Bentley Continental GT Speed review

New, more potent V8 hybrid powertrain adds efficiency and performance; new air suspension brings extra poise

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More than anything, the new Bentley Continental GT Speed represents a bold extension of the Crewe company’s abiding philosophy. For the past 40 years, ever since the high-performing Turbo R single-handedly revived a moribund Bentley marque, the firm has specialised in offering cars that seem far too refined and luxurious for their supercar performance. Or viewed another way, cars that seem too practical for their exalted position in the automotive firmament.

These capabilities were especially well expressed in the groundbreaking Continental GT of 2003, a car whose dynamics at the time easily equalled those of far less usable front-engined Astons and Ferraris. They were further emphasised when the third-generation 2019 GT adopted the Volkswagen Group's MSB platform (shared with Porsche), which enabled bigger wheels and brakes, lots of extra technology and a reduced front overhang for even better weight distribution.

Now it’s time for the fourth-generation car, officially called Continental GT Speed, to widen this virtuous spectrum even further. Central to the new offering is a brand-new plug-in hybrid powertrain, comprising a new 584bhp 4.0-litre V8 engine and a 187bhp electric motor that’s buried inside the engine’s eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The car also gets an even more ideal weight distribution, and a new system of two-mode air springs and dual-valve dampers that bring extra versatility to the three main driving modes (Sport, Comfort and Bentley).

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DESIGN & STYLING

Bentley Continental GT Speed front tracking

The Bentley Continental GT Speed’s size and layout are largely consistent with dimensions and improvements introduced with the third-generation car that went on sale in 2018, having been shown at Frankfurt the year before. That car adopted the VW Group's MSB platform, shared with the Porsche Panamera.

The effect of that was to reduce the car’s nose overhang, introducing a new sophistication to the styling, and allowing a wider choice of brakes, wheels and tyres. This new-generation car keeps the platform, proportions and major styling features, cleverly advertising its newness with simplified, more prominent (and much more capable) matrix headlights – Bentley has dropped quad lights for the first time since the 1950s – plus redesigned rear lights. The bootlid and exhausts are also redesigned to emphasise the latest identity.

But the biggest changes, and the main reasons an existing owner might want to change, are the engine and suspension improvements: a more efficient, more powerful hybrid powerplant that outpowers the departing 6.0-litre turbocharged W12, and the new two-chamber air suspension with its dual-valve dampers.

INTERIOR

Bentley Continental GT Speed dash

The GT Speed’s interior dimensions, cabin architecture and instrumentation are familiar from the 2018 car – both the coupé and the convertible, which for the first time are launched at the same time. There’s a new “precision quilt pattern” for the seats that’s heading for widespread application, and Bentley continues to stress its aim to give every model a cocoon-like aura.

Those 20-way-adjustable seats, already renowned for providing both long-distance comfort and high-speed cornering support when needed, now have an optional "wellness facility" that brings postural and climate functions to the front seats, which Bentley claims reduces journey fatigue even further. There’s also a new dark chrome treatment for the cabin brightwork, which provides a new understated quality for those who desire it.

The fascia’s dominant feature continues to be the 12.3in rotating display that allows the driver to choose between "full disclosure" via three analogue dials instrumentation, or a plain dashboard. The Conti GT comes with three audio system choices: a standard system with 10 speakers and 650W, a Bang & Olufsen system with 1500W and 16 speakers (plus illuminated speaker grilles) allegedly aimed at lifestyle customers, and a full-house Naim layout “for the true audiophile” with 2200W, 18 speakers and activer bass transducers in the front seats.

Bottom line: this is one of the best luxury car interiors going, configurable practically any way you want. My only gripe is the fiddly nature of centre console switches, which look great but can be hard to find and actuate, especially in the dark.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Bentley Continental GT Speed panning

Central to the GT's latest offering is a brand-new plug-in hybrid powertrain, comprising a new 548bhp 4.0-litre V8 engine and a 187bhp electric motor that’s buried inside the Conti’s eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. That gives the driver access to 772bhp with everything working at maximum.

This new GT Speed both outperforms any previous Bentley and massively improves the CO2 output and fuel consumption of any previous Continental GT, on the WLTP consumption and emissions cycles at least. The car's combined petrol-electric torque totals 728lb ft, which, working with electronically managed four-wheel drive and traction control systems, lets the car lay down a blistering 0-62mph time of 3.2sec and set an equally urgent 0-100mph mark of 6.9sec, as well as delivering a 208mph top speed.

Plug-in Conti has had its V8 exhaust sound redesigned, without the artificial enhancement now common in rival models. The 'fill-in' function of the electric hybrid motor during gearchanges means you now only hear them; you feel nothing.
Steve Cropley
Editor-in-chief

The car also gets a new system of two-chamber air springs and dual-valve dampers that brings extra versatility to the three main driving modes (Sport, Comfort and Bentley). Sport now has even better refinement and suspension isolation. Comfort stays ultra-compliant while eradicating the previous model’s remaining traces of bounce over high-amplitude bumps.

The battery, which weighs 200kg, sharpens the Bentley’s weight distribution to 49;51 front to rear, a balance the company's suspension engineers reckon is ideal for the hint-of-oversteer handling they feel is safe to dial into a car well protected by a versatile chassis stability system. On the minus side, the battery makes this GT weigh more than any other in 21 years, though the effects are hardly noticeable.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Bentley Continental GT Speed front corner

The 2025 Bentley Continental GT Speed’s new hybrid system creates a whole new performance dimension in another direction. A GT will now cruise for up to 50 miles on electric power alone, travelling at speeds of up to 87mph. Yet it emits only 29g/km on the (admittedly flawed) WLTP cycle, while delivering an equally fantastical 217mpg.

However, early tests show that real-world hybrid economy can vary from the 30mpg range when the car is charged regularly but driven hard, to the middle 40s in easier conditions. Over a long period, when home-charged in the UK, we estimate the car could deliver an average of around 35mpg.

Two important factors in the GT’s hybrid capability are a brand-new 400V electrical architecture and its boot-mounted 25.9kWh hybrid battery. Bentley says the battery can be recharged from zero to full in under three hours, though charging isn’t always needed: the GT Speed has a choice of driving modes that allow electric-only driving, or for its existing charge to be maintained until needed in zero-emissions zones, or for the battery to be recharged while the car is driving along.

VERDICT

Bentley Continental GT Speed profile

Moving into its fourth major iteration since 2003, the Bentley Continental GT Speed has had every facet of its already-admired dynamic versatility greatly enhanced. It is now a quicker supercar, a plusher luxury car and a more practical daily driver. 

Bentley’s new hybrid combination of turbo V8 and powerful electric motor means this GT now has more power than any previous model, including all the top-spec W12s. The presence of a new boot-mounted 200kg battery (which negates about half the weight savings made a generation ago) is hardly an influence, except that it sharpens the car’s handling balance in a direction Bentley engineers have long proposed.

The 771bhp V8 hybrid powertrain – with its 50-mile, electric-only cruising ability viable at motorway speeds – means that with regular charging and everyday use, the car can deliver real-world cruising in the mid-30mpg range (we’ll test that soon), and can continue to hold its head high in an increasingly carbon-conscious world. 

If there’s a disappointment – and it’s only small – it is the modest nature of the styling changes. Bentley has decided on little change for continuity reasons, and that’s understandable, but this car’s suitability to motoring towards 2030 has been so greatly enhanced that it might have been nice to allow the new-gen shape a little more exuberance.

Nevertheless, this is more of a winner than ever.

Steve Cropley

Steve Cropley Autocar
Title: Editor-in-chief

Steve Cropley is the oldest of Autocar’s editorial team, or the most experienced if you want to be polite about it. He joined over 30 years ago, and has driven many cars and interviewed many people in half a century in the business. 

Cropley, who regards himself as the magazine’s “long stop”, has seen many changes since Autocar was a print-only affair, but claims that in such a fast moving environment he has little appetite for looking back. 

He has been surprised and delighted by the generous reception afforded the My Week In Cars podcast he makes with long suffering colleague Matt Prior, and calls it the most enjoyable part of his working week.