As you get older, someone told me long ago, you’ll mostly just want a car that’s very fast and very comfy. Which is not totally true, of course - or not yet. But certainly it explains why a Bentley seems more appealing with each passing year. Specifically the Continental GT, which, after 20 years as the firm’s standard bearer, is now synonymous with the brand. When most people say ‘Bentley’ they typically mean its first mass-produced model and this interchangeable name-calling is fitting: without the GT and its era-defining success, there would probably be no Bentley. Or it would be a fraction of the size and irrelevant.
Instead, with Volkswagen’s help, and using the old Continental R as a conceptual stepping-off point, the GT heaved its antiquated maker into the 21st century. The new model chimed with its thrusting times like a tabloid headline. Its popularity among footballers and celebrities earned it a degree of notoriety early on, yet it also spoke to the transformation of the brand in the eyes of younger people: previously only the club chairman might’ve chosen to drive (or had the opportunity to buy) a Bentley. Now, thanks to spiralling Premier League wages and the GT’s much more accessible starting price, the centre-half could buy one.
None of this would’ve worked without the right product, mind. But the first generation GT looked good, sounded good, felt good to be in (and be seen in) and was very easy to drive quickly. It managed to seem modern in a way that didn’t wilfully subvert a century of Bentley heritage; it wore its pomp and circumstance lightly, but proudly. Aided in no small part by the deployment of the VW-developed 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12, which could be relied upon to provide a tsunami of torque to even the laziest loafer-wearer.
Understandably, with its transition to a petrol-electric future now well underway, Bentley has spent months slowly lowering the flag for its largest petrol motor, most notably with super-exclusive Mulliner variants. In contrast, the sudden demise of the V8-powered GT received precious little fanfare - an end-of-the-line ‘Edition 8’ model was launched, but for North America only. Partly that can be attributed to the continuation of the 4.0-litre unit elsewhere (it will remain on sale in some markets), and partly because the new Continental GT, just days away from its official reveal, will also feature a V8 as the most prominent component in its Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain.
Early indications are that it’s very good. But with a 25.9kWh battery onboard and an electric motor sandwiched between the engine and gearbox, clearly it will not offer quite the same experience. Definitely it won’t sound like the second generation, which, in livelier S format, really cemented the V8’s reputation as the driver’s GT. For one thing that was because Bentley revised the model’s chassis to take full advantage of the weight reduction, but also it was about the rumble and belated rasp of the EA824 4.0-litre unit, especially when mated to the optional sports exhaust.
With many fewer restrictions on noise and particulate emissions, the old V8 S probably came as close to embodying what it would mean to be an English muscle car as any model since the Aston Martin Vantage V550 of the ‘90s - not just for the hard-charging engine or the leaner handling, but also the shape and bull-necked aura of the GT, virtually nailed since day one. The V8 S also established a more poignant link to the L-Series legacy and Bentley's much-revered road racer heritage - so much so that when it came to building the thrusting GT3-R, it had the perfect template on which to do it.
The outgoing model has never seemed quite so rambunctious. Likely keen to preserve the positioning of the W12, which it upgraded more selectively in GT Speed format, Bentley avoided the sort of tweaking that had delivered 600hp in the GT3-R. So we had to make do with 550hp in the most recent S, and the V8 had to do with a fraction less bluster. Nevertheless, while hardware alterations were in short supply, the differentiated mindset remained the same. The look and feel were drastically improved between generations, too. We hardly needed a Jet Stream blue example with (optional) carbon fibre trim elements to reassure us of that fact, but Bentley’s epic-looking, Mandarin-pinstriped press demonstrator provided a handy reminder that the GT could be conceptually turned up to 11 just with time spent on the configurator.
An important point when you consider that the V8 is still very much about presence. If a sly nod to classic motor racing liveries isn’t your thing, then it’s feasible you might not fully appreciate the way the V8 barks expectantly into life either. Likewise, hats off to whoever ordained that the Gulf Oil colour scheme should continue on the inside: the V8 complements the underlying character of the GT in much the same way orange accents complement its interior. Which is to say lavishly and knowingly and with a very firm grip on the word ‘racy’. If you want magnanimous, you buy the W12. The V8 is about showing off.
Or at any rate it encourages a different approach to driving the Continental GT, much as its predecessor did. Obviously with 568lb ft of torque between 2,000 and 4,500rpm, you can still waft modestly about the place when the mood takes you, like a bull daintily navigating a china shop. But more often than not what you are compelled to do is rummage around the footwell a lot with your big toe, stirring up noise. The S, particularly in its more aggressive ‘Sport’ mode, will satisfy this craving at pretty much any speed. The more balanced ‘Bentley’ setting will make you work harder for it. Both are good.
It's all good, in fact. If we except for a moment the sort of high-revving, naturally aspirated eight-cylinder motor that makes (or made) a mid-engined supercar seem like the cat’s pyjamas, the physical sensation of a turbocharged V8 coercing the nicest piece of furniture you’ve ever sat on up a hill is objectively very pleasant. And it is made to seem that way in the GT's case because the surrounding car does such a good job of rewarding you for being at the controls. Bentley has yet more weight to manage with the hybrid, which is a concern given that the model never conceals it peerlessly well, even with active anti-roll bars. But the lighter V8 is just the right side of suety and when the car gathers speed so obligingly, it all feels like part of the same burly charm.
Naturally, it is still better on motorways and fast A roads than it is on B roads, better cruising swiftly than cornering hard. Nevertheless, the GT’s capacity for isolating its occupants does not extend to detaching its driver from the road surface. Indeed, thanks to deftly weighted steering, you feel handsomely well-connected. And because the S is so keen to amplify the sensory appeal of the V8, you feel connected to it, too. Factor in the deeper, de luxe pleasure of simply being in a high-spec GT, high on the aroma and swaddled in leather, and it does tend to seem like an old-fashioned feast for the senses in a way that very few modern cars seriously rival.
No doubt many of these traits will migrate to the new model. It will have strengths of its own, too, and with 782hp, it will be hugely quick. Nonetheless, it will also be heavier, quieter at low speeds and more methodical in its delivery. It will probably be a fitting replacement for the W12 and a very convincing start to the GT’s hybrid era. Yet it cannot be expected to tap so directly and expressively into the swaggering charm of a Bentley powered by an unfettered V8. That chapter has now closed. An abrupt entry to the annals of PH Heroes, perhaps. But a very comfy, fast and timely one.
SPECIFICATION | Bentley Continental GT V8 S
Engine: 3,996cc, twin-turbo V8, petrol
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 550 @ 6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 568lb ft @ 2000-4500rpm
0-60mph: 3.9 secs
Top speed: 198mph
Weight: 2,165kg (EU unladen)
MPG: 23.3
CO2: 275g/km
On sale: 2019-2024
Price new: £206,600
Price now: from £175,000
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