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WHERE REGALS DARE

For all its raging power and magnificence, owners of Bentleys don’t seem to have much desire to speed. Their latest model however, proves that you are never too royal or too rich to have a good time.

It seems a strange premise that Bentley keeps building these 6.0-litre machines only for them to be driven ever so frugally perhaps between palaces for yet another cup of over sweetened tea with some ghastly ambassador or worse still a distant relative in need of a bob or two. What’s the point? That engine is pretty wasted if all it does is crawl across London being overtaken by push bikes. Comfortable we grant you, and full of more extraordinary treasures than would feed a small country but you could get de-sensitised to all this after a while. Being a true petrol head you’ll soon be itching to feel the car demonstrate its perpendicular prowess, realise the extinguishing effect of those brakes and get some chatter back from that steering wheel. But it’s easy to forget that a Bentley goes above 70mph because it’s so darn quiet and cosy. Things are set to change though, according to the manufacturer; they want to appeal to people with a sense of fun, people who want glamour as well as pizzazz. And if profits are anything to go by, it’s surely done something right.

That something in this case is high end power hence its name, the Continental GT ‘Speed’ and for £137,500 you get 600bhp, that’s 100bhp per litre. Its top speed is over 200mph and it accelerates from 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds. But is squeezing out a few more miles per hour enough to justify an extra £17,000? You could use this spare cash to add a Nissan 350Z or a Mazda MX-5 to your fleet. Another consideration would be to ditch the Bentley altogether and buy that bombshell of an Aston Martin DB9. The Aston will remind you every time you turn the key that it’s raring to be played with. You’ll also save yourself almost £30K over the Continental Speed. Okay, it’s not as fast but if you want something that goes like stink, there’s also the Mercedes CL65 AMG which is even cheaper.
So is Bentley’s mightiest valuing itself too high in an attempt to scrabble back some kudos? Not exactly; the quality and precision is still of the highest calibre and all the revisions have noticeably livened things up. Essentially the changes are all about rigidity so the car can take a bit more punishing in the higher gears. Everything from the steering rack to the suspension and transmission has been modified and for an extra £10,000 you can also have carbon ceramic brakes.

To truly feel the effects of these alterations though, you have to drive it with a real purpose. It’s like there’s a secret boost button but the backlash only hits you when the rev counter is well in to the 5000’s. That’s when you know it’s got guts beyond its stiff upper lip. From your leather embossed throne rises up a sense of anarchy, a freedom that jolts you in to realising that there’s an army at work beneath you, recruiting, de-coding, compressing and firing in rigorous synchronicity. You find that the steering wheel does have voice and the counter-effects of body roll are a real prodigy in a car this size. But the engine’s soundtrack, or lack of it demonstrates the problem with using ‘GT’ and ‘Speed’ in the same sentence; it tries to please too many people and in doing this, risks not entirely satisfying anyone. Well, okay, if you live in the Italian Alps and know the roads like the back of your hand then no doubt you will be very satisfied.
But what’s Bentley’s most powerful production car like for the more average driver? It will certainly make you feel like a millionaire, every last inch of it. Illustrious, British (inherently) and apparently cool enough for footballers, if ever there was a car to scream I’m better than you, this is it. But you may feel the bubbles go a bit flat when you’re trying to edge through a pretty Cotswold village and those huge wheel arches force you to drive on the pavement. Any hopes of running for Prime Minister will also be brutally dashed too, this car is as anti-PC as they come.

In fairness, nobody ever bought a Bentley for philanthropic reasons and they probably never will. The question is will you buy a Bentley for its Speed or is just an obvious way to flaunt your affluence? If it’s all about speed then ditch the rear seats and the fancy dash otherwise we’d be far better off in our Ferraris and Lambos which communicate with us right from the moment they are launched off the line. While it’s true that the GT Speed has more torque than the Ferrari 599 GTB and can claw its way around mountains with unthinkable velocity it can never be as exciting as a 599 when you imbed your foot in its throttle. However it is a better Tourer than a 599, it’s likely to have a longer lifespan and it is a credit to the Bentley marque, we just wish all its best assets were more accessible to drivers who aren’t going to be driving at full throttle for the majority of the time.

Verdict

FOR: Full on speed
AGAINST: You have to steam coming out of your ears before you get to it.
CONCLUSION: It is a real cut above its stable-mate when it comes to the whole driving experience, its looks are barely altered but we loved its traditional elegance and aside having poor fuel economy, you wouldn’t mind spending a considerable chunk of your day in it.

Spec

ENGINE: 6.0litre V12
POWER: 552bhp @6100rpm
TORQUE (lb/ft): 479lb ft @1600rpm
0-60mph (sec): 4.5
TOP SPEED: 202mph
TRANSMISSION: Six Speed
PRICE: £137,500
RIVALS: Aston Martin DB9, Bentley Arnage T, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti F1, Ferrari 599 GTB, Maserati Coupé GranSport, Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG, Porsche 911 Turbo