Bentley Continental GT 2018 Review

As the first all-new model from Bentley after the Volkswagen Group purchased it from Rolls-Royce in 1998, the original Bentley Continental GT marked a new beginning for the German-owned British premium brand.

But a lot has happened since 2003 – the same year the US invaded Iraq and its space shuttle Columbia exploded mid-air – including the launch of key rivals including the Aston Martin DB11, Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe, Maserati GranTurismo and, soon, a born-again 8 Series from BMW.

Once again, however, Bentley comes to the big luxury coupe market well armed, starting with the new aluminium/steel MSB developed by Porsche for its new Panamera, and once again the Continental GT launches in premium 12-cylinder form.

Bentley says its sportier new coupe will attract a new breed of buyer to the brand as well as loyal (read: patient) former customers and early indications are it’s right; about 40 Australian pre-orders will all but exhaust supplies in the first year.

As before, V8, V8S, Speed and Supersports (and perhaps even plug-in hybrid) versions will follow, and the new GT will again be joined by convertible (GTC) and sedan (Flying Spur) body derivatives over the next couple of years.

Powered by an upgraded 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 TSI engine producing 473kW/900Nm (up from 423kW/700Nm), the new Bentley Continental GT is new from the ground up (one of the few carryover parts is the glovebox handle).

It’s slightly shorter overall than before (but still measures a rangey 4805mm, thanks to a longer rear overhang), as well as lower and up to 80kg lighter at still-hefty 2252kg, despite riding on a 110mm-longer wheelbase.

That helps make it almost a second quicker than its predecessor (3.7sec v 4.6), as well as faster (333km/h), while a new active all-wheel drive system, four-mode Drive Dynamics control and three-chamber air suspension with 48-volt Bentley Dynamic Ride active anti-roll system aim to improve handling.

Although these chassis features are standard, in time-honoured luxury car tradition there’s a long list of expensive optional extras that could add well over $100,000 to the $422,600 list price (including on-road costs but not stamp duty, which amounts to more than $20,000 in NSW).

We’ve listed many of them in our Bentley Continental GT launch news story so we won’t repeat them here, but surprising highlights include the $90,000-plus First Edition Specification and the City Specification package, which for an extra $10,382 includes a host of safety features like autonomous emergency braking.

New Bentley Continental GT: Full Australian details

Now a prerequisite for a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, AEB is standard even on micro-cars like Kia’s sub-$15K Picanto, and if you want other safety features like Lane Assist, Night Vision, Traffic Assist, Head-Up Display and Adaptive Cruise Control, you’ll need to opt for the Touring Specification ($16,245).

Naturally, there’s a multitude of colour, trim and design options like the $20K-plus Mulliner Driving Specifications, which include inch-larger 22-inch wheel styles, diamond-quilted seat and door trims, embroidered Bentley emblems, indented hide headlining, jewel-like fuel and oil filler caps, sports pedals and piano-black or dark-stained burr walnut veneer inserts, but now-commonplace safety tech should be standard on any $400K-plus car.

The good news is there’s plenty of standard equipment, including a 10-speaker/650-Watt sound system, High Beam Assist, LED Matrix headlights, tail-lights and DRLs, larger-than-before 21-inch wheels, 17 standard paint colours and 15 standard leather colours.

But if you want any of the special solid or metallic paint colours it’ll cost you about $11,800 extra, and while 16-speaker/1500W Bang & Olufsen and 18-speaker/220W Naim sounds systems are banging, they’ll set you back more than $13,000 and $17,000 respectively.

Similarly, the diamond knurled controls are super-cool, but reflect a lot of sunlight and cost an extra $3854, and the first-time option of two-tone interior veneer is unique but adds a further $4719.

And although the Bentley Continental GT comes standard with the Volkswagen Group’s brilliantly clear, intuitive and customisable full-colour digital instrument array, one of its new design drawcards -- the Bentley Rotating Display – isn’t.

The three-sided unit in the centre of the dashboard makes for a compelling party trick, allowing drivers to flip between a veneer panel, three analogue gauges or a 12.3-inch colour infotainment touch-screen, but it costs more than $12,000 extra.

Aftersales care isn’t generous either. The Bentley Continental comes with a three-year, unlimited-km warranty and service intervals are 16,000km.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but nobody could deny this big, muscular British coupe lacks road presence.

It’s roughly the same size as before, but the 110mm-longer wheelbase, shorter front overhang, longer rear overhang and much greater distance between front axle and dash make it look a lot lower and wider.

Added to its sexier proportions is a sleeker take on the classic Bentley daylight opening (window area) and more modern surface jewellery including ‘faster’ dual headlights, a side ‘power line’ and beefy rear wheel-arch haunches within what’s claimed to be the largest pressed panel in the automotive world.

Together, they make the Continental GT’s all-aluminium body (except for the bootlid, which is composite) a thing of imposing beauty on the road.

Perhaps more importantly, there’s more than sufficient performance on tap from the upgraded W12 first seen in the Bentayga SUV, which Bentley claims is new from the crankshaft up and 30kg lighter than before.

Despite offering more power and a 200Nm bump in peak torque to a wholesome 900nm – delivered over a broad 1350-4500rpm -- the long-stroke twin-V6 design is actually 16 per cent more efficient than before, at 12.2L/100km.

That doesn’t make it a Prius, but it’s not bad given its sub-4sec 0-100km/h acceleration and 300km/h-plus speed (making it quicker and faster than the old Continental GT Speed), allows a touring range of more than 700km and makes it almost as efficient as the old Conti GT V8, which accounted for 60 per cent of sales.

Moreover, it spells effortless performance from standstill or any road speed – certainly more than you’d expect from any vehicle weighing more than two a quarter tonnes (which would’ve been less if Bentley hadn’t cancelled out half of the body’s 150kg weight reduction in extra equipment).

Matched with a new quicker-shifting ZF eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission – a first for Bentley, as seen in the Panamera – this is a bullocking powertrain that stands out in a downsizing automotive market.

That said, while refining the DCT to meet Bentley’s quality standards was a chief reason behind the new GT’s delay (it was due for launch in the first half of this year) we did notice a couple of transmission thumps during both up- and down-shifts.

And for all its 6.0-litre glory, we found its induction and exhaust note pretty disappointing. Hopefully that’s not the case for subsequent Speed and Supersports versions.

There’s a big step up in dynamics, too, thanks to a stiffer body attached to all-aluminium double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension with standard variable damping, high-volume and Bentley’s roll control system, which decouples the anti-roll bars in Comfort mode.

Indeed there’s a big difference between the four Drive Dynamics modes, with Comfort delivering the best ride quality at the expense of some float in bumpy corners and Sport being noticeably firmer, reducing body roll but making the same road lumps lumpier.

This is especially so on the optional, lower-profile 22-inch rubber, but even on standard 21-inch tyres road noise is louder than we expected and rough-road ride quality less serene than many customers might wish for.

While the car we drove also presented some high-pitched wind whistle at freeway speeds, the fidgety body control at the limit is more forgivable given the size and weight at play here, and the fact that 55 per cent of its weight is over the front wheels.

It’s also a factor of the new Bentley Continental’s more sporting chassis, including responsive, communicative and fault-free variable-ratio electric power steering and the biggest iron brake discs in the business (420mm up front with 10-piston callipers, 380mm at rear with four-piston callipers).

The Porsche-derived active all-wheel system of the new Conti also encourages more spirited driving, because rather than being permanent it sends torque to the front wheels only when required, and even then limits it to 38 per cent in Comfort mode and 17 per cent in Sport mode.

There’s still no hiding the GT’s size and weight in corners (or in the car park, where its 11.51m turning circle also works against you), but also helping the big coupe feel livelier than before is torque vectoring by brake.

In day-to-day driving, the Bentley coupe’s liberal front-seat accommodation and luxury appointments make it a pleasure to pilot, even if the steering wheel lacks (electric) telescopic adjustment and always feels a bit too far away, and even if rear vision is severely compromised by the small, sloping rear windscreen.

Also par for the course is a relatively small 358-litre boot and a pair of rear bucket seats that offer limited head room, knee room and foot room, making travelling for long distances in the rear a claustrophobic affair for adults.

Testing Bentley’s claim that the new Continental GT is the world’s finest grand tourer will have to wait for another day, but there’s no doubt it’s a fitting new sports flagship for the hallowed British brand.

It’s not cheap and the lack of basic driver aids as standard is inexcusable, but for anyone in the market for a big, beautiful luxury sports coupe the new Bentley GT ticks almost all the boxes.

How much does the Bentley Continental GT cost?
Price: $422,600 (plus stamp duty)
Engine: 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 petrol
Output: 473kW/900Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel: 12.2L/100km
CO2: 278g/km
Safety: Not tested