Bentley Continental GT review

Back in 2021 when the last generation Conti GT Speed arrived, complete with 650bhp W12, it cost £210k. All things considered the uplift to £236,600 for this new 771bhp hybrid GT Speed isn’t bad value considering the extra chassis tech and dynamic polish. The GTC Speed is £259,500.

There are two basic trims, Speed (dark trim, a more menacing mien) and Mulliner which is more lux-exuberant and gets a diamond chrome grille. The equipment specs differ between them but the performance and chassis are the same so they're no different to drive.

But that’s not what justifies the outlay in the first place. Which is the indulgent options list and speccing potential. You can go very deep into the colour, trim and materials here. Fancy going on the Bentley website configurator? See you in a week.

And that’s without disturbing the Mulliner department. This is Bentley’s ‘anything is possible’ area and it’s getting busier and busier. Apparently 75 per cent of buyers are now doing something with Mulliner to add a further touch of luxury and uniqueness to their cars.

All of which means that Bentley buyers likely don’t care a jot about what the final figure is at the bottom of the invoice, rendering the list price broadly irrelevant.

And, we must assume, the running costs. Run it without plugging in and you'll do well to get 20mpg. You'll never bother with public charging because the cost per mile on that electricity is close to that on petrol. Home charging – doubtless many Bentley drivers have their own solar panels – makes sense. On a sample mixed rural route starting with a full battery and ending with it flat, we did nearly 50mpg over 50 miles.

But this new Conti GT won’t always cost the likely £280-300k it will be once specced to the nines. It will depreciate over time. And make someone a very good buy in 5-10 years time. Because they’re built in decent numbers, 10-year-old cars are down around the £40k mark. That’s for the older Mk2 cars. The 2018 Mk3s currently seem to be holding their values much better. We must assume this one will follow suit.