Next year Bentley will celebrate a century of motor manufacturing with the launch of an all new Continental. But will they will be able to improve on the current GT V8 S Convertible which is the pick of range. No doubt it will be faster, more economical and bursting with cutting-edge tech – but will it still have the magic ingredients of the current model? With two-and-a-quarter tonnes of hand-crafted machinery taking 104 hours to assemble it is already one of the fi nest fi nished cars available.
Th e combination of pure heft and air suspension steam-rollers any road surface imperfections. While you top up your tan, it will play music off your iPhone, radar control your cruising speed, create a personal 4G Wi-Fi hotspot while giving you a massage. All the while hitting 60 mph from a standstill in 4.5 seconds on its way to 191 mph fl at out.
Th e styling is so spot on it has needed barely any detectable changes since its launch in 2003. Its brutish front end and muscular haunches give it almost unmistakable presence. But the designers must have been crying into their CAD keyboards when the Chrysler 300C came out a year later. And we haven’t even got to the best bit of the current car yet. Th ere was a clue in the press pack that preceded the car’s delivery; Main paint: Th under. With the roof down and 521 bhp deployed there are fewer better sounding cars in the world. Th e whole car rockets forward as if it has been struck a blow from Th or’s hammer. Despite being turbo charged the 4.0 litre 8 cylinder engine produces a guttural roar and machine-gun reports leading to laugh out loud moments.
When I took out a long-term Continental W12 owner out for spin he came back with a huge smile and an insatiable desire to swap cars. Our car had the Sports exhaust fi tted, which comes as part of the Extended Sports Specifi cation option. For £14,380 extra it also includes the epic carbon ceramic brakes with red painted caliper and carbon fi bre inserts around the cabin. But if you are dropping this much money on a car, it is the fi rst option you should tick.
It makes the car sound like an opera singer performing a rock classic from a low-fl ying Spitfi re, such is the power and anger emanating from the Bentley. Th is is where I fear ‘progress’ for the next model may take a step back. I am surprised the sheer volume of the sound is not already illegal in some European countries. Sure fuel consumption will not doubt improve, our car averaged 21 mpg over 10 days. But that gain could be be to the detriment of its greatest asset. Befi tting a spot of contrarian convertible testing our Continental arrived amid a February snow fall. With the multi layer fabric hood and glass rear screen in place road noise is higher than in the coupe. But it is far from intrusive.
Th e other sacrifi ce is a sizeable chunk (100 litres) of boot space eaten up by the stowed roof. Two large suitcases that would easily fi t in the hard op 358 litres but may need to be traded for some custom Bentley ones to fi t in. Th e icy conditions also allowed us to take advantage of the permanent four-wheel drive. It is usually split 60/40 in favour of the rear wheels. But when required it can switch 85 percent to the back axle.
Visually the diff erences over a standard V8 are a black gloss matrix grille with chrome frame and centre bar, a smattering red enamel Bentley ‘B’ badges, and a threesegment lower front bumper with body-coloured strakes.
