The Last of the Old School Bentleys

The Bentley Continental GT is changing. The new model, due out in early 2025, will be a plug-in hybrid for the first time. This year, it was also announced that the W12 engine would be discontinued, and the new GT will only be available in V8 form. It will mate its V8 engine to an electric motor, and, in top spec, will produce 771bhp. This makes it the most powerful Bentley of all time. It also makes it one of the most technologically advanced. This is no bad thing, but it does add further allure to the outgoing, 3rd generation model. 

The Continental GT S then is the last of the old school Bentleys. It doesn’t have any electric motors, instead generating its power the old fashioned way, relying on its 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 alone. It makes you smile every time you start it up, the gurgling rumble letting you know it’s ready for action. It doesn’t have the Earth-spinning power of its extinct W12 cousin, but is still good for 542bhp and a 0-60mph time of 4.0 seconds. But the Bentley isn’t about speed alone. It’s about getting to your location in absolute comfort, and in this respect it’s unrivalled. 

When the GT first came out in 2003, it marked a huge shift for Bentley. Recently bought by Volkswagen, it allowed the company to ramp up production, with the GT being its first mass produced model. Each car took 150 hours to produce, significantly less than the 400 hours it took to hand build an Arnage. But the Bentley attention to detail was still there. The Wood-panelled leather interiors and quilted seats remained, while the round headlights and machined grille gave an elegant look to the front end. The second generation came along in 2011 with incremental updates, but it was the third generation that moved things on, both in terms of design and performance. 

Released in 2018, 3rd gen GT developed on the design of previous models, with a lower, wider grille, a sleeker, more aerodynamic side profile and a more sculpted rear end. Underneath, the same basic recipe was there, with a V8 and 6.0-litre W12 option available, but trick active air suspension and a revised interior put it in a class of its own. 

Sit behind the wheel of the Continental GTC S, and you’d never know it began life in 2018. The exterior has aged beautifully, and still looks just as fresh now as it did then. My car, finished in Cricket Ball red and with Satin Brodgar wheels, looks handsome at sunset, with the deep red complementing the subtle contours of the GT’s bodywork. But the interior remains the highlight. It’s armchair-comfy, with the huge leather seats offering day-long comfort on extended journeys. The huge dashboard is, as it should be, panelled in wood. There are buttons and switches, unlike most new cars which rely on haptic feedback and obnoxiously large touchscreens. Best of all is the revolving screen, which, Bond-like, can replace your navigation with a compass, stopwatch and temperature gauge. 

Sit behind the wheel of the Continental GTC S, and you’d never know it began life in 2018. The exterior has aged beautifully and still looks just as fresh now as it did then. But the interior remains the highlight. It’s armchair-comfy, with the huge leather seats offering day-long comfort on extended journeys. On a 750-mile round-trip to Pembrokeshire in Wales, it makes light work of motorway stints, where it absorbs the miles and hours.

The GT is no less opulent to drive. On a 750 mile round-trip to Pembrokeshire in Wales, it makes light work of motorway stints, where it absorbs the miles and hours. And, while fuel efficient is a bit strong, it didn’t fare too badly on the wallet. On a six hour and 40 minute drive, which took in London traffic, motorways and country lanes, the Bentley achieved 27.7mpg. And, thanks to its colossal 540 mile range, if you drive sensibly it’ll go far. 

Of course, if you want to get a move on, it’ll do that too. On arriving in Pembrokeshire, the roads began to open up. Long sweeping bends combine with tighter blind corners, and undulating straights. Switch the car into Sport mode and the exhaust valve opens for a more playful note, the suspension stiffens and the engine becomes more responsive. The GT is not a sports car, but it can tackle technical roads with poise. Its four wheel drive system gives you confidence, and it turns in sharply and when you want it to. You do feel the weight, all 2335kg of it, but it doesn’t feel bloated like a car of its size should. This is all the more impressive considering this model is a convertible, so it won’t have the chassis stiffness of its hardtop alternative. You’ll want the car in Bentley or Comfort mode most of the time though, so you can enjoy the magic of that air suspension flattening potholes and speed bumps. 

Where the GT is most fun is just cruising around. Top down, wind in the hair, it references the classic Bentleys of yesteryear, albeit in far more comfort than the Bentley Boys could have dreamed of. With its hybrid motor, increased weight and tweaked exterior design (goodbye, round headlights), can the new Continental GT improve on the recipe once more? Time will give us the answers, but for now the old GT will do just fine.