► You drive our Bentley Continental GTC
► This or an Aston Martin DB12 Volante?
► Read month 4
With a rich and varied car-owning history behind him, Gareth Morgan recently found himself in the enviable position of choosing a ‘pinnacle car’ – an indulgent purchase that’ll likely prove his four-wheeled high-water mark. He tried all the contenders, including the Continental GT, before buying an Aston Martin DB12 Volante.
‘I’ve had all sorts of cars, including 911s, an F-Type, an Audi RS5, a little Clio Cup and a Merc SL350, and I raced a Golf GTI,’ says Gareth, who’s been reading CAR since he was in his 20s.
‘Last year I decided I wanted a grand tourer. I test drove them all, including a Continental GT V8 coupe, which I loved. I also drove a Ferrari Roma, which wasn’t going to work: tight on space, fiddly controls, a footrest halfway up the transmission tunnel and a set-up I found twitchy just U-turning in the wet… The 911 Turbo S Cabriolet was impressive but when you look in the mirror it could be any 911 – that didn’t feel right.’
And what of the new generation of GT contenders, like Audi’s electric e-Tron GT or BMW’s M3 Touring? ‘For me the clue’s in the name: grand tourer. It’s got to be grand. No one ever played Bond music driving an electric Audi through the Alps.’
To the rousing strains of Monty Norman’s immortal theme, Gareth and I jump in the Conti GT, drop the roof and head into the closest thing Rutland has to mountains.
‘I love this thing to bits. It gives you everything; the comfort, the wow factor, the torque, the power… The seats are way comfier than my Aston’s, it has the air scarves which my car doesn’t, and the exhaust sounds much better than mine. But the steering’s not as nice; it’s duller, even in Sport. In the DB12 you think and it jinks – it’s much quicker to change direction. But I do like the Bentley engine; it’s so strong low down.’
We’re soon flying between blurred summer hedgerows, Gareth’s confidence in the car obvious in the way he’s powering through corners. ‘I love the feel of it when you do that – the torque pushing you through.’
So, Gareth, how come you arrived in the DB12 this morning and not a Conti GT? ‘It’s just not as sharp as the Aston,’ he explains. ‘Even in the sportiest mode you still feel the weight and a reluctance to really bite on turn-in. My Aston feels like a go-kart next to this. It’s like the Bentley doesn’t want to be hurried, and I’m not quite ready for that. Maybe in another 10 years. For now, I want something I can play around in.’
As does Andy Cordial. A successful business owner, Andy’s long had his eye on a Continental GT. Today that ambition may well acquire critical mass. ‘It’s almost like you’re inside the V8!’ smiles Andy as we get moving, the S’s bass-heavy woofle working its magic inside 300 yards.
We’re in Sport, and to illustrate the bandwidth in the adaptive dampers I switch to Comfort while we’re still pattering over rough village tarmac. ‘Suddenly it’s like a different car,’ notes Andy.
Out on the open road, we round a tight left-hander to see the tarmac run arrow-straight for half a mile. A dip into the V8 S’s vast reserves and we warp to the next corner in moments, the V8’s rich, bassy tones washing over us like warm surf. ‘It’s just effortless, isn’t it?’ grins Andy. ‘There’s real oomph as soon as you want it, and I love how much more responsive the engine and gearbox are in Sport. I like that it firms the steering, too – feels good. It’s got it all, really. You can throw it into corners on a road like this, but you’ve also got massage seats for those long motorway drives. I’m impressed.’
With every mile I sense Andy falling harder for the Bentley. ‘It’s so, so lovely. I wouldn’t want to get out of it. Any excuse, the merest hint of a sunny day, and that’s it, I’d be gone for as long as I could get away with!
‘The itch really needs scratching now. I knew it’d be a sumptuous Sunday driver, but I wasn’t expecting the agility and the performance. I underestimated it, no doubt.’
Logbook: Bentley Continental GTC V8 S (month 3)
Price: £227,100 (£282,745 as tested)
Performance: 3996cc twin-turbocharged V8, 542bhp, 4.1sec 0-62mph, 198mph
Efficiency: 22.6mpg (official), 24.0mpg (tested), 284g/km CO2
Energy cost: 35.0p per mile
Miles this month: 782
Total miles: 3725