{"id":3184,"date":"2026-02-03T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/?p=3184"},"modified":"2026-02-03T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T06:00:00","slug":"i-took-bentleys-396000-continental-gt-for-a-spin-heres-what-stood-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/?p=3184","title":{"rendered":"I Took Bentley\u2019s $396,000 Continental GT For A Spin \u2013 Here\u2019s What Stood Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Car journalist Lawrence Ulrich passes his expert verdict on the Bentley Continental GT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Bentley<\/div>\n

Ballers and brokers lavished bonuses on a British GT that was sexy, never stuffy, and drove like an armored sports car.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Say auf Wiedersehen <\/em>to that hand-built W-12, and Tag<\/em> to a Continental GT whose plug-in-hybrid V-8 \u2013\u00a0co-developed with Porsche \u2013 makes it faster and far more efficient. That leaves the Aston Martin Vanquish and Ferrari 12Cilindri as the only alternatives for buyers who crave the old-school croon of a twelve-cylinder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Bentley
\u00a9Bentley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 2026 Continental GT makes its competitive case on a winter-wonderland drive in New York<\/a>, dominating dicey roads with all-wheel-drive, rear-axle steering and the thundering hooves of its 4.0-liter V-8. The twin-turbo engine makes 512 horsepower, with an additional 188 from an electric motor linked to an eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission. The system\u2019s combined 671 horsepower and 686 lb-feet of torque sends the Bentley to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. That\u2019s despite a hybrid-stuffed curb weight of about 5,400lbs, or closer to 5,800 in convertible GTC form. Choose GT Speed or Mulliner versions, and output rises to 771 horsepower and 738 lb-feet, good for a 3.1-second sprint to 60 mph, and a 208-mph top speed.<\/p>\n

See also: Behind the Wheel of 007: Chris Corbould on James Bond\u2019s Auto Legacy<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Bentley
\u00a9Bentley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than ever, the Continental GT is a luxury locomotive minus the rails. The outside world silently bullets by, as passengers relax in a first-class cabin that Agatha Christie would kill for. Two passengers, that is, with rear seats largely limited to Hermes gift bags, or Bentley\u2019s set of striped Italian luggage designed for this fourth-generation GT.<\/p>\n

My GT coupe ticked enough bespoke boxes \u2013\u00a0with $107,000 in options \u2013 to boost its freight to $396,000. That included patterned aluminum trim, hand-engraved via a guilloche technique familiar from high-end watchmaking. Rich hides from unblemished Scandinavian bulls featured a shade called Burnt Oak. Organ-style chrome vent pulls remain a brand signature. A seemingly infinite choice of trims now includes slate of quartzite veneers, sourced from India and finished by Mulliner Division artisans in Crewe. Fellow drivers shower compliments on the Bentley\u2019s \u2018Cricket Ball Satin\u2019 paint. The matte plum color added $21,230, enough to buy a perfectly good, used BMW.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bentley\u2019s Rotating Screen flips to present three surfaces,\u00a0\u00a0including a striking set of knurled analog gauges. The digital side unfortunately reveals a prosaic Audi-based infotainment screen. The laggy, low-res affair, with preposterously bad voice controls, begs for an upgrade. Apple Car Play or Android Auto will work overtime here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Bentley
\u00a9Bentley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even on a so-so set of Pirelli P Zero all-season tires, the Bentley shoulders lesser cars aside, in 17-degree ambient temperatures. Saluting West Point Military Academy as we pass, the Bentley fires off aggressive V-8 cannonades. We rocket up Route 9W, overlooking the Hudson River where British and Revolutionary troops fought for strategic control. In the midst of this martial show, a 2,200-watt Naim audio system \u2013\u00a0among the finest in all autodom \u2013\u00a0alternately soothes and rocks the cabin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Have I mentioned this is still a plug-in hybrid? An electrified boost allows the Bentley to save energy, not just squander it. A 22 kilowatt-hour battery supplies up to 50 miles of purely electric range, which drivers can reserve via a console switch. Burbling into Manhattan, I toggle the Bentley into \u201ce-mode\u201d for an emissions-free sunset cruise down the West Side Highway. Plug in faithfully, and the Continental will handle local errands \u2013 a case of Krug here, a portfolio checkup there \u2013\u00a0as virtuously as any Tesla, only much quieter. We love a twelve-cylinder engine as much as the next man, but this Bentley represents progress.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Car journalist Lawrence Ulrich passes his expert verdict on the Bentley Continental GT.\u00a0 Ballers and brokers lavished bonuses on a British GT that was sexy, never stuffy, and drove like an armored sports car.\u00a0 Say auf Wiedersehen to that hand-built W-12, and Tag to a Continental GT whose plug-in-hybrid V-8 \u2013\u00a0co-developed with Porsche \u2013 makes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}