Bentley Continental GT
If you have RM2.0 million to burn, you can take a visit to the Next Car showroom in Petaling Jaya, and sign up for a Bentley Continental GT. As a motoring writer, I was invited to go for a drive in this beautiful piece of machinery. We got to experience for a full one and a half hours what approximately 300 people in Malaysia will own, when their orders are processed, and the cars are shipped in. Yes, it is true that there are so many people around who can afford to, and will shell out this kind of money for a car.
Buying this car is not about performance, but about power; the kind of power that makes it possible for you to own one, because when you turn up at any place or function in your Continental GT, it just shows that you have arrived! Gates will open, security guards will salute you, and people will fall out of their chairs when you arrive in a Continental GT. The power you exude is not subtle, because the car is anything but subtle. Right from the onset, it looks aggressive, and its sheer size intimidates the meek.
The build of the car is very impressive. Everything inside is first class luxury, and Bentley’s association with Rolls Royce, builders of the finest cars ever made, probably had a lot to do with it. We were told the leather interior came from eight very pampered cows that were carefully nurtured and protected from even little scratches to ensure that the material that went into making the seats and upholstery was flawless in every respect. Fine grain wood, carefully and lovingly polished, tastefully built into the interior trim add to the luxurious ambience.
For such a large car, the interior is not made for carrying too many people. It seats four adults comfortably, with the front passengers pampered a little more. After all, it is a 2+2, and it is definitely designed for the man who will drive it himself. You can go buy a stretched limousine for all they care if you want a chauffer driven car.
The racing heritage of Bentley is there, but the idea was not to make a sports car; it is not a Porsche, nor is it a Ferrari. The Continental GT does not have the acceleration to pin you to the seat, but it will take you from zero to a hundred in 4.7 seconds, and will do it smoothly. With a W-type engine, 12 cylinders with a total displacement of 6,000 cc, and twin turbos, the Bentley Continental GT pushes out a massive 552 horsepower and maximum torque of 650 Nm, with maximum torque developed at just 1600 rpm. As a Grand Turismo, it is a little heavier than most sports cars, and the fittings and creature comforts give it a weight of 2.2 tons. Nevertheless, even with the heavy kerb weight, it still out accelerates most sports cars, and can hit a top speed in excess of 300 kph.
Driving the Continental GT is a unique experience in itself. With the massive torque and horsepower on tap, one would expect the car to behave much like the Ferrari and Porsche thoroughbreds, but surprise, surprise, it is actually refined. The automatic gearbox is designed to toodle around slowly in low gears (so that you can look grand and elegant) around city traffic, with the engine barely ticking over. Power transmission to the wheels is smooth, through a permanent four-wheel drive system.
Of course you can go to the Tiptronic manual shift option, which uses shift paddles like F1 cars, but honestly, you don’t need to do that at all. Just put pedal to the metal, and you will feel the surge of power as the large 19-inch low profile tyres bite, with the traction control making sure that the wheels don’t slip, and you shoot forward like in a way that could only be described as ‘awesome’.
Because of its large size, and its superb suspension, you will be somewhat insulated from the sensation of speed, but that does not mean the car is slow. Only when you see all others seem to stand still do you realize your speed. When we had to slow down at one of the regular speed trap areas, 110 kph seemed to be like driving at 40 in a car park looking for a parking space. At 200, the car feels like 120 in a normal car.
If you have to hit the brakes, all the electronics go to work, and the massive multi-pot calipers work without any hassle. There is no urgent tyre screeching or negative G’s, no front-end dip; the sensation of decelerating fast from 250 kph is like slowing down from 150. Not much was given in terms of specifications, but it looks like anti-dive and anti squat mechanisms are in place. For the petrol heads who need to know, the front brake discs are far bigger than some of the world’s fastest racing cars at 405mm, while the rears are 335mm.
On the country roads, the Continental GT is as agile as any sports car, but minus the harshness that comes with a sporty suspension. A switch on the console will make the air suspension stiffer for better handling, but even then, the comfort is not lost. Overtaking is not a problem at any time, and if you get to know the car well, it is possible to overtake even when you can see the eyeballs of the oncoming drivers. Its bulk and weight do not seem to affect handling at all, and on the boil, it is as nippy as can be.
What about fuel consumption? Our Next Car representative came along, and the quarter tank of gas took us form Petaling Jaya to the refueling station just past the Cyberjaya exit on the Elite highway; we pumped in close to RM100, and this couldn’t fill the tank up. Not that anybody who is going to buy this car is going to care anyway. If you need to ask about the fuel consumption, you probably cannot afford this car.
