Bentley GT

Bentley’s svelte GT may have the wrong image but it’s becoming a seriously good neo classic

When is a Bentley not a Bentley? When it’s a Volkswagen! Peel back the sexy skin on the GT and you’ll essentially fi nd a VW Phaeton W12 saloon underneath. To Bentley traditionalists that’s treachery and blasphemy all rolled into one, but it hasn’t stopped the undeniable popularity of the GT all the way from Chelsea to Cheshire. The all-new buying base regard the “Baby Bentley” as the bees knees – despite the fact that most of them know nothing about the company’s heritage. Or care, for that matter. In the six years that the GT has been in production, it’s been a runaway success story – until the credit crunch hit home. Now, values of earlier models have been dropping like anvils to the point where you can now pick one up for around £35,000 – that’s about a quarter of list price! Tempting though it is, can the GT really be called a classic? No, but it’s certainly classical and will eventually gain full status. Perhaps the time is perilously close to snapping up a good one and sitting on it, because, whatever your views on this Bentley, there’s no getting away from the fact that it is a wonderful car.

History

We’ve all heard the quip about does anybody know a famous Belgian. The next time you’re asked, just say Dirk van Braeckel. He’s the designer who penned the GT, and if you’re wondering how he came up with such a shapely car then bear in mind that he owns an E-type. How a Belgian ended up at Bentley is simple – since 1998 the once famous British name was owned by the German Volkswagen Audi Group, which intended to gobble up Rolls- Royce during the infamous sell-off, only to be beaten to it by BMW.

Now the VAG group always has a platform or two under development and at the time it was progressing nicely with a big saloon labelled Group D1 that was to be the showcase for Volkswagen. Called the Phaeton, it was large, luxurious and the top version had a heroic 6.0-litre W12 engine to give it supercar pace, allied to an all-wheel drive drivetrain for ultimate user-friendliness. Then somebody had the bright idea of using the basic DNA and making a new and far more modern Bentley to appeal to a new younger buying base, so the Continental GT was born. Launched in 2003, the GT was pitched comfortably under the prices of the traditional Bentley models at £120,000. Such was the car’s instant popularity that buyers were already stumping up £20,000 over the odds to secure them. With production cranked up to 11,000 a year it was no wonder that the Baby Bentley boom spread everywhere – in fact, if you want exclusivity buy the Volkswagen Phaeton instead! With its twin turbochargers the standard GT kicks out a mighty 552bhp and the thick end of 500lbft of torque – more than the Phaeton which has ‘only’ 450bhp. But this was put in the shade in 2007 by the 600bhp Speed offshoot with 553lb ft of muscle to make mincemeat out of the fastest Ferrari. Of course, a convertible just had to follow and the GTC arrived in 2005.

Driving

If you want to get a grasp on what the Continental is like to drive but are afraid to wander into a Bentley dealership, pop down to a VW agent and take a W12 Phaeton for a spin! They are surprisingly similar – and the saloon is the more refi ned in many ways. Don’t let the Continental’s Volkswagen hardware infl uence your judgement. The GT is a truly wonderful experience that does justice to any badge. It’s not so much the awesome pace that impresses the most, but the sheer usability thanks to all wheel drive, the biggest brakes ever fi tted to a production car at the time and typical VW attention to detail. Apart from Audi’s R8 super car, there can’t be an easier 500bhp slingshot to drive ridiculously fast. Comments that the GT isn’t a real Bentley and comparisons with the Mulsanne-based Continental are inevitable, but are they valid? It’s down to personal preference as well as prejudice. Both are great cars, the difference being that the GT feels far more modern and planted on the road, whereas the Continental can’t hide its aged 1960s-based Silver Shadow origins. No-one can fail to be impressed by the GT’s ability – 0-60mph in under fi ve seconds 198mph top speed – and the Speed is even quicker! Volkswagen may have provided the dynamics but it certainly left it to Bentley to deal with the details, so the cabin is pure old-school British craftsmanship. You can’t fault the build or ambience of the GT and comfort and convenience are, of course, sublime. It’s roomier than the old Conti and a whole lot more reliable thanks to the VW engineering, but two things let the GT down. The ride can be jarring on rough surfaces and tyre noise is disappointingly loud, especially with the 20-inch wheel option. Also, its popularity with over-privileged footballers has sullied the car’s image – especially the pimped-up and luridcoloured examples.

Prices

While the GT has been seen going under the hammer at mid twenties at dealer-only events, you’ll not fi nd a retail proposition for less than £35,000 at the moment – and that for a 2003 model with upwards of 50,000 miles and several owners under its belt. Mainstream prices are around £40,000 for a 2004 example at a dealership, with generous spec and a tasteful colour combination (very important) and then climb all the way up to £85,000 for a 2008 model with under 10,000 on the clock. The trouble is that they’re shedding around £3,000 a month at the moment, so it makes more sense to buy an early car where the bulk of the depreciation is out of the way.