It’s probably not the best idea when looking to rent a new villa in Dubai to roll up for a property viewing in a Bentley Continental GT Speed.
Your powers of negotiation take a massive hit, if not disappear completely, when the estate agent, or prospective landlord lays his eyes on one of the most desirable and prestigious cars on the road and understandably thinks you own it. The assumption being – lovely car, lots of money, done deal.
At one stage while we were trying to find our way to see yet another villa, the estate agent who was waiting for us to arrive, asked what car we were driving so he could keep an eye out for us. My wife coolly announced we were in a Bentley. The agent then asked what colour and that was just too much as she blurted out “gold” before collapsing in fits of laughter.
Sadly for me, and those agents and landlords who thought I was rich and therefore ready to pay a high price for their villas, I only had the latest GT Speed for a couple of days but it was long enough to reinforce what I already knew – this car, deservedly commands the kind of respect reserved for the elite of the automotive world.
The GT Speed is the flagship of the Continental fleet and as such has astonishing amounts of power, looks great, and is built to the highest possible standards and exudes the marque’s rich motorsport heritage.
The great thing about this car, and this might sound a bit daft when it comes in Sunburst Gold, is that it is not overly ostentatious.
– Car of the week: Toyota Camry
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Yes, you need to be fairly rich to own one, and they are special cars but there is more of a subtle excellence about them, rather than an in-your-face expression of outrageous wealth.
Aesthetically, this car is a masterpiece. Whichever angle you choose to look at the GT Speed it is perfectly proportioned from its large mesh grille and powerful bonnet to the sculpted side view, sleek, muscular rear with twin exhausts and its belting 21-inch wheels.
Open the driver’s door and slide into the sumptuous seats and you find yourself in a privileged world of ultimate finery, a hand-crafted interior using only the very best natural products with supple leathers, polished veneers and cooltouch metals finished to perfection with meticulous attention to detail.
The GT Speed has Bentley’s Mulliner Driving Specification which features gorgeous diamond-quilted perforated leather seats, door trims and rear quarter-panels.
The cabin headlining is finished in indented leather hid and our test car had embroidered Speed emblems on the headrests. The interior is so comfortable and luxurious that you could sit there for hours without starting the engine just taking in the feel and the smell of this magnificent cabin.
However, the real thrill of the GT Speed comes when you push the ignition button and awaken the beast sitting under the bonnet – a monstrously powerful six-litre twin turbo W12 that sounds like distant rolling thunder when it starts.
This iconic engine has 616bhp and an enormous 800nm of torque available from 2000 revs which ensures instant response.
This is no lightweight car, weighing more than two tons, but it almost glides from 0-100kmh in just a tad over four seconds and you will be easing through the 160kmh mark in just nine seconds.
The Speed has cutting-edge engine management software and provides unbridled power via an excellent eight-speed close ratio automatic gearbox to the all-wheeldrive.
Have a look at beautiful and fast @Breitling Jet inspired @Bentley Continental GT Speed. #luxurycar #luxury pic.twitter.com/QeEa5LFMdr
— The Luxe Café (@theluxecafe) July 8, 2015
There are paddle-shifters if you want more manual control, but I find these too cumbersome to use comfortably and to be honest, I never felt that I needed them anyway such was the quality and speed of the gear changes in auto.
Like everything else on this vehicle the handling is astonishingly good thanks to its chassis design and lowered, uprated suspension which eliminates bodyroll.
It has a self-levelling system which monitors ride height and damping according to road conditions to ensure maximum performance and agility.
And although this car can hurtle along at astonishing speeds, it does so without any compromise on comfort. Of all the Bentleys, this is my favourite but I doubt I will ever be lucky enough to have one parked in the drive of my new villa.
