Bentley Continental GT 2025 review – Crewe's DB12 rival has the Aston Martin licked

Bentley took a different approach when it launched the fourth generation of the Continental GT, the car that re-established the brand a quarter of a century ago and has been a mainstay of the company ever since. Rather than launch with the ‘entry level’ GT (seems wrong to call a Bentley ‘entry level’), they went with the range-topping Speed model. But there were, of course, sound reasons for doing so. 

The Bentayga SUV may have given the company a footprint in the lucrative SUV market, but the Conti remains the icon of the range, the Bentley that sees thousands of customers losing themselves for countless hours on the configurator, trying to decide between the several billion combinations available to them. Or they might decide to work with Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke service that takes you into a world of personalisation that requires an imagination that goes far beyond green over tan. The Conti is big business, which is why Bentley went big out of the box with the latest iteration, launching with the Speed ahead of the lower-powered Azure and GT models. 

Engine, gearbox and technical highlights

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With 771bhp from a combination of 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine and 140kW electric motor, the Speed has proven itself to be a definitive GT car. More calming, refined and cosseting than either Maserati’s GranTurismo Trofeo or Aston Martin’s DB12, the Speed is also a match for them when up on its toes and using all of that power and 738lb ft to substantial effect. And now you can have your Continental GT with less oomph but no less grace. 

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With the same essential underpinnings as the Speed, the Conti GT has what Bentley calls a ‘High Performance Hybrid’ powertrain to differentiate it from the Speed’s ‘Ultra Performance Hybrid’ system. In reality this means it’s been detuned by 100bhp to 671bhp, with peak torque of ‘only’ 686lb ft, although there is still the small matter of a 2384kg to push around. But push it around it does.

The default drive mode is all-electric power on start-up, and there’s something just right about a silent Bentley in certain scenarios where a burbling V8 feels more like a cry for attention than essential for you to enjoy yourself. Once those kilowatt-hours are all gone (after around 50 miles, or sooner if you get excited with the throttle or switch the drive mode to Sport) the V8 hums into life – and it is a hum, thanks to legislation and those pesky particulate filters.

Performance, ride and handling

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Do you miss the 100bhp compared with the Speed? Not at all. The hybrid system is so well integrated that any dead spots in the V8’s delivery where that mass makes itself felt are seamlessly plugged with a slug of electric power. Yet, as with the Speed, the power delivery feels like an authentic, analogue process at all times rather than a digital one. 

Despite all that power and torque, it’s never a wild ride, the Continental GT remaining the epitome of a GT car as it matches opulence with a turn of performance that will whisk you to your destination at whatever pace you desire. There’s pleasing tactility and weighting to the controls too, so while they deliver smooth, accurate responses, any sense of floating disconnection has been banished. The quality of the damping (the two-chamber air suspension is the same as fitted to the Speed) and the detail in the body control make it a far more athletic drive than you might have anticipated. It’s no Caterham, but its high fidelity of chassis tuning belies its mass. 

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The GT also benefits from the same four-wheel steering, e-diff and active anti-roll bars that make the Speed such a compelling car. So it retains the same agility, the same clarity in the way it tackles any given road. And if it lacks the hyperactivity of a DB12, that’s a good thing most of the time. Instead the GT settles with confidence, leaning on its systems to create an incredibly linear and consistent approach to any challenge it faces.

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On fast, flowing roads it feels commanding and connected as it glides from point to point, never requiring more than a single input to react how you need it to. In a world where ultimate performance is a mantra every car manufacturer seems to be chasing, the Conti GT brings a level of maturity that’s no less compelling or engaging. 

Across more challenging landscapes, where you might expect a car of this size and mass to shrug its broad shoulders and leave you high and dry, it works the technical armoury at its disposal hard. Braking remains consistent and the same single-input dialogue that works so well at speed is equally prevalent in slower, tighter manoeuvres. There’s just the right amount of lean for it to feel entirely natural, while turn-in is rewarded with an unexpected keenness from the front axle. The rest of the car flows in unison, the rear-wheel steering managing the angle of entry and the e-diff helping determine the angles on exit if you’ve decided to play fast and loose with the stability systems. 

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So despite being such a big car, agility remains one of the GT’s key assets. Porsche’s engineers clearly listened when Bentley told them what it required from the many pieces of hardware the Continental shares with the Panamera, the Stuttgart concern being charged with creating and developing them before handing over to Crewe to finesse. And finesse they have. 

Price and rivals

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The Continental GT remains an imposing car on the road and a very special place to ride in, regardless of the journey. There are more powerful, faster and more dynamic rivals but they don’t blend all of the requisite GT elements as well as the Bentley does. A DB12 is prettier and faster, but it lacks the pure GT credentials that owners of such cars benefit from more of the time. The GranTurismo simply feels a league behind in terms of chassis and engine performance, though it does come close to the Bentley’s GT remit (although not as close as it did with the previous generation car). 

Which leaves you with one decision: Speed or GT? The former has the headline performance, blends every attribute seamlessly and has redefined what a GT car in the 21st century should be. Yet I think we would have come to the same conclusion had we driven this lesser-powered model first. The Continental GT is that good, regardless of its power output.

Specs