Bentley Continental 2012 Overview
The responsible publication will at this point issue a warning to the sensitive that this article contains superlatives and references to obscene levels of decadence. There's nothing about Bentley's redesigned topless touring car that encourages economy through language more than driving this land yacht with a cutter's attitude to economy and restraint.
VALUE
Sorry, what's the question?
The word "value" cannot be used next to one of them. It's like offering a Russian oil billionaire (who, along with China's new financial elite, make up the bulk of Bentley's buyers) domestic sparkling wine rather than champagne.
You can still get a very decent apartment in some of the Australian capitals for less than the folding roof Bentley's asking price of around $530,000. I have lived in rooms smaller than the GTC interior and have never stayed in any hotel with such luxurious upholstery.
There's nothing quite like it, it's the side of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe and you're looking at more than twice as much for it as you do for a Bentley. The contestants listed below are selected for both their ability to go topless and real-life comparability.
TECHNOLOGY
Crewe's unique 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 has been around for about seven years, only now it can run on E85 fuel and, more importantly, has become even more muscular, delivering 423kW and climbing mountains of 700Nm. Few petrol engines exceed this power, and only one turbodiesel - Audi's A8 cousin - exceeds its torque.
Paired with Continental Supersports' six-speed QuickShift automatic transmission, it's a powerful transmission that, together with Audi's uncanny rear-shift all-wheel drive system, delivers the GTC's 2.5-ton displacement from zero to 100 km/h in an incredibly fast 4.5-liter engine. seconds on the way to the declared maximum 314 km / h.
At the presentation of convertibles, they usually talk about increased body rigidity. More tangibly, you have four-mode continuous damping control. The front track is 41 mm wider, the rear track is 48 mm wider.
Massive mid-life upgrades and rapid generational changes have been left in the background, but the other technical upgrades that have been made are significant, such as a 30 GB hard drive that includes satellite navigation based on Google Earth, which is just as convenient in use, as well as complicated.
Even Bentley isn't immune to legislated engine downsizing, so a new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine (built for the Audi S6 and S7) is on the way, although it's not certain when it will reach our end. planet. It felt like what we called "V8-loving Aussies" would gravitate towards it.
Design
There aren't many fine adjustments and embellishments, and you'd like the connoisseur's eye to see them at a glance. To me? I had to read the handout to be sure.
Bespoke LED daytime running lights flank the Mulsanne flagship's decidedly more upright grille with a double horseshoe-style rear profile. There are 20- and 21-inch five- and 10-spoke alloy wheels to choose from – just enough to make you want to park a few meters from the curb.
Basically and sensibly, this is a case of sharpening a few folds and adding a little more sheen. As always, the GTC looks obscenely attractive with the lid folded, and even more so with it up. In any configuration it is a muscular handsome beast with one of the most distinctive fronts in the world. When that grille fills your rearview mirror, it's tempting to stare instead of get out of the way.
Inside... Well, it's like an Edwardian gentlemen's club sculpted to look like the inside of a car. Even the instrument panel is trimmed in soft-touch leather or in 17 shades to complement the seven handcrafted hard veneers. But these sticks could have appeared in the Volkswagen Group utility parts bin.
Bentley supplied Benz with neck warmers so he could go topless on a cold day. Rear riders also get a little more legroom. No vulgar, weighty metal cover for the GTC. This is a special product made of multi-layered fabric that folds in 25 seconds.
SECURITY
The day the security agency can afford to smash one of them to appreciate its stardom, we'll all start drinking Veuve Cliquot schooners and smashing empty flasks in the fireplace. It just won't happen.
And there's no need for that particular extravagance - garlanded airbags, every conceivable safety measure and battleship build quality, the Bentley is bulletproof and quite possibly a bomb shelter.
DRIVING
That kind of torque doesn't come cheap, but it's so easy to achieve - all 700 Nm from 1700 rpm - a tidal wave that carries a small tonnage of a Bentley truck, if not without effort, then certainly without much effort.
Its job is to absorb kilometers at a fast cruising pace, it's just that the GTC can do it at 200 km/h, barely reaching 3000 rpm. At Australian motorway speeds, it seems to be barely moving.
While the likely customer will also own something polished and sharp for point-and-shoot driving, this bus pays off with flying colors when the modes and transmission are set to the sportiest. In any case, the comfort mode is a little watery and a constant reminder that while this incarnation is lighter than the previous one, it remains a fat beast.
That this baggage is not excessive speaks for itself with the W12, which carries itself with great authority both in driving and in sports. Peak power is reached just before the 6200rpm redline, but this is in no way due to the hysteria in terms of revs or even acoustic feedback.
Exhaust fumes are best heard a week ago, not inside, and even top-down conversations are conducted without raised voices.
VERDICT
Visually an exercise in conspicuous consumption, driving an exercise in leisure. Ignore mortgages, live in one of them.
Bentley Continental GTC
Cost: around $419,749
Engine: 6.0-liter W12; 423 kW/700 Nm
Trance: 6-speed automatic; four-wheel drive
Safety: Unverified
The weight: 2485kg
Thirst: 16l / 100km; 384 g / km CO2
“Live big; in fact you would live in it"
