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| Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible 2017 |
Back in 2004, a Continental GT finished last in a comparison test against a Ferrari 612, an Aston Martin DB9, and a Mercedes-Benz CL600. Running in that group, the Continental felt like a whale among sharks. Since then, cars have continued to get heavier and more complex while the Continental has enjoyed a steady stream of enhancements that have transformed it from a krill eater to a seal killer.
Of the many changes over this orca’s life cycle, perhaps the most dramatic is the addition of Audi’s 4.0-liter V-8. Without the twin-turbo W-12 anchor weighing down the Continental’s front end, the hardtop and the convertible Contis were transformed into relatively lighter and livelier machines. The convertible’s skidpad grip is a lackluster 0.81 g, yet the Bentley never wants for grip on the road and has no trouble staying glued to the S63’s rear bumper.
With 55.4 percent of its 5572 pounds on the nose, the Continental is nowhere near as balanced as the AMG. But the steering reacts to the front Pirelli P Zero tires’ torture with clear and natural feedback, the kind cars enjoyed before electric power-steering assist became the norm. As with Bentleys of yore, the Continental glides along with the relentless inertia of a steam train, even at 150 mph.
Audi, er, Bentley offers two versions of its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8. In the S version, it makes 520 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque; lesser versions subsist on a mere 500 horsepower and 487 pound-feet. Even with the S tune under the hood, Bentley’s GT can’t match the acceleration of the 643-pound-lighter S63. A run to 60 mph takes 4.3 seconds, and the quarter-mile passes in 12.8 seconds at 111 mph. Acceleration lags behind the AMG’s, but the timbre of the Bentley’s V-8 playing through the $2580 “Sports Exhaust” is warmer and more honeyed than the AMG’s metallic rasp.
On the street, the Bentley’s old-school conventional eight-speed automatic switches gears undetected and pulls away from a stop with fluid ease. In any mode other than the hardest setting, the air suspension is graceful and unperturbed by impacts encountered by the 21-inch wheels. Other cars have aped some of the Bentley’s design language, but so what? It still looks like what it is, while the AMG from one too many angles looks like an elongated C-class ragtop.
In the grand Bentley tradition, the interior is lined with soft and perfectly matched hides that are as redolent as they are flawless. Bentleys don’t really have that new-car smell so much as that new Louis Vuitton–wallet smell. Tamo Ash veneers, a $1360 upcharge, are stained a yellowish hue that matches the cream-colored Magnolia leather. Gray accent leather on the doors and the top of the instrument panel is called Porpoise, but, like the other hides, it comes from land animals and not sea creatures.
Drive both back to back and it’s apparent that the Bentley is interested in taking care of you rather than taking care of everything. Despite its age, the Bentley delivers a richer and more luxurious experience commensurate with its ridiculous $272,995 price. But what really matters to us is that it’s the better car to drive. Source by caranddriver.com
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