Overheard in a Bentley Continental GTC
"No way is that your car, not in that outfit" - WAYMOE's Charlie Brigden spent a long weekend with Bentley's latest Continental GTC and is rewarded with a mixed bag of comments from casual observers.
“They look like someone's just thrown them the keys"
- he says, elbowing his passenger and pointing across the petrol station forecourt towards the 3 lads in funny hats, clambering out of a quarter-million-pound Bentley.
The casual petrol forecourt observer isn't wrong either; a few hours prior, a well-suited man called Florin from Crewe had just handed me the leather-wrapped keyfob. I'd only put £20 in the tank because I wanted an excuse to have to stop for fuel again later. My two mates couldn't quite believe the morning we were having.
'Number 5, please', I say to the attendant, suddenly feeling quite embarrassed by the large All Wheel Drive show-off machine parked next to the pump. There's a slight smirk on the guy's face as I tell him I don't have a rewards card and ask to pay in cash. Trying to look as nonchalant as possible, I grab my receipt and make my way back to the Sally-Carerra Blue drop top waiting for me, roof down, obviously, only breaking the act to quickly exchange a ridiculous grin with my mates still waiting in line at Greggs.
Hopping back into the pilot's seat, I switch over to Sport mode to be sure the 4L Twin Turbo V8 will bark across the forecourt when I press the start button, because, if you haven't worked out yet, I'm an absolute child.
My inner 12-year-old persona suits the Bentley quite well; it's almost surprising how happy it is to indulge when prompted. More on that in a moment, but first, I have to drone on a little more about how ridiculous it is that I've ended up being given a £261,000 luxury convertible for a long weekend.
"How much did your Dad pay for that then?"
If you'd have told me two years ago that Bentley was going to drop off their top-of-the-line GT car on my driveway, almost as if I'd plugged a cheat code into a GTA game, I'd have laughed. I wouldn't have even believed that was a thing that The Bentley Motor Company would do - let alone for me. Yet there I was, standing on my driveway, reassuring the wonderful Florin that I didn't need him to guide me through the infotainment system (partly because it's basically identical to the infotainment in the almost £200,000 cheaper RS3 i'd had a couple weeks before, and also because I just wanted to get in it and get on with driving it).
I sometimes get the impression that some motoring journalists gloss over the absurdity of luxurious manufacturer loans, "of course I have this car to myself, this is what I do!" No, I'm sorry, but there's no 'of course' to it. Smug faces aside, we're all petrol heads, we like explosions that turn cranks, that spin wheels, and cause us to giggle like the actual 12-year-olds we are - it's inherently stupid once you break it down. Handing a Bentley to a car journalist is like handing a grenade to your mate who's a little bit too interested in fireworks.
Well, here I am, grenade in hand, chomping up the B645 in sport mode with the patchy blue sky as my headliner. On some of the more dramatic corners, the size and weight of the Continental GTC is definitely noticeable, but it's not like it's a slightly pudgy contemporary hot-hatch, still stuffing itself into band t-shirts from two decades ago… It's a Bentley, big and heavy sort of comes with the territory. And it's a BMI that the Continental wears proudly, and manages extremely well. The 2600kg kerb weight definitely needs to be considered as you approach the more interesting corners. Still, once the technical grip-essential part is dealt with, the instant torque of the hybrid system, paired with the sheer grunt of the twin-turbo V8, makes for a fantastic apology for any inconveniences the weight may have imposed.
"You're too sweet to be a drug dealer, and you don't look like a car thief…"
I was about 250 miles into my weekend when I really started to feel confident with the power on offer. From a powertrain perspective, this vehicle is nothing short of incredible. We're now at the point where my go-to performance yardstick, the Enzo Ferrari, is becoming somewhat antiquated. This aluminium-trimmed lounge on wheels has nearly enough to make no difference, 800bhp. It's twice the power of an RS3, and yet about a million times more comfortable. Rather fittingly, I had the chance to drive the latest RS3 straight after getting out of the Continental, and my passenger immediately complained of travel sickness within the first mile in the Audi, whilst in the Bentley, we were feeling almost lethargic. That's an incredibly impressive feat for any vehicle to pull off, especially one with its roof folded away.
On the subject of roof down, this is how this GTC spent most of its time with me. Partly for the sheer novelty of such a well-refined convertible experience, and partly because of the surprisingly characterful noises this V8 spits out. Although somewhat reserved, the GTC's standard exhaust note is a wonderful balance of childish and reserved. It's clear that Bentley caters much more for a buyer with a significantly less stiff lip than, let's say, a Rolls-Royce owner whose idea of letting their 'less serious' side flourish is using a blue pen rather than a black one. Bentley's target audience has more time for some jiggery, and if some mischief is an essential part of your journeys, the standard exhaust is pretty throaty, but the optional Akrapovič exhaust might be a helpful option to have.
"Hahahaha! What a w*****!"
It was my last evening with the Continental, outside a Wetherspoons at around 9pm, when I was finally called something unsavoury. And I'd be lying if I said this didn't put a massive smile on my face. It felt like the final piece of the puzzle. Over the long weekend, and just over 750 miles, I'd managed to experience the entire shouty-drop-top luxury package. I'd floated around with the massage seats and silly sound system for hundreds of motorway miles. I'd wrung out everything I could from it down some tremendous backroads. I'd spent half a week's wages on petrol. And I'd finally been called an expletive just for crossing someone's path. I was content, and thoroughly so. It would be a massive understatement to call this car anything short of magical. Although the price tag is comparable to a decent mortgage, it does a mighty fine job in justifying the number.
"Oh, do they not do the W12 anymore?"
The new Continental has big boots to fill when it comes to replacing the outgoing W12 powertrain. And if that W12 is The Beatles, this Twin Turbo V8 is for sure Paul McCartney's Wings. It's not quite as iconic as the original, and it was never going to be. But it's fantastically characterful and well refined, and does a fantastic job of picking up where the W12 left off. The only downside of the entire package is the Linda McCartney-sized battery in the boot, making the 'Grand Tourer' portion of 'Grand Tourer Convertible' a bit tougher a label to understand. But I'm sure the next-to-useless rear seats can happily take a fair bit of luggage.
Although eye-wateringly expensive, this Bentley is a beautifully powerful luxury barge, with a refreshing sense of humour. So if you don't wince at the idea of spending over a quarter of a million on a car, and you don't mind crazy activities such as swearing at family functions or stealing from the dealer in a game of Monopoly, then the GTC Speed might be very much up your street.
words by Charlie Brigden of WAYMOE
photograhy by Jack Windsor with special thanks to Caffiene&Machine