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It’s night-and-day better than the old one, and does the GT thing better than any rival.

There’s a key point in Bentley’s timeline that we can call BC: Before Continental. So vital was the first Conti GT – not only for sales, but setting a template and tone for the whole brand – that you could easily argue that were it not for the two-door coupe Bentley might very well not be with us today. The most successful luxury car of modern times? Quite probably.

And now it’s into its second generation. It must sell well, and it must still be the focal point for the whole brand, to embody what a Bentley is while the Bentayga SUV makes the big bucks elsewhere in the range. It’s a handsome thing, the new Conti GT, at least in profile, where the front wheels have been shifted forward to improve the weight distribution and drop the engine lower and further back in the chassis.

In fact 55 per cent of the weight still sits on those front wheels, but there’s less of it than before – the body alone is 80kg lighter, helping the new Conti GT weigh ‘only’ 2,244kg. But Bentley has made no secret of the fact that a heavy kerb weight actually helps deliver the road-crushing stability and momentum that characterises the way its cars drive. They’re knowingly hefty things.

Powerful 48v electrics from the Bentayga are used – among other things – to manage the suspension, with actuators on front and rear anti-roll bars combating body roll. The set 40:60 power split is now fully variable and actually sends 100 per cent of torque to the rear wheels as often as possible to the benefit of fuel efficiency and emissions.

There are two engines to choose from. Cheapest is the V8, a 4.0-litre twin turbo offering up 550bhp, a 4.0sec 0-62mph time and 198mph top speed. Another eleven grand upgrades you to the big-boy 6.0-litre W12 engine. Basically two V6s on a common crank, it’s carried over from the old Conti albeit modified enough for Bentley to declare it the ‘most advanced 12-cylinder engine in the world’.

It features cylinder shut off under light loads, while also producing 626bhp and a thumping 664lb ft of torque from a mere 1,350rpm, maintaining that through to 4,500rpm. Performance is better: 0-62mph takes 3.7sec and its top speed is 207mph. Both versions powering all four wheels through an eight-speed gearbox and, should be feel like behaving uncouthly, via a launch control system.

Standard specification includes full Matrix LED lights, a 12.3in central touchscreen, wifi, head-up display, night vision, a 650w stereo and 21in wheels. Pricing starts at around £150,000, putting this in direct competition with the likes of the Aston Martin DB11, Mercedes S63 Coupe and Ferrari Portofino.

But you won’t be spending that. You’ll be spending much more, getting the stitching to match your shoes, the wood to match the office in your third home, and so on. This is a car made for the bespoke treatment. We know. We did it for our long-term test car.

Driving

What is it like on the road?

In an example of function following form, the more athletic-looking new Conti GT is also more athletic-driving. The 48v electrics have been the making of this car. The system is impressive enough at keeping the Bentayga behemoth under control, but using them to underpin the Conti gives it a dynamism it hasn’t had before.
The old Continental used to heave and struggle to keep its mass in order. Now it doesn’t. In fact the way it goes round corners is uncanny. Open the bonnet and you’ll see the engine is still a long way forward, still mostly ahead of the front axle, but the front-end grip, the lack of roll, the fact it actually changes direction astutely, well, that’s all new. It’s noticeably less nose-heavy, aided no doubt by the front axle positioning as well as the electrics. It really will carry and maintain speed across country and this is very welcome.
Also welcome is the body control. Keeping two-and-a-quarter tonnes of the coupe in check is no easy task, and yet the new GT retains its composure way beyond the point where high expectations collide with physics-defying mysticism.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s still a heavyweight, but the tendons and ligaments of the double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension – with their three-chamber air suspension spring/damper units – are better able to keep control of the masses involved. You can affect things too: a rotary controller on the console switches between Comfort, Bentley, Sport and Custom modes. In the first two up to 38 per cent of power can be directed to the front wheels, in Sport that drops to 17 per cent. The ride firms up and the engine and transmission sharpen their wits. Bentley mode covers most requirements ably.
It is monstrously fast. Monstrously. All that torque arrives at the road with a new found suddenness and aggression. This was intentional. Customers wanted their cars to pack a bigger punch, so gone is the huge surge, replaced by an immediacy that takes some getting used to. And there are other changes that jar.
Besides engine calibration, there’s a bit of wind noise, the optional 22in wheels noticeably noisy on some surfaces, the steering perhaps doesn’t glide through your hands as effortlessly as it used to. In short the Conti GT has become more sporty, and in doing so has lost some of the steamroller ability to crush distance that it used to have. But it’ll still do that better than just about another car on the planet.
Which engine to have? Depends what you seek. The W12 is undoubtedly the one if you’re buying a Bentley to revel in excess – it’s the quieter of the two engines, comfortably the most powerful, and perhaps the one that suits the Conti’s swagger best. Given our ludicrously competitive this sector now is – Aston, McLaren, Porsche, Polestar, Audi, BMW and Mercedes make just some of its potential rivals – then why not let the big, wafty Bentley be its big, wafty best?
The V8 is undoubtedly the sportier option. The car’s lighter at the front end, defter in corners and it makes more of a noise under heavy throttle loads. The Continental GT does its best sports car impression with its cheaper, less hefty set-up. It’s the Conti that’ll convince you to slink off the long, twisty route where the W12 might just keep you on the motorway, swallowing distance. Both are equally fine ways to reach your end destination feeling not dissimilar to when you left.

On the inside

Layout, finish and space

It’s deeply lovely in here. We suspect the same electric architecture underpins the Bentley’s cabin as does the Panamera’s and A8’s, but this is in a league of its own for luxury, tactility and ambience. The only part that grates slightly is the virtual cockpit dash display that doesn’t operate as intuitively and attractively here as in various Audis. And the gearlever, which has an annoying détente to stop it going straight from D to R.

And – promise this is the last – the confluence of laid back A-pillar and chunky door mirror makes for a big forwards blind spot, while the view out the back is much narrower than you might expect given the length of that piece of rear glass.

But as somewhere to sit and feel good about the world and your (financially elevated) place in it, this takes some beating. More high-tech and driver orientated than a Rolls-Royce Wraith, more spacious and better finished than an Aston Martin DB11, clear and mostly logical to use and with a satisfying heft to the control weights so you know you’re operating something with proper status.

The wood and leather is beautifully done, the steering wheel has none of that flat-bottom nonsense and connectivity is first class. Save for the car being so well insulated, you might actually struggle for 4G signal. Relish the peace and quiet that brings.

It’s not big in the back, but you’d volunteer this as a way to get four people an hour or two away with room for weekend luggage in the Golf-rivalling 358-litre boot.

Dropping all four windows creates open flanks that give the cabin a lovely fresh airiness if you’re just oozing about, and although there’s a trace of wind noise from the A-pillars at motorway speeds you can distract yourself by flipping the (admittedly optional) Rotating Display that flicks, like Bond’s DB5 numberplate, between three separate plates: a blank veneer, the 12.3in screen and three analogue dials (compass, outside temp and chronometer), for that hint of olde worlde elegance.

Comfort is hard to fault on the deep, thick seats and the driving position and cabin access is good. Creaky knees don’t have to drop too far.