This is a Continental GT whose combustion engine starts when you press the “engine start” button, needless to say, and then makes quite a noise. Especially in Sport mode, it gurgles, gurgles and growls when you load it up and let it accelerate. Honestly, it’s a delight to the ear, whether you’re idling or on its massive, revving path through the top of fourth gear and into Laguna Seca’s corkscrew curve.
In reality, the only thing it’s missing is that extra running margin that really special performance cars tend to have: that 1,000 rpm magic, if you will. Instead, you’re upshifting at 6,000 rpm, rather than squeezing out every last rpm like you would in an excellent Porsche from the GT department or a BMW from the M division.
The eight-speed gearbox shifts gears very nicely. It does this quite quickly and positively on the track in manual mode, except on the odd occasion when it refuses to downshift near the redline and you have to ask again. We know that at a breakneck pace it also works surprisingly well, apart from some occasional hesitation when engaging reverse or reverse gear.
Does the car feel fast enough for the money? Honestly, you could shop faster, and Bentley doesn’t mind if you want. This car isn’t in the league of Ferrari Speciale, Lambo Performante, Porsche Turbo or Aston Martin AMR for its sheer asphalt-warping thrust. But, as Bentley is at pains to point out, it’s more about quality than quantity. It’s not about how fast you go, but how fast you go and how much fun you have in the process.
The car’s chassis mostly lives up to that billing, when it’s in song, as you’re about to read. But I think the V8, despite its more audible character, struggles, even if just a little.
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