insideKENT Magazine Issue 29 - August 2014 | Page 135

The original Continental GT Convertible was an
amazing car, well received by all, and a true
testimony to the brilliance of Bentley. But the S
version we road tested takes this brilliance – to
put it in rock 'n' roll Spinal Tap terminology – at
least one louder.
My initial encounter with the GT V8S was magical
to say the least. I had arranged to meet
insideKENT’s Adam Ready at the wonderful
Clifftop Café in Capel-le-Ferne. Suffice to say
my anticipation levels for my meeting with this
legendary motoring giant (the car, not Adam)
were high.
As I drove into the car park, it was like a
particularly surreal moment from a romantic
fiction directed by J.J. Abrams. Suddenly I could
hear overdriven electric rock harps playing
melodiously. Everything else became blurred as
the only thing my astounded eyes were able to
focus on was the magnificent black shiny
convertible sitting on the clifftop, gazing out to
sea, gleaming brilliantly, and looking for all the

world how I supposed a car version of Batman
might appear. What other words could form in
my mind and on my lips than "Wow - what a
car!" Four simple words, that without a doubt,
sum up the GT V8S perfectly.
Kitted out in majestic onyx paint, with a dark
and sumptuous Beluga leather interior with
contrasting white stitching on the seats and
wheels; chunky 20" allow wheels sporting
stunning red brake calipers; dark tinted front and
rear lights; and embossed proudly with ‘Bentley’
for all to see, you can tell straight away there is
nothing shy and retiring about this car. To see
such a sleek, elegant body sitting low on the
road on such magnificent wheels gives the GT
V8S a fast and dangerous look, whilst also
retaining a cool, icy British reserve, taking it
forward in my mind from Batman, to Bond (which
is never a bad thing!).
Climbing into the car, you are rewarded with
immense comfort, and a more than generous
array of gadgetry, brilliantly designed to afford

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all the latest tech, but in a way very much in
keeping with Bentley's class and heritage. Our
model had a rear camera, very handy when
manoeuvring into a trick spot and retaining one's
laid-back demeanour (there could surely be no
more heart-stoppingly awful crime than dinging
a Bentley in a supermarket car park, after all).
The Bentley has a great sound system, which
continues to deliver most impressive noises with
the roof down. But to be honest, the sound from
that immense 4-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
engine, renders it almost pointless. Yielding a
staggering 521bhp, taking you from 0-60 in just
4.3 seconds (whilst causing your face to distort
wickedly as you simultaneous grin inanely and
allow your jaw to drop into your lap at the same
time), and with a top speed of 191mph, the
cherry on top of all this scrummy motoring
cakeyness is the intoxicating cacophony of noises
that utter viscerally from within, rendering the
driver and anyone else blessed enough to
experience it with the biggest ‘neck Mohican’
they are ever likely to receive.