2014 Bentley Continental GT Speed first drive
The Bentley Continental GT Speed is available as a coupe or convertible
Out testing the new Bentley Continental GT Speed, with a fellow motoring hack at the helm, we pulled into the car park of a well-known supermarket to grab some essential supplies (namely, sweets and drinks). With a space to squeeze through large enough only for one car, my erudite colleague considerately paused and waved through the oncoming motorist. Rather than thanking us, said oncoming motorist scowled and shouted ‘Tit’ out of his open window and into ours as he passed.
Put it down to the green-eyed monster. Or put it down to the fact that Bentley has, in recent years, attracted a slightly new-money image that hasn’t been universally admired. Bentleys today are as readily associated with gangster rap and premiership football as they are with the tweed jacket & jodhpurs set. It’s partly thanks to that new crowd that the Speed came into being back in 2007. For those among them wanting the ultimate Bentley with the biggest bragging rights, this was it.
A subtly altered bodykit distinguishes new Speed from old
Following a more comprehensive facelift last year, this year’s set of light tweaks keeps the essential ingredients much the same. The exterior differs only by way of a more aggressive bodykit, which is designed to improve the car’s aerodynamics at speed. Meanwhile, the interior is still wonderfully opulent, with armchair seating for four swathed in the finest hide (it takes no less than 12 cows to build one of these, in case you’re wondering). The Speed now gets a contrasting swathe of leather which sweeps around the door cards and runs along the underside of the dash cowls; as you’d expect, it’s beautifully crafted, and there’s a plethora of trim options on offer.
It’s luxurious, then – but so is every Continental GT. It’s the Speed’s massive thrust that sets it apart. This new model can boast 10bhp more than the old one, though as that had 616bhp, the extra is rather like topping Windermere up with a pipette. Even opening the throttle part-way results in a glorious surge of acceleration that’d easily see off several hot hatches; throw the hammer down fully, and the Speed girds its loins for a second like a rhino about to charge, before assaulting you with a torrent of acceleration little else can keep pace with. And thanks to a huge spread of torque, this is not a car whose neck you have to wring. That phenomenal pace simply presents itself whenever you flex your right foot.
Relentless power is the Speed’s hallmark
The trouble is, the Speed has never been the sharpest thing to drive quickly. And as Bentley’s tinkerings haven’t extended as far as the chassis, so it remains. It’s a heavy old beast, this, weighing in well north of two tonnes, and while it may well be tauter all round than the standard W12, with tweaked suspension and a lowered ride height, it isn’t enough to disguise the huge inertia the Speed generates. Combined with slow and uncommunicative steering, it makes for a less-than-involving driving experience.
That said, the amount of grip the Speed offers is simply phenomenal. Given the forces at work – this amount of power, that amount of weight, and some frankly optimistic changes of direction on our test drive – the fact it all stayed on the black stuff at all, let alone feeling so utterly unflustered while doing so, was remarkable. Driving the Speed quickly isn’t a matter of delicately balancing throttle and steering around a corner to get the best out of it. Instead, you simply turn the wheel toward the apex, apply as much power as you dare, and let the car fire you out of the corner with such ferocity that the dawdling hatchback that was half a mile down the road in front of you just a second ago is suddenly in your lap.
Inside, the Speed is as luxurious as you’d expect
Combine grip and pace of this magnitude, and you end up with a car that demolishes bends hilariously. Show it a twisty bit of road, and it’ll chomp from corner to corner with ease. This is a fantastically fast car, then. It’s just a shame it doesn’t involve you all that much.
You might say this is missing the point; that Bentley buyers don’t want to feel every intricate detail of the road surface through the wheel, or adjust their lines mid-corner. They simply want to go fast, everywhere. And they want to do it in a cradle of absolute luxury.
That is, of course, all true. And I’d gladly point such buyers in the direction of the V8-engined Continental GTs. A drive in one of these makes the Speed feel rather overblown. In real terms, out on the road, the V8s are almost as fast, very nearly as thrilling, and they sound a heck of a lot more interesting. What’s more, they offer a more comfortable ride, they feel better balanced, and they cost significantly less. The Speed’s good, but it isn’t great, and what it offers isn’t quite worth the near-£25,000 premium you’ll pay over the entry-level Conti. And you never know – without the bodykit, and with less overt wheels, you might stand less chance of having insults hurled at you in supermarket car parks.
THE FACTS
Bentley Continental GT Speed Coupé
Tested: 5,998cc V12 twin-turbocharged engine, eight-speed automatic gearbox, four-wheel drive
Price/on sale: From £156,700 (£185,710 as tested)/now
Power/torque: 626bhp @ 6,000rpm/607lb ft @ 2,0000rpm
Top speed: 206mph
Acceleration: 0-60mph in 4.0sec
Fuel economy: 12.6mpg/19.5mpg (EU Urban/Combined)
CO2 emissions: 338g/km
VED band: M (£1,090 for first year, £500 thereafter)
Verdict: Extravagantly fast and appointed just as a Bentley should be – but it isn’t a driver’s tool, and as such, the cheaper V8s make better buys
Telegraph rating: Three out of five stars
THE RIVALS
Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG, from £164,840
Soon to be replaced by the gorgeous S65 AMG Coupé, the CL65 doesn’t quite have the pace of the Continental GT Speed, and nor is it quite as spectacularly opulent, but it does feel a little lighter on its feet.
Aston Martin Vanquish, from £191,080
Vastly pricier, but arguably a heck of a lot prettier too, the Vanquish can match the Bentley for outright speed and outgun it in the corners. It’s just as beautifully finished inside, too, and it’ll make you feel every bit as special.
Rolls-Royce Wraith, from £235,000
Larger, more indulgent and more cossetting than the Continental GT, the Wraith is about as luxurious as a GT gets. It’s even less of a driver’s car, though, and it certainly doesn’t come cheap.
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