Future classic: Bentley Continental GT Speed

By Charlie Calderwood

| 16 Jan 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Future classic: Bentley Continental GT Speed

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but even before the last car to feature Bentley’s W12 engine rolls out of Crewe, plenty are already missing the famous unit.

It was first seen in the Audi A8, but the 6-litre engine was the centrepiece of Bentley’s revival under Volkswagen, and the most powerful twin-turbo versions have been exclusive to the Flying B.

Essentially two VR6s joined together, it’s an engine that has impressed all who sample it with both its power and smoothness.

But, having held out against the downsizing trend for many years, Bentley will build its last W12 in April 2024.

The Bentley Continental GT Speed’s cabin is a triumph

From then, the Continental GT will be available only with a 4-litre V8.

That’s no great hardship, because the V8 Continental is still brilliant and the better-sounding car. But for some, ultimate luxury means 12 cylinders.

The apogee of the W12 is found in the current GT Speed.

With 650bhp and 664lb ft (the latter from just 1500rpm), its maker described it at launch as the most powerful ‘roadgoing’ Bentley ever made, presumably putting it in a different bracket from the more track-focused 700bhp Supersports of the previous generation.

Bentley’s W12 engine has been a centrepiece of the marque’s cars for more than 20 years

One moment the Bentley can be utterly serene, almost EV-like in its silent potency; a couple of pulls of the paddle-shift later and the engine reintroduces itself with a distant roar and the car surges forward.

It’s the bottomless well of torque that’s most impressive: at any engine speed you can squeeze a bit more throttle and get the same linear acceleration.

The GT Speed isn’t the fastest car in the world, but it must rank among the most flexible.

Bentley’s smart touchscreen rotates to reveal three traditional dials (left); the Continental GT seats four

Previous Continental GTs provided a similar breadth of ability with variants of the W12 that were almost as powerful, but where this third-generation Continental GT, and particularly the Speed, most differentiates itself is in the corners: it has an agility and feeling of tightness that earlier Continentals can’t match, thanks to advanced torque vectoring and active anti-roll bars.

You also get the benefit of one of the most delightful interiors in the automotive world.

The nature of luxury is one of diminishing returns.

Achieving those last few percentage points of improvement costs a disproportionate amount, and that’s arguably the case with the GT Speed.

The ultimate Bentley Continental GT is on borrowed time as the mighty W12 engine bows out in 2024

For many it will never make rational sense, but there will also be those who want to have the best-handling, most opulently trimmed Continental GT yet seen, and they will insist on 12 cylinders.

For them, this final Speed ‘12’ will always be a high-water mark and a model sought out for years to come.

Those who fancy a brand-new one, however, need to act fast: the last time we checked there were only 12 unallocated W12s remaining.

Images: Bentley