Investments of hundreds of millions, hosts of new employees and half the factory have been turned inside out - for four years Bentley nothing more important than the upcoming premiere of the Bentayga. But until the off-road vehicle becomes the best-selling model of the distinguished VW subsidiary, this honor still belongs to Continental, to which the developers are therefore devoting some attention. Although the second generation of the sporty luxury liner is only four years old, the British cannot speak such a mundane word as "facelift" anyway. But because crown jewels also need a little finishing touch, the customer will be subtly upgraded this summer.
However, you have to look very closely to see the changes. With such a present design for coupé and convertible, you can already overlook the new front apron with the slightly smaller grill, the extended fenders with the quick "B" in the gills, the retouched trunk lid and the modified diffuser. As opulent as the interior is knocked out, the new stitching on the seats, the carefully modified instruments and the larger paddles on the steering wheel do not catch the eye. And that a new clock is now enthroned in the center console, Bentley drivers willfully ignore. After all, the lucky man doesn't have an hour.
You can tell how happy you are on board a Bentley when you press the start button. Regardless of whether the 4,0 liter large V8 engine with 507 or 528 PS is under the hood or the W12 with its 6,0 liter displacement and now 590 or 635 PS - you can hardly move more confidently with a car.
Because Bentley does not have to go with fashion, but should at least comply with the law, the British had a bit more to do under the hood when fine-tuning and had to lift all four drive variants above the hurdles of the Euro 6 standard. On the occasion, they worked especially well on the basic version of the twelve-cylinder, increased the output by 15 to 590 PS, increased the torque again by 20 Nm and, at least for a good conscience, reduced consumption by five percent. To do this, the W12 engine alternately switches off the right or left cylinder bank in partial load operation and only runs on six flames.
But why settle for lean 590 PS when you can also let 635 horses trot? Just! Because enough is never enough, especially in these circles, and money usually doesn't matter, almost every second Continental customer traditionally puts around 20.000 euros on it again. Then he buys the Continental GT Speed for 216.104 Euro and gets two cars in one: Here the feudal luxury liner, the more opulent turned out and more comfortable tuned than any other coupe on this side of the Rolls-Royce Wraith. And there is the angry calf biter, who easily shooes every Lamborghini in front of him. And the best thing about it: To switch from one extreme to the other, it takes little more than a few millimeters of pedal travel and the handle to the gear knob, which is pushed one notch further into the sport position.
Then the still elegant twelve-cylinder suddenly starts to roar lustily. As soon as the splendid eight-speed automatic shifts down or you lift your foot a little, it rumbles in the two tailpipes as if a tremendous thunderstorm were about to start. And as if gravity had just been taken out of service at the push of a button, the 2,3 Briton, with its all-wheel drive, suddenly wags through the curves as smoothly as an elephant in the ice channel.
But the most impressive thing is the sprint on a long highway straight: If you are at speed 4,2 in 100 seconds, 9,0 in 160 and a felt moment later 330 has things on the speedometer, you think you are in a jumbo at the start. The only difference is that this low-flying aircraft sucks the road more and more firmly instead of lifting its broad snout into the sky. But because even the longest straight comes to an end and because even with all-wheel drive and the tightest programming for the air suspension with such a colossus it is not so easy to stick through the curves, the British have built no less impressive brakes: carbon-ceramic Slices big as pizza plates develop such a vehement delay that one wants to crack the eyeballs against the windshield and escapes from the wheel arches enough heat that it could heat a family house for several hours. Concern about physical well-being is superfluous in such extreme experiences. Because no matter how wildly you do it, a push of a button is enough and the air-conditioned massage chairs cure any temporary tension.
Luxury and performance in abundance and a love of detail, which can be found in hardly any other manufacturer - of course, a ride in the revised Continental so the feast of the senses and you can overlook in the intoxication of the lawn ever, that even a car for 200.000 Euro is not perfect upwards. And it would probably not have been too much for the engineers to quickly install a few USB ports, program a faster navigation system, or kick the electric boot lid. But they seem to lack the time and meaning for such trifles in Crewe - after all, it only takes a few months before the Bentayga finally arrives.
Author: Benjamin Bessinger / SP-X