Crewe's Missile
It's a sunny, 80-degree day on the vast, thirteen-mile test track in Ehra-Lessien, Germany. Automobile Magazine's European editor, Georg Kacher, is preparing to pilot a metallic red Bentley Continental GT beyond the 200-mph mark.

Bentley's gorgeous new Contential GT features a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W-12 engine producing 550-horsepower and 479-pound-feet of torque. It delivers its power through a six-speed manu-matic gearbox and permanent all-wheel drive.

Posing with the Conti, left to right: Ulrich Eichhorn, the Bentley board member in charge of research and development; Brian Gush, director of chassis, powertrain, and motorsport; and the ever-intrepid Georg Kacher.

Our six-foot seven-inch European editor, Georg Kacher, has made a habit of traveling beyond 200 miles per hour. Since his first time, in a Porsche 959, Kacher pressed some twenty-five cars beyond that mark¡Xincluding, most recently, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a Porsche Carrera GT, and a Ferrari Enzo.

On the long track's high-speed straights, the Conti managed to return a mere 4.7 mph¡Xenough to prompt the low-fuel warning after only seven laps and run the 23.8-gallon tank dry after less than forty minutes.

Suction-cupped to the windshied, the Datron GPS-guided speedo registers an astonishing 324 km/h¡Xthat's 201 mph. Before this run was through, Kacher and his courageous photographer, Detlev Wecke, would touch 329 km/h (204 mph), firming up Bentley's claim that Continental GT is the world's fastest four-seater.

Everything the general public ever thought right or wrong about Bentley—if the general public ever really bothers to think about Bentley—is about to change. The caricatured stuffy air of overindulgence, the black-capped chauffeur riding bolt upright eyes forward, the owner’s stiff upper lip and superior demeanor and, yes, even that highbrow mustard handoff... All that changes when the new Bentley Continental GT arrives. Why? Because Bentley’s Continental GT is a real driver’s car that may well claim to be the best and most elegant way to travel in comfort, luxury and speed since the Concorde first lifted off the ground.


Hand it to Bentley. It has toiled the last few years to get people to think of the firm as one that builds sporty transport. Officials have slapped new labels—red, green and black—onto their cars, to which they’ve also given ever-increasing power and torque. They spent years of hard work and lots of parent company Volkswagen’s money contesting, and this year finally winning, the world’s premier endurance race, Le Mans, after a 73-year absence atop the podium. They’ve hosted exclusive parties wherein their cars are centerpieces. They’ve strengthened and reeducated the body of dealers. For goodness sake, they started it all by changing owners so that Bentley is now the glimmering jewel in VW’s crown.

A good portion of what lies beneath this Bentley comes straight from the Volkswagen coffers. Behind touch points are electric motors, hoses, the instrument panel and even running gear from VW. And who among us can deny the provenance of a W12 powerplant? The parts sharing is a financial fact that ultimately benefits the consumer so long as attention to marque differentiation is strictly adhered to, which is the case with the Continental GT.




It’s not as though Bentley isn’t used to sharing bits and pieces. This is the first Bentley in 70 years that is purpose built; all others were badge-engineered Rolls-Royces with “Bentley-esque” modifications. This Continental, so named because it should have the ability to cross the European Continent and arrive in style, might share parts with the highest-priced VW Phaeton, but by its very feel it is all Bentley, all the time.




Historically, Bentley has been known for its engines; founder W.O. Bentley might have been the first to understand there is no replacement for cubic displacement. This 6.0-liter, 48-valve W12 four-cam delivers the goods: The moment you step on the throttle, power surges from idle. Horsepower climbs in a precipitous arc to a 552-hp zenith at 6100 rpm. The torque delivery when charted on a graph looks like a child’s drawing of a rocky butte: It juts up quickly and then flattens out, reaching peak torque at 1600 rpm, and delivers all 479 lb-ft from then on to 6000 rpm. Talk about freight-train hauling.




This is a driver’s car, so drive. Even on narrow two-lanes the Continental GT doesn’t feel large, but it is imposing, particularly to cars upon which it appears in the rearviews. Stab the throttle and go for the pass, a sure-footed maneuver—thank the all-wheel drive—with authority. Bentley put the engine ahead of the front axle to make this drive system fit. This required a short engine for the torque converter to slide in behind the front differential, hence the W12. Bentley engineers were able to push the engine back 65 mm (2.6 inches