2009 Bentley Continental GT Speed Review
October 29, 2008 by Anthony Crawford
With over $450,000 worth of car sitting in your driveway its hard not to feel better than the bloke next door with his unwashed diesel powered VW Polo, but at least he owns his!
Settling into to the cockpit of the GT Speed for the first time is what I envisaged walking into a Hermes shop would be like. Layer upon layer of the finest leather and polished timber money can buy.
The bolstered sports seats (front and rear) are upholstered in Diamond-quilted hide, which is far more luxurious than any Moran lounge I’ve ever sat on.
It’s the same with the burgundy coloured carpet and matching rugs, superior to that found in the Emirates Palace hotel and absolutely no right to be on the floor of any car, except of course a Bentley!
Oh, and on this particular example, you can get a professional shiatsu massage while you are driving! I’m not kidding.
Then there’s the exquisite dark stained burr walnut veneer throughout the fascia and door panels, which have been hand shaped and aluminium backed. There’s even a Breitling analogue clock (I dream of one day owning one of their watches).
The knurled chrome and hide sports shifter looks like a Faberge piece, which should be sitting in a glass cabinet in the Louvre. Even the headlining is indented hide, abject luxury, it is.
Time to fire up the monstrous twin-turbo W12 and get moving before we get caught in that horrendous Friday afternoon city exodus.
I love this car but I have to say that if I was getting one, I would get the standard one because I have driven the speed and its hardly convincing as a super car and the standard is already a fantastic GT. I do love those wheels though…
Awesome review! Much better than Rolls any day!
Awesome car, but for $400k+ that gear lever surrounding look so cheap just like your $20k VW.
Now lets not go crazy Zahmad, It’s a fantastic car but have you driven the Rolls Royce coupe? Or Phantom? Or DHC? Im afraid Bentley havn’t quite gotten to Rolls Royce standards yet.
gorgeous interior. Fantastic pictures guys!
Not bad I guess. Would I have one? No cos nearly every premiership footballer has one. Its a bit Chavs-ville here i’m afraid. Sorry Bentley!!
TC ! Are there any 20k VW? I have never seen one
makes me salivate….they seem a lot smaller in the flesh than they look in the pics, but I’ve never driven in one. I suppose that if you can afford one, you could also afford to hire someone to clean the brake dust out of those gorgeous wheels
Hmmm, this or the Aston Martin DBS?
I’m leaning towards the Aston
Very nice pics.
Bentley Continental has more gadgets but still luxurious, but Rolls Royce like to keep it simple and luxurious. So it’s up to you to decide what makes you smile more.
Personally, I would go for the Rolls Drop Head. By the time I can afford one, I’ll be too old for all the buttons and settings to worry about.
4 valves per cylinder and overhead camshafts in 1926. The Chevrolet/Holden V8 can’t manage that 82 years later.
beautiful…
i think that’s all i need to say? haha.
GTC Speed for me please!
i’d still take on of these though, really stunning.
i think this, and the DB9 have to me in my top3.
Beautiful vehicle… beautiful interior…
But for that price I would want close to perfection – unfortunately there are a few cheap touches.
Nice review, took a while to read but worth it in the end. So, who’s the lucky bloke who got to drive it? I’m envious!
How much would a DB9 set you back?
I’d still prefer one of those to this, but its definitely an astonishing car. I just can’t imagine how it can be nimble to drive with that much weight.
Pure decadence. I love the front 3/4 view. I guess if you can afford one of these its purely a question of personal preference. Why not have an Aston and a Bentley?!
Story and photographs really captured the glory of this car. Well done!
As a parent of a toddler, I would be concerned about whether the rear will accommodate a baby capsule and the impact of food and other toddler ’stuff’ on the leather.
I was just wondering if this car available in Brisbane, Queensland? I have been looking in Bentley Brisbane, but there is no information about the car
you could always have a look at http://www.bentleymotors.com for information. The dealer in Brisbane would definately have information and cars to look at.