NAIAS: Bentley Continental GT V8

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

Since its introduction, the Bentley Continental GT has been a fascinating lesson in how “luxury” operates. Fundamentally identical to the VW Phaeton, the Conti sold for twice as much — and did volumes between ten and thirty times what the uber-VW ever managed in the United States.

This platform is about to celebrate its tenth year in production. How do you revitalize it when there are plenty of $70,000 used Contis out there? Simple: you turn down the power.

The new twin-turbo four-liter V8 delivers 500 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque through a new eight-speed transmission. New interior electronics replace the Phaeton Infotainment center stack which was dated in 2004 and laughable today. The price? “North of $150K.” Here’s a hint: a used Conti with a $500 tuner chip will drop this thing like it’s hitting hyperspace out of an asteroid field. TTAC’s opinion? Time to put this nag out to pasture.

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • CarPerson CarPerson on Jan 09, 2012

    Wrong color, wrong wheels... In a forest green or off-white (almost almond) with more conservative wheels, tan interior, and it's about as cool as it comes (unless you are into boy-racer or ricer.) It would be interesting to see what colors are being chosen when it's a customer order, not what the dealer thinks to order.

  • GS650G GS650G on Jan 10, 2012

    As long as we have hip hop music moguls and overpaid sports figures there will always be a need for this car. With optional bling packages and 10000 watt stereo systems.

  • SCE to AUX All that lift makes for an easy rollover of your $70k truck.
  • SCE to AUX My son cross-shopped the RAV4 and Model Y, then bought the Y. To their surprise, they hated the RAV4.
  • SCE to AUX I'm already driving the cheap EV (19 Ioniq EV).$30k MSRP in late 2018, $23k after subsidy at lease (no tax hassle)$549/year insurance$40 in electricity to drive 1000 miles/month66k miles, no range lossAffordable 16" tiresVirtually no maintenance expensesHyundai (for example) has dramatically cut prices on their EVs, so you can get a 361-mile Ioniq 6 in the high 30s right now.But ask me if I'd go to the Subaru brand if one was affordable, and the answer is no.
  • David Murilee Martin, These Toyota Vans were absolute garbage. As the labor even basic service cost 400% as much as servicing a VW Vanagon or American minivan. A skilled Toyota tech would take about 2.5 hours just to change the air cleaner. Also they also broke often, as they overheated and warped the engine and boiled the automatic transmission...
  • Marcr My wife and I mostly work from home (or use public transit), the kid is grown, and we no longer do road trips of more than 150 miles or so. Our one car mostly gets used for local errands and the occasional airport pickup. The first non-Tesla, non-Mini, non-Fiat, non-Kia/Hyundai, non-GM (I do have my biases) small fun-to-drive hatchback EV with 200+ mile range, instrument display behind the wheel where it belongs and actual knobs for oft-used functions for under $35K will get our money. What we really want is a proper 21st century equivalent of the original Honda Civic. The Volvo EX30 is close and may end up being the compromise choice.
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