Basic price
$ USD 220K
By. Henry Catchpole
The paddle shift in a 2016 new Bentley Continental GT Speed has never been something I’ve much bothered with. For a start, the paddles seem to be positioned slightly out of the way so that they don’t initially fall easily to hand. Then there is the fact that the ZF automatic gearbox does a very good job of shuffling its octet of ratios on its own. Finally, when you’ve got a gargantuan 820 Nmon offer, as in the Bentley Continental GT Speed, there is really no such thing as ‘the wrong gear’.
As a result, I probably didn’t even extend an index finger towards a paddle for the first couple of
hundred kays in this car. When I did decide to do a bit of digit dabbing, however, the result was a revelation. I hardly took my hands off the paddles for the rest of the 3200 km journey. The reason had nothing to do with the shift itself, which is fine, if a little lumpy when you’re aggressive, and everything to do with the feel of the adze-shaped paddles.
The 2016 New Bentley Continental GT is refreshed with a complement of new exterior design features, aimed at sharpening the on-road presence of the iconic Grand Tourer. A new front bumper combines with a smaller radiator shell and new, more pronounced fenders to lend a more assertive and confident stance to the front of the car. The fenders now feature a new vent, complete with a graceful metallic "B" adornment, which serve to emphasise and enhance the renowned Bentley "power line" that flows rearwards from the front arches. New bright chrome fender badges for the V8 S and W12 models now match those applied to the GT Speed.
The texture of cool, knurled aluminium is extremely tactile, and it’s this almost ticklishly rough surface that greets your fingertips in the refreshed Continental GT. In the same way that Alcantara tangibly adds something to the steering of a car, so this machined aluminium transforms an otherwise unremarkable gear changing experience.
Other manufacturers should take note. Elsewhere in the interior things are much the same as before.
There is a slightly different steering wheel, some higher quality leather (although I can’t remember the previous hide being too shabby) and the seats are still incredibly comfy for hours on end. You can now have Wi-Fi in your Bentley too, which was rather good as it enabled me to beam up Radio LeMans on my phone while in Norway and then Bluetooth the dulcet race commentary through
the Bentley’s crystal-clear Naim speakers. The areas that do require some attention, however, are the
satellite nav and some of the switch gear, as they feel rather old now.
Externally the Bentley Continental GT Speed retains the same elegantly brutish appearance it’s always had. There is a new front bumper, an indistinguishably smaller radiator grille and the lines over the wheel arches have become sharper and more flamboyantly art deco, which I rather like. Under the bonnet the W12 has gained an extra 11 kW and 20 Nm in standard form, although outputs for the Speed and V8 models remain the same as before.
Given that the mighty 6.0-litre, twin-turbo, 12-cylinder motor has never felt under-endowed, perhaps the more important news is that it is now capable of running on just six cylinders at part throttle. It does so imperceptibly and on the long motorway stretches our GT Speed was returning about 10L/100km.
As a drivers’ car we would pick the V8 Continental, as it turns in with greater alacrity and generally feels more quick-witted. Nonetheless there is something deeply seductive about the monstrous 467 kW of the GT Speed. Even with a portly 2245kg to propel it feels impressively quick in a straight line. It is smart off the line too, with all-wheel drive ensuring that traction is not a problem. Take
one on at the traffic lights at your peril, because although you might think you’re lining up against the
equivalent of the fat father at the sports day parents’ race, experience shows that the GT Speed’s 4.2sec 0-100km/h time is easily repeatable.
The battering ram sensation of a fully lit Bentley just keeps going as well. When we drove through
Germany we saw an indicated 325km/h before traffic stopped play, and the acceleration only
really slowed during the final 20 of those kilometres-per-hour. At which point I turned on the seat’s
massage function. You may be wondering what I was doing driving 3200 km through Norway and Germany.
Those sorts of distances are what the Bentley Continental GT Speed does better than almost anything else. Arm chair comfortable and library-quiet most of the time, but pleasingly loud and very capable when you want it to be, it simply devours distance while cosseting its occupants. There is a reassuring heft to it on motor ways that makes it feel very stable laterally, yet all that torque makes changes in pace feel effortless. Back home, the GT Speed feels slightly tauter than we remember on British back-roads.
The dampers, as before, can be adjusted through four levels of compliance, and in the firmest setting the Bentley Continental GT Speed is impressively well supported through corners. It still feels nose heavy, but if you get on the throttle smartly as a corner unravels, the power now seems to be directed to the rear axle with greater intent. This throws a bit of agility into the grand tourer mix, but it’s still some way short of a Ferrari FF on that front. Ultimately, it would be nice to see an all-new Continental GT before too long, as this car has essentially been with us since 2003, but the styling tweaks (not to mention those paddles) have just about kept Bentley’s best seller fresh enough to maintain its undoubted appeal.
Specification
Engine
5998cc W12, dohc, 48v, twin-turbo
Power
467kW @ 6000rpm
Torque
820Nm @ 1700rpm
Weight
2245kg (208kW/tonne)
Consumption
14.6L/100km
0-100km/h
4.2sec (claimed)
Top speed
331km/h (claimed)
Basic price
$ USD 220
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