Because the very first Bentley to be launched after the model was acquired by the VW Group, the Continental GT was designed to be (comparatively) extra inexpensive and performance-oriented in an effort to enchantment to new, youthful potential prospects.
Bentley understood that they wanted to step away from their conventional type of full-size luxurious automobiles that targeted primarily on consolation and grandeur, and so the Continental received its GT-ness by combining the efficiency of a sports activities automotive with the opulence anticipated of a Bentley.
The posh coupe is presently in its third technology, and the newest addition to the Continental household is the 2022 GT Pace. Because the quickest manufacturing Bentley presently in existence you’ll be able to anticipate it to be nothing lower than spectacular, however what precisely is it like? Mat Watson from CarWow received behind the wheel of a elegant Verdant GT Pace with the deserted Comiso Air Base in Sicily as his playground.
The brand new Continental GT Pace isn’t vastly completely different when it comes to its exterior look. You possibly can actually request for just a few non-compulsory extras just like the Akrapovic quad tailpipe exhaust or the GT Pace styling pack that offers you carbon fiber trim, however aside from a barely greater set of alloy wheels and a smoked entrance bumper grille, the automotive stays principally unchanged.
Learn: Bentley To Shift Focus To Hybrid Continental GT, Quick Variations Take A Backseat
Contained in the GT Pace is the place you discover just a few extra particulars which might be distinctive to the automotive. A lot of the inside is wrapped in swathes of Alcantara, including to the sporty nature on which the Continental GT is alleged to seize. You’ll additionally get two-tone leather-based with diamond stitching on the bucket seats, in addition to some Pace logos to remind you that you simply’ve spent your cash properly.
Talking of spending cash, Bentley will all the time be very happy to drag out their lengthy checklist of non-compulsory extras in case you are within the temper to tick some choices and add on to the £209,000 ($289,000) price ticket. Nevertheless, whereas paying a further £6000 ($8200) for one thing as primary as adaptive suspension may really feel like slightly little bit of a ripoff, you’ll actually need to think about the non-compulsory carbon-ceramic brakes to cease your 2.3-ton chunk of British luxurious from flying off the street.
Bentley has carried out fairly a bit when it comes to bettering the best way the brand new GT Pace drives. Rear-wheel steering is now normal, and this helps the automotive not solely be extra agile round city, but additionally improves steering accuracy, which is able to come in useful if and whenever you determine to push the automotive round some tight corners. The steadiness management has additionally been altered, making the GT Pace slightly extra playful, with many of the energy being delivered to the rear wheels, which lets you ship the automotive sideways at will. Couple this with the electronically managed limited-slip differential on the rear axle, and also you’ve now received a luxurious drift automotive.
See: Bentley Needs To Make Leather-based Interiors Extra Environmentally Pleasant
The GT Pace comes with a 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 engine like that of the one within the regular Continental GT, solely this one has been tuned to supply 24 hp extra, giving it a complete energy output of 659 hp. This doesn’t do way more than cut back 0.1 seconds off the 0–60 mph (0–96 km/h) time and improve prime velocity by a mere 1 mph, however that 1 mph makes it the quickest sequence manufacturing Bentley in existence. And, apparently, that’s a prestigious title to have.
As talked about prior, many of the enhancements for the GT Pace has been targeted on drivability, and regardless that this automotive wouldn’t really feel as mild and nimble as most different sports-oriented machines, Bentley has carried out properly when it comes to bettering the best way the chassis balances the burden of the automotive and growing the accuracy of the steering. It’ll whip by the gears supplying you with the texture of an RWD automotive when in sports activities mode after which, in consolation mode, it would boring every part dulled down and you’ll float over the street in typical Bentley style.
In conclusion, as Watson suggests on the finish of his evaluate, in case you are available in the market for a massively succesful sports activities coupe mixed with all of the luxuries of a premium British automaker, the GT Pace is certainly a automotive to contemplate. And, whereas it’s unavoidably true that you’ll extra possible be spending a great handful of money on non-compulsory extras, cash shouldn’t be a priority anyway when you plan to personal a Bentley, proper?
