High Speed Vehicle

Beads of sweat were trickling down my co- passenger’s shiny forehead. Rami El Akhawi, editor of Sport Auto, is a former rally driver in his own right but like most of us he clearly wasn’t comfortable being driven around by someone else, especially at speeds that weren’t exactly pedestrian. But when you’re presented with an empty mountain road somewhere in sunny Southern Spain and a car that has 600 eager horses, it’s only natural to bury your right foot deep into the plush carpet.

Sensing Ramy’s discomfort, I eased back a notch or two and adopt a smoother driving style. This may have been at odds with the shaper sporting credentials of this latest Bentley that’s been engineered to encourage point and shoot driving. After all, the new Continental GT Speed is faster, lighter and more responsive than the standard Continental GT coupe. But the fact is that a car weighing, 2,350kg simply isn’t going to be as nimble or responsive a s a mid engined supercar, which you could buy for the same money.

Driving it on the fagged edge seemed out of character and I soon realized the Bentley’s colossal weight and front-engine, all-wheel-drive layout was better suited for wafting along at warp speed with a remarkable sense of clam and sure footedness. The astonishing ease with which the GY Speed hugs the tarmac, tackles undulations and absorbs the odd bits of bumpy roads that are common in Spain is what owners especially in India, will appreciate. In fact, the harder edged speed gives you the best of both worlds. It offers a significantly more sporty drive without really compromising on comfort, an important consideration for most Bentley owners who will drive only at sedate speeds.

Before going any further, it’s important to understand the significance of the Continental range which was a turning point in Bentley’s history. When the continental GT was launched five years ago, it was the first all new Bentley in 50years; it was the first Bentley that wasn’t part of Rolls-Royce since 1931and more significantly the first Bentley made by its new owners- the VW Group.

A true blue British marque passing into German hands would be seen as blasphemous by Bentley fans but the sales figures haven’t been hurt by any outbursts of jingoism. On the contrary, since VW took over Bentley, sales have shot up form a piffling 1.000 to a stupendous 6,000 cars per year. Bentley’s German owners have kept the British-ness of the marque pretty much intact and thankfully haven’t tossed away the strong heritage built by WO Bentley, the founder and one of Britain’s greatest engineers. However, when the Continental GT was unveiled in 2003, you couldn’t miss the Teutonic elements of Dirk Van Braeckel’s design. Though the Continental GT is clearly a Bentley with its wire mesh grille and round lights that have been a part of Bentley’s DNA for 75 years the smooth and undecorated surface looks simple and chiseled in a Germanic sort of way. The taut skin has no flab and is stretched over a muscular frame. Like Schwarzenegger wiggling into a pair of tights. The GT Speed has retained the classic sculpted looks of the original design expect for some subtle styling changes which includes a more vertical grille and a wider air intake. The new 20 inch wheels sitting on 35 profile tyres look absolutely stunning

When the Continental GT was launch, it was a technological tour de force and though the speed uses the same mechanicals, they have been honed and tweaked considerably to make this the ultimate Bentley produced.

The W12 engine, which is essentially two banks of six cylinders in offset rows, is a marvel of engineering. Thanks to the offset design, the W12 is the most compact 12 cylinder engine in the world and the short block has given the designers more passenger room to play with. With the speed, Bentley has upped the power from 552 to 600bhp making this the most powerful production Bentley ever. Torque has been hiked by 15per cent to a colossal 76.4kgm and this has required significant engine mods that go beyond merely cranking the boost up. A new engine management system, a revised crankcase to reduce pumping losses, light weight single chains to drive four camshafts and new pistons are some of the changes carried out. Is it worth the effort? The increased power has reduced the 0-100kph time by half a second to 4.3 and top speed is in excess of the magical 200mph (320) mark. That gives it a marginal improvement in performance over the standard GT but in India the difference is only academic. Beyond point, like upwards of 300bhp, power figures don’t matter. Roads, traffic and pedestrians are big equalizer so it’s unlikely the jump form an insane 552bhp to and even madder 600bhp will have a few minutes off the drive to work or your weekend house. But let’s forget about power figures, it’s the way the Continental GT speed drives that makes this the most practical supercar you can buy and unlike a Lamborghini or even a Porsche, which need occasions and forward panning to use, the Conti’s user friendly nature means you don’t have to think twice before taking it out.

First, there’s the phenomenal cabin that’s dripping with class and quality without compare. There’s no stinting on comfort either. The front seats are supremely comfortable and event he rear buckets hold you well once you manage the rather undignified clamber into the back. This is a true four-seater with decent luggage space, which makes it so much more useable than two seater sports cars which are eventually left for occasional drives.

The cabin itself is a work of art and though you do get the feeling that a few items are sourced form high-end Audis, it doesn’t have that mass-produced feel of a mainstream saloon which makes it rather special. The insides are swathed in leather and walnut veneer, there’s no fake stuff. The diamond-quilted hid seats with the embroider Bentley emblem are examples of the painstaking craftsmanship that makes these cars so exclusive (and expensive). The knurled finish on the gear lever and the trademark ‘organ-stop’ air-flow controls have a wonderful tactile feel that no amount of plastic buttons can match. In fact, except for a few switches, there’s very little plastic in here and one reason why the interiors feel so exceptional.

On the move, there are more surprises. The first being how responsive the engine is. Throttle response is instantaneous and the way the Bentley lunges forward belies its weight. The six speed auto box shuttles seamlessly between cogs with a finesse you don’t associate with sorts cars which only adds to the GT Speed’s driveable nature. Floor the throttle, the massive turbos spool up and fling you to the horizon at an alarming rate. You don’t get that neck-snapping kick but there’s a strong shove in the back that just doesn’t ease up.

The GT Speed’s ability to mask speed this is possibly second to none and what makes it a true Grand Tourer. You can cruise effortlessly gulping a kilometre every 15 seconds and not realise it. The only thing that hints at the ludicrous speed this true GT is capable of is the excessive wind noise, which detracts from the hushed manners you expect from a Bentley. Another grouse is that the paddles behind the steering wheel are too far for small hands and in manual mode the box was very slow to downshift, a problem that plagues most autos.

The biggest shocker was the way the GT Speed would string a series of fight corners. The quick steering, which reacts immediately off the straight-ahead position, and finely honed suspension, which includes special bushes, new dampers and better rigidity, allow the GT speed to change direction with astonishing fluency. The GT Speed is so composed and stable, which means you don’t have to saw the steering wheel to correct your line. It doesn’t fidget or change its line; the adaptive air suspension, which has a self-leveling function, is not sensitive to load conditions and hence offers a flat and consistent ride. Low-speed ride, which is all-important for India, was surprisingly good on the small patches of broken tarmac I encountered. In fact, I drove over these ‘India-spec’ roads several times. Sharp edges reveal the GT Speed’s hard edge and you can feel the suspension getting a workout. But with a little careful driving and help from the newly developed low-friction dampers, the GT Speed can conquer Mumbai’s potholes.

The GT Speed in India will be available from next month and will cost Rs 2.13 crore, which is a considerable Rs 23 lakh more than the standard GT. I can’t think of many good reasons for opting for the Speed unless you want even more exclusivity or are hell bent on beating the Rajdhani to Delhi. The GT Speed is a complete overkill for India, especially since the regular Continental GT, which has been updated and comes with most of the Speed’s features, does the job. It may not have the wow factor of a Ferrari or Lamborghini but no other supercar combines performance, comfort, luxury and sheer practicality like Bentley’s brilliant coupe. To spend upwards of Rs 2 crore on a car is ludicrous but if you have to, the lesser Continental GT is still the one to splurge on.