ‘Speed’ menace.
This newfound ‘Bentleyness’ isn’t better expressed than in Azure trim, which features vertically-vaned grilles and new 22-inch multi-six-spoke wheels. Inside, diamond-quilted leather, ‘wellness’ seating and open-pore crown-cut walnut veneer trim, which gets all symmetrical in the same way Mr Pagani does with his exposed carbonfibre; the in-line walnut veneers meeting in the middle of the the centre console, pointing toward the gear selector, analogue Bentley clock and central digital display. Nevermind Aston Martins, a Continental GTC Azure’s closest comparable rival is probably moored up somewhere in the Monaco Hercules harbour.
The new Bentley Continental GT, Continental GTC and Flying Spur are available to order now, with prices starting from £202,400 for the Continental GT. Starting being the appropriate word, given that the Azure is surely much pricier and that many will be lured in by Bentley’s Mulliner department for an extravaganza of customisation from the paint finishes, to every element of the cabin appointment, thus swelling the on-the-road price.
