Bentley Continental GT Speed

The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?

-  JAMES TAYLOR

STEP INSIDE THE NEW BENTLEY S Continental GT. No need to slam the door; pull it gently against the catch and it'll softly motor itself closed, while the motorised 'butler' armature proffers the seatbelt over your shoulder. Depending on spec, you might be inhaling lungfuls of leather or sitting on smart suede, while looking at a carbonfibre dash with black chrome, or engine-turned aluminium with trad brightwork, or walnut, koa, oak or perhaps eucalyptus veneer. Or, in this car's case, a bold diamond-brushed aluminium and magenta highlights combo.

Press the starter button and, initially, there's silence. Since the new Conti GT is a hybrid, it defaults to electric mode on start-up. The new 4-litre-V8-plus-e-motor set-up replaces both the unhybridised 4-litre engine option in the previous Continental and the flagship W12. It has the firepower to outpoint both: with a 771bhp total output, this is the most powerful production Bentley yet. The 140kW electric motor is fed by a 25.9kWh battery and can enable a WLTPrated 50-mile range at up to 87mph. The engine won't kick in unless you push the throttle past three-quarters of its travel or twist the drive mode dial to Sport. The V8 starts with a muted whoomph and does so instantly since there's no traditional starter motor. The e-motor, located in the same casing as the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, can multi-task as starter motor and generator, as well as drive the wheels. It has enough performance to smoothly keep pace with most traffic without assistance from the V8.