Ari Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Long boring story short, a company that my company is involved with was holding a joint promotional day with Bentley Motorcars this weekend just gone. For a variety of reasons, not least my well known passion for cars I found myself involved. Lets face it, if there's a possible blag for a ride in a nice car, I'm your man. Bentley were supplying four of their brand new sports coupe Continental GT's, and five of the more expensive, but older and (slightly) more sedate four door Anarge saloons. I joined the party at the Exeter based dealership prior to proceeding Bentley bound for Plymouth where the event was being held. Typically everyone wanted to drive the new Continental GT, and following a very polite mad rush for keys I found myself at the bottom of the food chain and heading out to the forecourt and a waiting dark blue Anarge Red Label. The Bentley chap that accompanied me assured me that with a six and three quarter (no .75's here thank you, this is a Bentley) litre turbo charged engine producing 400hp (think my Audi at 163hp and a Porsche 911 Carrera at about 300hp for a comparison) I'd find it was no slouch as he tossed me the keys. Engine started with a muted hum I pointed the bonnet of this £160,000 leviathan west and we headed out for the A38 to Plymouth. 400hp is a lot of power, and for such a massive car it went well enough, but one was always aware of the sheer weight that was being hustled, and of the size of the hole this thing was punching through the air at speed. Relaxed it certainly was, engine turning over at a leisurely 1,700rpm at 70mph. Indeed power aplenty I discovered to dispatch cheeky MX5's when they finally moved out of the way of my imperialistic progress down the fast lane. However spearing quickly through the twistier sections I was well aware of the sheer mass that I was asking to change direction, this was a big fat comfortable cruiser, not a racer. Arriving at Plymouth I slotted the car onto the end of the line of Bentleys awaiting their first drivers of the day and went to join the organisational party and generally help out. The day was held for existing and future Bentley owners, including some who had a Continental GT on order but had yet to drive one. The day was a tremendous success as steady stream of expensive metal slipped in and out of the grounds as everyone took a turn at each. Figuring the chance of ever getting an experience of the new Continental GT was slim to zero I managed to blag a ride in a vacant back seat just so I could at least say I'd been in one. Squeezing into the back I was glad it wasn't going to be a long trip, this was more 2+2 than four seater, but the car felt deeply impressive from where I was sat and at least I'd been in one. Most amusing was watching the reaction of other road users as every head in every car turned as we ambled by in this brand new, glamorous, and above all rare Bentley. End of the day came and we mustered the troops for the blast back up to Exeter. I'd dropped some pretty heavy hints in what I hoped were the right quarters about maybe squeezing into a GT for the trip back up but again the heavy hitters were there first, and even the chance for a ride in the back dwindled to nothing as the GT's rapidly filled and disappeared out of the gates. Pretty soon it was just myself, the guy I'd driven down with, and the Anarge we'd brought down this morning plus a couple of other Bentley guys left. Not a bad way to travel back and at least I'd experienced the GT, if only briefly from the back seat. Then something rather interesting happened... The two other guys said they'd better go get the midnight blue Continental GT that was had been parked just around the corner at the reception area all day as a static display and spirit that back up to Exeter. Seems everyone had forgotten about that car... Seizing my chance, and aware that these guys get to drive these cars all the time so wouldn't be too bothered I rather cheekily suggested that perhaps we might swap steeds... As I'd hoped they'd seen it and done it all before and were more than happy to oblige, and seconds later the Continental GT keys were in my hand, and slightly stunned by my good fortune I quickly made my way to the waiting Bentley that was mine all mine for the next 45 minutes. Joined by the Bentley fellow that had accompanied me on the way down I made myself comfortable at the helm of this magnificent motor car, then touched the starter button to be greeted by a muffled but menacing burble from the rear of the car. I was about to discover what six litres, two turbochargers, 550hp and four wheel drive felt like... Pausing just long enough to ensure that an appropriate number of my business colleagues saw me leaving in the GT, I eased it out of the car park and guided it gently through the outskirts of Plymouth. Initial impressions. Comfortable, very comfortable. Light but solid controls, beautifully finished inside and eager to respond. Good visibility and manageable proportions made me feel very relaxed very quickly despite the big numbers under the bonnet and the even bigger numbers on the price ticket! Out along the embankment road keeping steadily to the 40mph limit, too much traffic, too many cameras, soon I was at the roundabout under the A38. The last set of lights before the slip road off the roundabout went red and the people carrier in front stopped, me tucked in behind. A few seconds later a green and we were away, turning onto the slip road and waiting for the lumbering people carrier to pull into the left lane, which moments later he did, leaving me a clear right-hand sliproad lane up the hill to join the A38. I glanced across at my companion, "ready?" I quietly asked? He smiled and nodded and I buried my right foot. There was the briefest of pauses as the autobox selected a more appropriate gear to accommodate my commands and the turbos spooled up and then BLAM! Seconds later I was braking hard at 110 in order to join the dual carriageway, the car had gone from 30 past 110 uphill before we'd even joined the A38! Awesome seems too weak a word... Traffic flow was light and progress was able to be made. Driving a very fast car very fast safely takes a lot of concentration and forward planning, the rest of the UK isn't geared up to these sorts of speeds. We hovered around the 100 mark, easing down to drift past other cars then powering effortlessly back up to sprint onto the next vehicle. A mile or three of this and I was really tuning into this car, the performance was instant, addictive and frankly devastating. There is almost no other car on the planet bar one or two very specialized Ferraris or Porsches that could live with this car. A couple of times I found myself on short straights with no traffic and a clear sightline and able to give the car its head. It didn't disappoint. I've never been in a car that changed up a gear as I passed 138 before. To be honest I'm not even sure it had changed into sixth gear either, the car is electronically limited to a maximum speed of 198mph (it would go faster if it weren't reigned in by the electronics) so there may well have been another gear to go! I bottled it at 145, more than double the national motorway limit seemed like enough but the car wasn't even breaking into a sweat, tracking straight and true, locked down solid onto the road and just devouring it, acceleration still as unbelievably fierce as it had been at half that speed. Very reassuringly a firm squeeze of the left pedal had 60mph wiped from the speedo seemingly instantly with zero drama save for a slight concern that my eyeballs were likely to be sucked out of their sockets by the declaratives forces! This car operates in a different dimension to more mortal machinery...! The car was beyond awesome, it wasn't what it did, although 0-60mph in about four and a half Ferrari eating seconds and nigh on 200mph V-max are mighty impressive figures by anyone's standards, it was the fact that save for a cultured and muted roar on full throttle the car was library quiet well into three figure speeds, relaxed and hushed conversation perfectly possible with ones passenger irrespective of velocity. Best bit however was when I spotted the hard charging Anarge creeping up in my mirrors, driven by my passengers colleagues with more experience and more commitment than I and posting up some fairly high average speeds where I was just playing, blipping up and down the speed range. They hove into view and reeled us in, me in the inside lane, them in a fairly committed charge up the outside. There was nothing in front and nothing but them utilising the 400hp at their disposal behind. I waited till the bluff prow of their Anarge was nearly level with the svelte rear of my Continental GT before I buried the loud pedal once more, 550hp in my lighter sportier car played their 400hp barge, and we just blew them into the weeds! I've been fortunate enough to drive or experience a lot of expensive and immensely desirable cars. I've driven cars that sooth and cosset you in total luxury, and at the other end of the scale I've driven cars that wire your synapses up to 100 with their performance and sheer ability. But never have I driven a car that felt so comfortable at such massive speeds, so poised, so alive, so planted, so safe, and yet so utterly relaxing at the same time. This truly is a GT in more than mere name, a true Grand Tourer of the old school, built to cross continents in a single stride depositing its occupants relaxed and refreshed at their destination. This is a car to flatten distances and to warp time, a car to dispatch virtually any other that dare challenge it. This, above all else, is a supercar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loddrik Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 [ QUOTE ] so alive [/ QUOTE ] I've read that this is the one thing it doesn't feel, apparently it suffers from a degree of characteristic VAG mutedness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted July 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Incidently, all speed figures quoted are in KMH not MPH unless otherwise stated, except for the 138/145 figures which are of course mere wild exaggeration and flights of fancy on my part. Otherwise I would have been breaking the speed limit and I wouldn't do that as it is illegal and plain wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigR Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Excellent write-up Ari, sounds like you had a fantastic day out and i'm sure not many can claim to have driven a GT at twice the legal limit. Well done and great read. craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 [ QUOTE ] Otherwise I would have been breaking the speed limit and I wouldn't do that as it is illegal and plain wrong... [/ QUOTE ] but of course sounds like a fantastic day, there's a Conti GT that lives a few miles from me in Virginia Water, everytime I drive past it I have a little daydream about driving it - you are a lucky guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted July 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] so alive [/ QUOTE ] I've read that this is the one thing it doesn't feel, apparently it suffers from a degree of characteristic VAG mutedness. [/ QUOTE ] Yes I've read much the same, and at low/medium speeds it is all a little remote and over damped. And I'd imagine its not pin sharp on a B road blast either. But at big speeds on big roads it really does come alive in a most unexpected way. It seems on tip toe, yet utterly planted at the same time, its weird. There was no sense of wandering or tramlining, but yet through the corners it responded instantly and precisely. If you're comparing it with an Elise or an Impreza then yes its probably remote, and I don't suppose it's a blast on a track, but its designed for epic journeys at epic speeds and for that it is perfectly judged. You know when you're driving a really great car really quick, and all your senses seem on red alert? Well it was that feeling, combined with one of sitting in a cool quiet chapel. Quite bizarre. Before I drove the car my "dream lottery win" car would definitely be a DB9, and it still might, but it'd have to be something mighty special to outclass the Bentley... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brn7y Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 You Jammy BarSteward!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabGirl Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 The colour is just perfect so how much would this one cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted July 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 About £115,000 I think. And that colour does look strangely familiar, eapecially when you remember its a VAG group car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 You lucky GIT! Fantastic experience Ari, and a great review... Must get my hands on one of these someday. The dealer has put me on his mailing list, so I might take him up on his previous invitations (that was for the Maser btw, not the Bentley, but one never knows right?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted July 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Sven, you would love the Continental GT, it is exactly your sort of car! Imagine Ronin with a W12 twin turbo six litre 550hp engine and all the latest toys (sat nav, TV, adjustable suspension etc), stick it all in a svelte coupe body and put a Bentley interior in it and you've got a Conti GT!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luuc Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 In the 21 years that I lived in Plymouth I don't ever remember seeing a single Bentley, and there I see a whole fleet of them down by the docks! Didn't even realise Plymouth had a Bentley garage!! Good writeup. Looked like a lot of fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerbera Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Great write up Ari........very jealous!! JT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 [ QUOTE ] About £115,000 I think. [/ QUOTE ] Mmmm... that's about the same money we spent on the holiday cottage my wife wanted .... I don't suppose.... Nah ... probably not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markpaq Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Nice review Ari. It is a nice drive on that section of the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth, especially the windy part up and down around Rattery. I always go a shade of green whenever I visit Princess Yachts, if it isn't the boats it's the customer cars down by the sales office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCab Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 Lovely review, and experience, Ari, congratulations Your quest to drive all things Audi continues at a pace, clearly (and let's face it, this is basically an uber-Audi - and I mean that in a good way ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted July 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 [ QUOTE ] (and let's face it, this is basically an uber-Audi - and I mean that in a good way ) [/ QUOTE ] Interesting you say that, a lot of the talk amongst the Bentley fraternaty was about whether the GT was "A real Bentley". Well speaking as an "outsider" who drove reasonably extensively (ie more than a quick "around the block") both an "original" Bentley and then the GT my thoughts would be this. Possibly no, the Continental GT is not a "real" Bentley. And thank God for that! The "real" Bentley has a certain charm for sure, but I felt it was resting heavily on its laurels. As one customer with a new GT on order said to me, the old Anarge did everything about half as well as his Mercedes S600 LWB, but for not far short of twice the price! Judged objectively it just doesn't stand up anymore. But the Continental GT has no need to refer to some old tradition for its desirability, you could take the badges off and throw them away and the car would still stand as a world class product in its own right. Sod the "badge engineering", the VW or Audi bits or underpinnings, judge it simply for what it is, and it is one serious motorcar. And its given Bentley back its future. I'm still buzzing from the drive 24 hours later, can you tell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted July 6, 2004 Report Share Posted July 6, 2004 nice write up Mister! Very nice Bentley's too. I think you CAN have any colour you want (with no execptions) when you order one of them. I still like the look of the Arnage - total road presence and imperialism at its best. It can carry 4 bods and luggage across a Continent, the GT can do so for 2 with luggage - what a choice to make! I would have an Arnage at once if the Lottery numbers came in. (and an A8, GT etc etc!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted July 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2004 I think you make a very good point, the Anarge is a car you buy with your heart when money is no object simply because you want one, no one would buy one as a rational choice. And I bet there are no Anarge owners that don't have a fleet of other choices in the garage too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moff S3 Posted July 7, 2004 Report Share Posted July 7, 2004 Great write up, I really enjoyed reading that Stunning car, a close friend of mine worked on the Bentley stand at the NEC motorshow this year and got loads of chances to drive them, she didn't really see what all the fuss is about she is a girl though She is currently seeing a bloke with a lady boy blue Modena, but he has a new GT on order. Hopefully she will be going out with him long enough so I get a drive , but I doubt it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted July 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 [ QUOTE ] To be honest I'm not even sure it had changed into sixth gear either, the car is electronically limited to a maximum speed of 198mph (it would go faster if it weren't reigned in by the electronics) so there may well have been another gear to go! I bottled it at 145, more than double the national motorway limit seemed like enough [/ QUOTE ] Just reading a roadtest in Evo today comparing the Conti, DB9, SL55 AMG and 911 Turbo (in which the Porsche predicably won, but the Conti did very well) and it mentioned that selecting "sport" on the autobox locks out sixth gear. Well I'm 99% sure I was in "sport" at the time (I remember selecting it as I hit the dual carriageway but I did play with it between "sport" and "drive" a couple of times out of interest) so that would suggest that the shift at 138 was into fifth, and there was still another gear to go after that!!! Awesome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klutch Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 im lovin' the black gt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klutch Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 in reply to the quote above me its limited to 198 because there are no street legal tyres that hold 2 tonnes over 200mph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted July 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 Yes that would make sense, its a heavy car. I was looking through all my back issues of Car Magazine yesterday, and they took one to a high speed track, two 150mph corners linked by long long straights, and got well over 200mph down the straights on GPS. Can't remember if that was derestricted though... Whatever, +/- 200mph is awesome for a Ferrari or Porsche, unbelievable for a four seater Bentley! Still can't get over just how impressed I was by this car, it so exceeded my expectations of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klutch Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 was that mag autocar by any chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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