Engineered by Germans, assembled in Crewe and, in Bentley terms at least, a bargain when new, the Continental GT is that rare thing: a cracking used car buy.
Yes, it has a 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 engine that will struggle to better 17mpg, and if something goes badly wrong, you may need to sell your home to pay for repairs. But just look at the upsides: that engine produces 479lb ft at just 1600rpm for effortless wafting and 0-62mph in 4.8sec without breaking sweat. The chassis boasts air suspension and four-wheel drive. Best of all, the neighbours will hate you.
See Bentley Continental GT for sale on PistonHeads
The price of all this? Less than £21,000. That’s what one private seller is asking for his ‘scratch-free’ (rare for such a big car) 2004/54-reg GT with 83,000 miles and a full service history.
The GT was launched in 2003, five years after Bentley was purchased by Volkswagen. The new model was tasked with rewarding VW’s investment, and the company was taking no chances. Under the Continental’s majestic lines is VW’s legendary vanity car: the fabulously over-engined and over-engineered Phaeton. To pacify the traditionalists, the GT was assembled at Crewe, where Bentleys had been made for 57 years. To ensure it sold in sufficient numbers, VW priced it at £110,000. Before it had turned a wheel, more than 3000 orders were in the bag.
It certainly looked and sounded the part and its relatively spacious four-seat cabin meant that it wasn’t entirely out of the running for the young monied family the car was partly aimed at. But those early models were criticised for nose-heavy handling and the engine’s surprising lack of refinement. So Bentley set to and later cars are better.
The GTC convertible of 2006 added extra glamour but it was the GT Speed of 2007 that showed VW was on Bentley’s wavelength. The tweaked W12 now produced 610bhp and, crucially, 553lb ft at 1750rpm. As a result, 0-62mph came and went in a barely credible 4.3sec. The chassis was lowered and uprated springs and anti-roll bars fitted. A Sport button found its way into the cabin, too. Outside, the grille got a dark-chrome finish and the exhaust pipes became even larger. The Speed also featured the new Mulliner Driving specification (optional on the standard GT), offering gentlemanracer touches, such as drilled alloy pedals and diamond quilted leather.
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Good buy
Why the continued bigotry?
The point is, for less than the price of a new family hatchback with comparable equipment you can now own a hand-built, characterful, truly luxurious GT that for 99% of us would normally remain beyond our reach.
Is it a dream car? This 2004 car out-accelerates most supercars, even most brand new "sports cars"; carries 4-wheel drive that helps it outperform even 4X4s in an ice-field race; really DOES fit four passengers in amazing comfort (despite the popular press so regularly misleading us otherwise); and the older used ones have the added "coolness" that comes from NOT spending £X hundred thousands to get all that.
I just bought my 2004 GT, last week, for these very reasons, just like I bought my XK8 when they dropped below £5k. These are really the car's of your dreams and you can finally reach them.
... and yet it begins to make
Having said that, I am no defender of Bentley under VW. It seems to me Bentley has mistaken heavy-handedness for gravitas.