2023 Bentley Continental GT Speed

When it comes to luxury, many will think of Mercedes or BMW, but in its purest form, this ideal is best embodied by the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. The Bentley Continental GT Speed proves that refinement need not be limited to opulent comfort and a list of features longer than your arm. This luxury sedan offers effortless performance courtesy of a twin-turbo W12 engine that thrums with 650 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. But, this isn't your run-of-the-mill grand tourer, as a sharper suspension, rear-axle steering, and a torque-vectoring rear differential give it a more playful attitude, allowing you to enjoy the experience of driving just as much as the experience of being driven around. Competing with the likes of the Aston Martin DB9 and Maserati GranTurismo Sport, the 2023 Continental GT Speed stands out for the way it seamlessly combines performance with impeccable taste and refinement.

The MSRP price for a new Bentley Continental GT Speed is a whopping $288,500, which doesn't include the $2,725 destination fee in the USA. However, you can expect the final product to cost a lot more, as Bentley doesn't include a lot of the desirable features as standard. This is a build-a-car experience where you choose exactly how you customize your GT Speet to suit your tastes.

Not all ultra-luxury cars are meant to be driven, or rather, that is to say, the most enjoyable experience in a Bentley or Rolls-Royce is often found in the back seat. This is not the case in the Continental GT Speed. The impressive number of systems put in place to ensure an engaging and exciting driving experience proves as much. These include one of the best all-wheel drivetrains in the world and a smart torque-vectoring rear differential that can send as much as 97% of the torque to the rear wheels. You also get rear-axle steering, which means you can put all that torque to use in the most accurate way possible. A car this big and this powerful shouldn't be so light on its feet, but we aren't complaining.

In typical Bentley fashion, the rear seats are still a great place to spend your time during a trip. The suspension may be tweaked to improve performance and handling, but it still soaks up bumps without so much as a stutter, and the cabin is perfectly isolated from the humdrum noises of the real world as you are cossetted in the lap of luxury. Of course, if the driver is putting the W12 through its paces, you are going to hear it, though it is far from an unpleasant soundtrack.

There is a Bentley for almost every taste and need, and while this may not be a Mulliner, the Bentley Continental GT Speed is still an ultra-refined, aesthetically pleasing, luxurious, and refined cruiser. But, where it does stand out is its incredible performance and improved handling. It truly lives up to the GT name, combining every element that Bentley has mastered into one excellent product. Of course, you pay through the nose for the experience of driving one, but we are likely to see fewer combustion engines in years to come and we know the W12 is on it's last legs - this is then the last year this model is going to be in production. So, in review, the Bentley Continental GT Speed is a one-of-a-kind product that is going to be even rarer in the future. If you have ever dreamed of owning a luxurious land barge that can give most M series BMWs or AMG Mercs on the road a beating, now may be your last chance.

There are technically two trims in the GT Speed range, but the convertible configuration is reviewed separately. In either case, it is entirely up to you how you spec it. Bentley offers a mostly blank slate, for better or worse, and you tick the boxes for the tech and styles that appeal to you. Were we to humbly weigh in, we'd recommended upgrading the sound system to either the 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen or the exceptional 20-Speaker Naim setup. The Bentley Rotating display is also a nifty piece of technology that is bound to impress passengers.