It's not every day that Bentley South Africa makes your phone ring and asks if you'd like to test drive one of their prestigious vehicles. And a R5-million one at that. I always get chills when I visit the boutique Bentley dealership. Good chills. It's so pristine and I almost always feel out of place, but the staff members are so welcoming and friendly that those feelings soon subside. You see, I am a leggings and sneakers kind of girl – although Covid-19 has made me more of a kaftan (read: losrokkie) and flip-flops version. I've always been a bit of a tomboy, have never fancied dresses, and I can't even remember if there's a pair of stilettos in my wardrobe. After all the formalities, the mini-presentation and signing the necessary documents, I slipped in behind the luxurious heatable steering wheel wrapped in Alcantara leather. It was going to be a good week.
This gorgeous machine passed through the #wheels24testgarage last week. Base price for the Continental GT Speed is a cool R5 045 000. Our review will be coming soon. pic.twitter.com/bGdabveUuk
I sat and adjusted the multi-adjustable seat, which has cooling and heatable buttons on its side, too. It can also be operated digitally on the 12.5-inch (32cm) infotainment screen. I couldn't help but run my fingers across the leather-quilted door panel and seats, the soft-to-the-touch dashboard, materials, and the impeccable equipment buttons and finishes of chiselled chrome. The steering wheel also has immaculate double hand-stitching.
The first thing I wanted to do was go home, rummage through my cupboard and find my most striking power suit – or dress (yes, I have plenty of these now) – and a pair of heels that I know must be buried at the bottom of the abyss. And gosh darn it, I wanted to go and get my hair done and perhaps even whip out some eyeliner and mascara. (Yes, I hardly ever wear any make-up). That's what this car makes you feel like. Because for goodness' sake, if you're driving a R5-million supercar, you'd better dress to the nines, even if you're just popping down to the "Best Buy Supermarket" for a loaf of bread.
The interior exudes sophistication, like a gorgeous silk robe, and it's as luscious to the feel too. Whenever I indicated, and my fingers touched the chrome stalks or I needed to put the car in reverse, my left palm would wrap around the Bentley gearhead. You're just instantly reminded that you're driving an expensive car.
The colour scheme inside in the @BentleySA #ContinentalGTSpeed is known as Hotspur for the main hide, while the secondary hide is called Beluga. The veneer in this model is high gloss carbon fibre. pic.twitter.com/ZEBSYUKQkW
The chrome doesn't stop at the stalks, though. It's everywhere inside and more subtle on the exterior. But if I had one qualm about this car, it would be too much chrome. It's lovely but I feel Bentley designers could have toned down the bling just a notch. There are also lovely quirks like the traditional analogue instrument cluster which flips over with the touch of a button from a blank section on the fascia or the digital infotainment screen. It's a party trick that never gets old, showing it off to anyone who wants to see. The thing about cars from Bentley is that you can customise them with such an extensive list of features that no one car would ever look exactly the same. You can pick your leather and interior hide combinations, wheels, and so much more. The body colour of our vehicle is called Magnetic – a rich dark charcoal paint, while the interior colour split is drenched in hotspur and beluga materials. It also has 22-inch Speed Alloys painted in silver.
Bentley says it recommends the Touring specification as an interior package as it is explicitly designed to make longer driving journeys even more comfortable with added driver-assist features. These features include lane assist, adaptive cruise control, Bentley Safeguard Plus, night vision, and a head-up display. There's also the Diamond knurling specification, which has been developed and inspired by the shape and finish of a ring. Bentley says it's beautiful and fascinating to look at and allows a better grip for more precise control of the functions. It's applied to the bulls-eye vents, organ stop controls, and clock bezels.
A post shared by Janine Van der Post (@speedqueenj9)
Think of Bentley and you immediately think of the Queen of England, well, at least I do. But just because a car fit for Her Majesty herself means sophistication, doesn't mean it's a creeper on the road. The GT Speed isn't called that for nothing. In the video above, Rev car tester Emmanuel Schäfer says the GT Speed is like a hybrid of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger and the cartoon roadrunner who always outran Wile E. Coyote. "It's a beast of a machine," he says. And frankly, he's right. But in my mind, I like to picture a much younger version of Queen Elizabeth driving this car. She still exudes that kind of power in her golden years. And it would be the car she would need in the modern era to get to various destinations in luxury, and bloody fast at that. But this W12 engine could possibly be an endling. The last of the beastly engines in this model of Bentley propels this car from zero to 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds. This machine weighs 2 198kg, so that sprint is more than impressive.
Bentley says its new Continental GT Speed is the most dynamic road car in its 101-year history and the ultimate performance-focused version of the world's benchmark luxury grand tourer. It's designed, engineered, developed and handcrafted in Bentley's carbon-neutral luxury factory. The third-generation model builds on a long tradition of Speed variants. It's the kind of car you really want to cruise in – primarily because it's a thirsty fuel-guzzling machine, so I mostly drove it in Comfort mode. Bentley claims a fuel consumption of 13.7 litres/100km. I managed to bring it down to a very "fuel-efficient" 10.9 litres/100km at one point, with an average consumption of 12.4 litres/100km. The 90-litre tank gives you about 650km driving range, and it will cost you just more than R2 000 to fill the tank. There's also a Bentley mode, the perfect setting between Comfort and Sport, while the Sport mode is for more assertive driving on an open road. There's a stretch of road that's extremely bumpy and littered with potholes. It has become my suspension test on the daily commute. Most times, I have to slow down completely and crawl over that section of the road so that we don't hurt from the punishment of the poorly repaired surface. The GT Speed's suspension is utterly superb, as you can imagine. And it felt like the car was floating like a butterfly over those bumps with hardly any discomfort.
The latest GT Speed continues the bloodline by representing the ultimate combination of luxury and performance in a grand touring package. The first-generation model was launched in 2007 and was inspired by the 3.0-litre Speed models of the 1920s.
Under the bonnet of the Bentley #ContinentalGTSpeed is a 6.0-litre twin turbocharged W12 engine delivering a sensational 485kW and 900Nm, along with a top speed of 335km/h. Zero to 100km/h takes just 3.6seconds. pic.twitter.com/aVSoJxrEkq
The GT is fast – unbelievably fast for a car that weighs more than two tons. Under the elongated and sophisticated-looking bonnet lies a 6.0-litre W12 TSI petrol engine delivering 485kW and 900Nm. Launch it, and you'll be thrown right back into your seat. It picks up speed quicker than you can look down to the speedometer, and you'll reach 160km/h quickly while it still feels like 60km/h in your head. I can't even imagine what it would do at a top speed of 335km/h. There's currently one brand new model in Cape Town, and it's still on Bentley's showroom floor, while local customers have already put in their orders. The model we were allowed to test is a UK model, complete with European plates. So, trying to use the navigation and full functions was not possible. However, linking the car to your phone or vice versa is relatively easy, and everything works effectively – including the fantastic sound system. The starting price for the GT Speed is R5 045 000 – before you add any optional goods. However, I've spotted a used 2022 model at R6 million. While the experience of driving the incredible machine is one I'll never forget, you certainly need deep pockets to maintain a car like this – and to keep that fuel tank happy.
Sign up for your bi-weekly newsletter and get all the latest and exciting motoring news.