Why buy a used Bentley Continental GT Speed with Exchange and Mart?
Early Bentley models were sports cars. More recently, the brand has been primarily known for its luxury GTs. Can the company really produce a car able to combine both these attributes? This model, the fourth generation Continental GT, claims to be able to do just that. And together with the Bentayga SUV, it's crucial to the future of this famous automotive brand. No pressure then.
It's no exaggeration to suggest that without the original version of this car, launched back in 2003, then updated in 2011, Bentley wouldn't still exist as an automotive maker; not in the form we know it today anyway. While the company's exclusive limousine-style saloons sell in fractional numbers, this model series keeps the eco-friendly production lines in Crewe purring along at the rate of over 5,000 sales a year. An impressive return for the Volkswagen-owned manufacturer given that the Conti GT, in its first two generations of life, was a good car but never a great one, hamstrung by fundamentals borrowed from an old fashioned Volkswagen Phaeton saloon dating back to the turn of the century. This Continental was a consummate Grand Tourer, but it wasn't really a choice for driving enthusiasts.
The MK3 model of 2018 in contrast, shared its lighter, stiffer MSB chassis with the very latest second generation Porsche Panamera. That car also donated a quicker-reacting dual clutch gearbox, plus there was a more sophisticated 4WD set-up, much better weight distribution, sophisticated adaptive air suspension and an active anti-roll system, all of it helping to make the car more agile through the bends.
All of which is important to know in considering this fourth generation model, launched as both a Coupe and a GTC Convertible in mid-2024, because it's essentially just a heavy evolution of that previous model. Bentley of course doesn't see it that way, claiming that 68% of the parts used are new. Most of those lie under the bonnet, where the previous thirsty conventional W12 and V8 units get replaced by the PHEV powertrain that Bentley promised but never delivered with the previous generation model. And it's fast, which is why for the time being this car comes only in potent 'Speed' form. So does being able to plug this big GT in justify its place in this modern electrified world? And in this class, it is it more Aston Martin DB11 than Porsche 911 Turbo? Or an ideal combination of both?
