CARS / December
DRIVEN: the new Bentley
Continental GT
Publicity photos
In association with car buyer’s guide whatcar.lv
Bentley was acquired by Volkswagen AG in 1998,
but it wasn’t until 2003 that the Continental GT
appeared with a 6.0-litre W12 engine at the head of
a sumptuously appointed four-wheel-drive chassis.
In the 15 years since, the car’s blend of opulence,
performance, and character has remained all but un-
rivalled, with the result that more than 65,000 have
been sold worldwide. For an idea of how sensational
a figure that is, consider that last year only 186
examples of the super-luxury Mulsanne saloon were
sold in Europe.
In replacing the mainstay of its range, it would
seem that Bentley has sensibly erred on the side of
caution. The cab-rearward stance remains, as does
the basic layout, but they belie the fact that this car
will transform what the marque offers its customers.
If a flat-footed chassis shared with the ill-fated VW
Phaeton saloon hamstrung the old Continental GT,
it is the fact that this fresh generation uses a platform
common to only its VW Group sibling Porsche that
gives hope.
Indeed, interiors to match Rolls-Royce’s and
performance to worry Ferrari are almost to be
expected of this car. But it’s the prospect of a truly
engaging drive that has the potential to transform
the Continental GT into a world-beater.
Bentley spokespeople are quick to correct you if
you ask exactly what the Porsche-developed MSB
platform has allowed the company to do differently
with this new Continental GT.
That’s because the MSB was a group-wide project
with which key Bentley people were involved at the
earliest stages, so it’s probably no fairer to say that
the Continental is built on Porsche underpinnings
than the Panamera is made on Bentley ones.
The car’s monocoque is built from a mix of alu-
minium and high-strength steel and is dressed in
superformed aluminium bodywork, except for at the
rear, which features a composite plastic boot lid.
Under the bonnet, you’ll find Bentley’s familiar
6.0-litre W12 engine, recently re-engineered with
new cylinder heads to allow both direct and indirect
fuel injection and cylinder-shutdown variable-dis-
placement running. It has more power than the car’s
The car’s monocoque is built
from a mix of aluminium and
high-strength steel
direct predecessor and quite a lot more torque than
even the outgoing GT Speed produced.
Suspension is via the same three-chamber air
suspension the Panamera uses, and Bentley’s
chassis engineers claim it gives the car a ride and
handling configurability that can be ‘S-Class-like’ at
one moment and ‘911-like’ the next. Yet, the interior
is where the Continental GT’s identity as a luxury
product, distinct even from many of its closest rivals,
is forged. Bentley’s cockpit is a sensory treat of vari-
ous layers and courses. The mood it plays to is one of
classic wood-panelled, chrome-trimmed, deep-piled,
leather-bound opulence, so if you prefer avant-garde
design to the look and feel of a vintage drawing room,
it may not be for you.
A fully digital and configurable instrument panel
replaces the last car’s analogue clocks ahead of the
Baltic Outlook
/ 2018 / 115