03 Sep 07
I don't subscribe to the view that a car need only be fun to drive when driven at maximum attack. The way a fine sports car feels as its suspension loads up in a quick turn taken at meaningful but not maniacal speeds can be as enjoyable as feeling tyres slip as they reach and breach and ultimate limit of their adhesion. However much I crave pure sporting responses from a Bentley on the edge, I crave them even more from one driven at the rate most customers will drive their cars most of the time.
Don't misunderstand me: I both liked and admired the Continental GT Speed. I recognise too that it represents a substantial step forward on the standard car, enough with the Mulliner-trimmed interior (a £6,725 option on a non-Speed GT) to justify the extra £17,000 outlay needed to upgrade to the £137,500 Speed. I never wanted it to do more than it did when it was at its best, I just wanted it to do it more of the time.
The future is clearly glowing bright for Bentley. With production up from 1,000 cars in 2003 to a likely 10,000 cars in 2007, its business has never once looked rosier in the 88-year history of the marque. But when Bentley comes to replace the Contental GT I, for one, will be looking for the marque to make the next big step with a car that's lighter, more agile and responsive, and if that meant it could afford to be less powerful too, I'd have no problem with that. I won't be the first to note that it's not what you have that matters, but what you do with it that really counts.
The Speed has so much it's barely believable, but until it's able to be used more of the time, its true potential will remain unrealised.
