There are luxury cars and there are ultra-luxury cars, and in the world of the rich and famous, two names stand out from among the rest, historically. They are two companies with English roots that were once joined. These two shining examples of lavishness and quality are Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
While perceived as equals in luxury terms, Bentley leads the way for those who want a more performance-oriented castle on wheels. Those who want a race car attitude and a driver’s car personality within the cabin of their rolling epitome of opulence choose Bentley, and that makes sense, as Bentley was born with racing and winning on the track in mind.
WO Bentley and his brother, HM, founded Bentley and Bentley in 1912 and WO showed his innovation by developing the aluminum piston for automotive purposes in 1913.
By 1919, Bentley joined forces with several designers and created the first high-quality sporting tourer named Bentley. He chose to build the company name through competition.
Bentley competed and won a race at Brooklands in 1921, raced in the Indianapolis 500 in 1922, and won at LeMans in 1924 and again in 1927, establishing itself as a premiere performance vehicle before launching a supreme luxury car in 1930.
Other racing victories followed as have decades of building some of the most lavish and supreme luxury cars in the world. Along the way, Bentley has been sold and owned by such concerns as Rolls-Royce and Vickers, and the marque is currently under the Volkswagen umbrella. And they are still winning races at LeMans.
That history brings us to the Winged-B I tested, the 2007 Continental GTC – Grand Touring Convertible. Built in Crew Cheshire, England, this is a Hollywood car, a Beverly Hills and Palm Beach car.
The sticker says this is “Pure Passion. Bentley Style.” And one look at this beauty and you see the fit and finish of ultra-luxury. Inside, you experience stability and a solidness that only comes with a top-of-the-line automobile.
When you drive at 80mph – at the track, of course – you still feel as though you are doing 40, and at triple digits, the perception is that of going 60 or 65.
This is an automobile that embodies, class, style, sculpture, lavishness and raw power. At 5500 pounds, the Bentley Continental GTC demands power and the Winged-B badge hearkens back to its racing roots with an abundance of it.
Under the bonnet – the hood is a “bonnet” and the trunk is a “boot” as this is an English vehicle after all – is an impressive 6.0-liter Twin-Turbocharged 12-cylinder Bentley W-12 engine that thunders out a whopping 552 horsepower and 479 lbs.-ft. of torque. All that force will breeze you from zero to 60mph in a jet-propelled 5 seconds flat. I achieved a quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds and at speed, there is as much acceleration as I throttled out during Corvette Z06 and Mustang GT500 tests. You push the start button and you hear a throaty, proud engine purr. This is NOT a quiet engine, it calls to its power, but the ride inside is Bentley quiet, responsive and stable.
You DO pay for the power and weight with an EPA rating of 11/city and 18/hwy, but during my seven-day examination that took me to tracks, autocrosses, Pennsylvania interstate highways, Cumberland Valley country roads, borough streets, high-line restaurants and theaters, and even the Shippensburg High School prom, this driver’s car quietly gave me about 15.6 mpg.
Inside is where you’ll spend most of your time and the cabin is lavish and accommodating. The tan leather is the richest hide I have ever seen inside a vehicle. The Saffron and blue interior accents the Silverlake (light blue) and dark blue top exterior. Bird’s Eye maple inserts, lumbar message on both front seats, 4-zone climate control, DVD satellite navigation, 10-speaker audio, power steering wheel adjustments and lamb’s wool rugs just begin to describe the comforts.
Overhead you have quality cloth that willingly moves during the 25 seconds of entertainment you get watching the powered cloth top unfold and stow itself secretly beneath its deck.
Electronic stability control, ventilated disc brakes, brake assist, parking assist, roll-over protection, reinforced windscreen, 15.9-inch front brake rotors and 13.2-inch rear rotors connected to 20-inch 7-spoke alloy wheels covered by 275/40 ZR19 Pirelli P-Zero rubber. Superior air bag protection, continuous all-wheel drive and air suspension with manual driver adjustments for ride height and damper settings also help make this one of the safest rides on the road.
No car is perfect, and while the Bentley Continental GTC comes close, there are a few less-than-stellar attributes onboard. First, at 15.6 miles per gallon, it is NOT an economical car. However, most potential buyers are not concerned with gas mileage, and the 23.8 gallon gas tank makes for a cruising range of about 370 miles. There is no rear backup camera and Satellite radio is extra, but even at a price as tested of $203,405, this is one special car that is worthy of the ultra-luxury label ... and it is, above all, a driver’s car.
Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.
Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.
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