Bentley Continental GT, Performance Of A Fantasy Car

After 60 years of building ordinary luxury cars, Bentley has come back with a roar following in the footsteps of W O Bentley, building a true supercar with fantastic performance. But this is no semi-racer; it's a true Grand Tourer.

What's more, the Bentley Continental GT is simply the most beautiful coupe in the world. It is also amazingly fast. Despite its graceful looks, it can out-perform all but the fastest supercars, and some fantasy cars. Bentley claims a maximum speed of 198 mph, but in independent tests it has been timed at 206 mph! Not bad for a four-seater with a good-sized trunk.

Bentleys are known for their combination of luxury and performance, but back in the 1920s, they were the out-and-out sports racing champions. They were big and fast, and won at Le Mans several times. In 2003, they returned to Le Mans with their dark green Bentley Eights, and finished first and second again.

The world's best Grand Tourer?

Still, the Continental GT has hardly anything in common with the Le Mans cars, except the top speed which is almost in the same league. If you doubt it, don't forget that the Porsche Carrera GT is modelled on a car designed for Le Mans, and has a top speed of 206 mph, just a little faster than the Bentley.

It is in long distance touring that the Continental GT comes into its own.It is surely the Grand Tourer that tops them all. Most supercars are not practical to drive regularly. They have very low seating positions, small doors, usually with awkward access, and almost no luggage space. The Continental GT is different a car with space and power.

Equally at home at 150 mph or cornering fast

Bentley has produced a car that is equally at home driving at 150 mph down the German autobahn; being thrown around hairpin bends in the Italian Alps; cruising round the byways of America; arriving for a special event at The Ritz Hotel; or driving to a plush golf and country club.

The car is similar in shape to the Bentley Continental of years gone by, but has an up-to-date look, and is more compact. The elegant lines hide the fact that this is a full four-seater with a large trunk and a 552 bhp engine. That fantastic power unit is based on the latest technology from VW and Audi which now owns Bentley Motors and so the car shares many components with the most expensive Audi A8 models.

W-12, 550 bhp twin turbo engine

Bentley has always used big, powerful engines, and the Continental GT follows this tradition with a 6.0 litre W-12 engine with twin turbochargers. The remarkable thing about this very compact engine is not just that it develops 552 bhp at 6,100 rpm that's one huge amount of power but that the maximum torque of 480 lb ft is developed from 1,600 to 6,000 rpm. This gives the car masses of pulling power at any speed.

Not surprisingly, Bentley has opted for four-wheel drive, available to the engineers from the VW Group, and already in use in the Audi A8. This gives much better control than rear-wheel drive, but you can't hang the tail out or have so much fun. Bentley drivers don't usually go in for that sort of thing except at Le Mans preferring plenty of cornering power, safety and stability. So that's OK.

What about this engine? I mean, a W-12 is a strange device isn't? Well, yes it is; although it is really a double V rather than a W. To get the idea, first think of a very narrow angle V-6, with just 15 degrees between banks of cylinders. Because the angle between the cylinders is so small, the top face of the whole V-6 cylinder block can be flat. One cylinder head can be used for each bank of six cylinders. Our cutaway view shows how one bank of cylinders are arranged.

Like two narrow angle V-6s joined together

To make a W-12, you combine two of these V-6 blocks into one, at 72 degrees to each other. So, the cylinder block looks like a V-6, but actually has 12 cylinders. The result is a very compact engine, smaller than most V-8s of the same capacity.

To save weight, the cylinder block is aluminum, and some components, such as the inlet manifold, are magnesium. Owing to the shape of the block, it is very rigid.

This amazing engine is coupled to a ZF six-speed automatic gearbox, with Tiptronic control, which can be operated by a pair of paddles on the steering wheel. Suspension design is closer to that of a sports car than a luxury car, with double wishbone suspension at the front and multi-links at the rear. Air springs and electronically controlled shock absorbers are used all round. This type of suspension gives better wheel control and handling than the strut suspension used on many coupes.

Plenty of electronics

As with most expensive cars these days, the Continental GT has plenty of electronics to improve control and performance. For example, the shock absorbers are adjusted automatically according to the conditions. Naturally, the car has the other electronic systems found on expensive cars such as ABS and electronic stability program (ESP), which helps the driver keep control if he goes into a corner too fast.

Since the Continental GT is so large 189 inches long it really needs an aluminum body/frame like the Audi A8 and latest Ferraris, to keep weight down. But that would require a completely new body shop, and Bentley Motors stopped short at spending all that money, partly because their other cars are steel. So it has a steel body like the other Bentleys.

As a result, the car weighs no less than 5,250 lb, which is over 2.3 tons, and a lot to carry around with you, and will result in bad gas mileage. Still, with its beautiful body and all this technology, it still has a fantastic performance allied with grace and comfort.