| Road Test Bentley Continental GT |
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Flaunting It
The delivery driver wrinkled his nose at the horse crap, the overhanging trees and the threatening hawthorns, but come on that's the image of restrained gentility a Bentley should revel in, isn't it? Well, no, because new age Bentley, post-Volkswagen takeover, is a rather different animal to its forebears. "If you've got it, flaunt it" seems to be the current watchword at Crewe. As Charlie said, as he prowled round the gleaming flanks, "It's got a plastic grille you know. And the bonnet is hinged at the back. All proper Bentleys have the bonnet hinged at the front." I refrained from pointing out that my idea of a proper Bentley had its bonnet hinged slap down the middle, restrained by a couple of bleeding great leather straps. But he cheered up as he eased himself into the quilted leather seats, and powered them around to accommodate his six-foot plus frame. He was delighted to find the big chrome knobs that control the ventilation nozzles in the centre of the dash had not departed from tradition. But he wasn't sure about the expanse of "engine turned" aluminium on the passenger side of the dashboard. Neither was I when the low winter sun glinted off it. After all, if you're going to plant your foot in £115,000 worth of machinery poised to blat you towards a very close aquaintanceship with 200mph, you don't want to be screwing your eyes up against dazzle off the dashboard, do you?
However, we hit the road, and quickly discovered that two turbocharged Volkswagen VR6 engines bolted together, and linked to a VW/Audi parts bin four-wheel drivetrain, add up to an extremely potent package. The sheer mass of the car getting on for two and a half tons effectively damps out the road noise and low speed harshness of the massive 20" alloys shod with ultra low-profile rubber. It doesn't shriek or yowl, it just propels you into the middle distance with an elegant swoosh. And it handles too, as you might expect from highly sophisticated traction and stability computer control and self-levelling air suspension. If you want to play the professional footballer (a class of person I'm told just loves the Continental) you can play with the gearchanges via the obligatory steering rim paddles.
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