Bentley Continental GT S review: yep, it’s the new ‘best’ version of the Conti GT

Why should I care about this new Conti GT S?

Because if you care about driving it’s potentially the range sweet spot: all the best chassis goodies of the flagship Speed version, for less outlay.

What sort of chassis goodies are we talking?

It’s mainly a massive recalibration job. Bentley offers two separate chassis tunes that alter everything from the steering, damping, active roll control and exhaust to the rear steer mechanism, differential and launch control.

The cheaper – sorry, more affordable – Core and Azure models have the Active Chassis, the higher end Speed and Mulliner models receive the Performance Active Chassis, plus an uprated version of the V8 hybrid powertrain. This new S slots in the middle, mating the Performance chassis with the base engine. A base engine that develops 671bhp. 

Hang on, all these models – what’s going on?

The Continental GT range is now five models strong. Essentially there’s a base car, the regular Conti GT (the Core one). If you want that with more luxury, you have the Azure, or with sharper driving dynamics, this new S. If you want the S with more power, you have the 100bhp-more-potent Speed, and if you want to throw everything at it you have the Mulliner – all the power, all the chassis tricks, all the luxury.

This is all a moot point really, as Bentley’s fabulously, bafflingly extensive options and extras means you can turn any version into anything you like – choosing the model is basically the jumping off point.

Still, a jumping off point that varies by over £70,000 between £202,400 base and £277,860 Mulliner. And then there are the convertible versions of each as well…

So how much does the GT S cost?

£212,500. So it looks good value on paper (well, alongside its siblings, I’m not making comparisons with the Dacia Duster here), only £10k over base, yet £30k below the Speed which only benefits from that extra horsepower and a few spec changes.

However. This is Bentley we’re talking about. To make sure people know your new S is suitably sporting you’ll be wanting to add the Carbon Fibre Styling Specification (sills, mirror caps, splitter & diffuser), the Titanium Sports Exhaust and definitely the Rotating Display, because every Conti needs that. Congratulations, you’ve just added £12,000 + £10,200 + £5,320 = £27,520 to your car.

Which means you’re at Speed money before you’ve even thought about colour-matching the stitching to the paintwork. 

Enough talk about such common things as money. Is this the one you want?

First thing to discuss: the powertrain. You don’t need more than 671bhp. Even in a car that weighs 2,350kg. Yes, on paper the S’s 3.5-second 0-62mph time is 0.4s behind the Speed, nor can it match the flagship’s 208mph max, topping out at 190mph.

The important thing to remember here is that the power delivery, characteristics and noise are the same no matter which powertrain you have. All Contis have the same basic plug-in hybrid set-up: a 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 boosted by a 187bhp electric motor sucking power from a 25.9kWh battery. Gone are the days when you chose between 4.0 V8 and 6.0 W12, today the only thing that varies is the power output of that V8.

Whether you have 671 or 771bhp is really neither here nor there unless you’re heading to a drag strip or autobahn. In both the performance is effortless, with instant electric torque smoothing and filling the gaps around internal combustion. It’ll start in electric and continue for 40-50 miles if you like, but it’s more fun to turn the ignition on, twist the mode controller to Sport and then hit start. With the windows down.

The sound that emerges will have people wondering where the AMG is. With the Akrapovic exhaust, it’s a harder, sharper, crisper V8 noise than you expect from a Bentley. It sets the tone.

And how does it drive?  

It's not a blunt instrument. OK, it’s still blunter than an Aston Martin DB12 or any other GT you care to mention, all of which are probably half a tonne lighter, and none of which cruise anything like as imperiously as this.

But it manages its weight really well. A lot of this is down to the active roll control, which allows enough lean to feel natural and easy while presumably working tremendously hard. It could do with supporting dive under braking better, but the brakes themselves aren’t a strong point anyway. There’s too much slack at the top of the pedal and even in Sport mode, not enough bite and response. They just feel slightly out of step with the rest of the chassis.

Which is detectably crisper and more responsive. All this generation of Conti GTs are far better balanced, with the battery evening out weight distribution, meaning it doesn’t just understeer and push its nose wide. It’s neutral. Turn into a fast corner and both axles set to work evenly. Get on the power and – if you’re in Sport mode – you can feel more torque being fed to the rear axle, divvied up by the eLSD. There’s an awful lot of technology being applied here, but it drives naturally.

Does anything upset it?

On the whole it performs Bentley's usual trick of being heavy enough to steamroller roads. The primary ride is wonderful, it rises and falls over undulations beautifully. The issues come over the inevitable choppier tarmac, where the air suspension struggles to retain control over each heavy wheel. The result is a slight shudder on rough roads that perturbs the air of calmness and majesty that the GT S works so hard to achieve.

Scale it back into Bentley or Comfort modes and it improves, but it’s still there, and slower speeds don’t eradicate the issue either. Nor does opting for a different model entirely – all Conti GTs behave like this when faced with rough, broken roads.

It has all the comfort of the Core and Azure, but with more eagerness, handling bite and attitude

Which makes the GT S the one to go for – provided you want your Conti to have an added dimension of sportiness. Because it is added. There’s no subtraction. It has all the comfort of the Core and Azure, but with more eagerness, handling bite and attitude when demanded. And no, I didn’t miss the extra power or thrust – 286bhp/tonne is still a lot of force – and momentum.

So it is the one to have?  

In a word, yes. Unless of course you want the GTC S convertible. But that’s £233,700 and given a soft top’s remit is more waft-o-matic, you don’t much need added dynamism. Worth pointing out the lengths Bentley has gone to there. Because it weighs the best part of 150kg more, the set-up couldn’t be carried directly over from the coupe, but had to be tweaked so, as far as possible, it would feel the same. Expect to see an S version of the Flying Spur saloon along shortly, too.

But you’d have a coupe?

Absolutely. It remains the essence of what Bentley is about and what sets it apart from everyone else. Money no object I’d have a Speed or Mulliner. Just because. But if value plays any role at all, the S is the one to have.