Grander Tourer

Bentley’s latest 6-litre W12 Continental GT coddles and travels even better than its predecessor.

- Dr Andre Lam

IN 2003, Bentley rolled out the first-generation Continental GT, under the stewardship of VW-Audi rather than RollsRoyce. This was the first Bentley made that had nothing to do with the old partnership with Rolls-Royce. Instead, the 2003 Bentley Continental GT was created from the platform of the Volkswagen Phaeton.

Bentley made huge improvements to create the Continental range of cars, which include the Continental GT Convertible and Continental Flying Spur.

The second-generation Continental GT, introduced in 2011, was a heavily revised edition of the first-generation Continental GT. The changes were so subtle that it was not easy to discern new from old at a glance.

However, in 2018, after soldiering on with the old platform for some 14 years, Bentley ditched it for one shared with Porsche – to be precise, the Panamera platform which carries the internal codename MSB.

The Continental GT is the premier luxury coupe that has ruled that niche, with some 70,000 examples sold during that period. There are very few grand tourer coupes that seat four in comfort, have a 12-cylinder engine and offer super car rivalling performance capabilities.

That formula has not changed for the 2018 Continental GT. It may share a platform with Porsche, but today’s platform-sharing is very sophisticated and can create completely unique models.

It is clear that the Bentley stylists have endeavoured to create a noticeably different Continental GT, yet maintain a strong familial resemblance.

It appears more svelte, mainly because it is 44mm longer and 10mm wider, although the height is almost identical.

The redesign actually pushes the front axle 135mm further forward, such that the front overhang is reduced significantly, giving the car the appearance of a longer nose and rearward cab. That forward extension of the front axle is more than the 105mm increase in the car’s wheelbase.