Bentley Continental GTC V8 and Flying Spur Hybrid: Why Bentley think they still make the best cars in the world
Hard times are still here and the car business is being battered but there is good news from two fine and proud British makers.
Both brands are owned by German companies, respectively Volkswagen and BMW, each of which is doing well with its own cars in Britain. Not so their peers at Jaguar, down 35pc, and Land Rover, down nearly 19pc.
I haven’t been through the regal portals of a Rolls-Royce this decade. Nor have I turned a wheel in the pricey new Range Rover to see if it gets nearer the charm of Bentley’s Bentayga, said to be the world’s biggest selling luxury SUV. On the day Bentley was announcing its sales record we were at the Crewe factory driving the new and lush Flying Spur Hybrid and a sonorous convertible Continental GTC.
The convertible was splendid in a glistening red colour called St James, repeated in a sporty red over black glossy veneer along the dashboard and interior panels. Price: £188,300 plus extras, some of which come as standard on family hacks — lane-keeping help, adaptive cruise control — anyway the end figure was £236,270. The muscle and music from the V8 engine is very satisfying. The quieter but just as quick Flying Spur Hybrid has a fuller standard specification at £223,400. A Naim hi-fi and posh Mulliner silver Breeze paint and a £290 phone pad took the bill to just over £236.000, or just shy of half a million for the pair, sir? It happens, read on.
It was a day of befuddling numbers and facts as we took the factory tour enjoyed by customers. The bodies and base engines come from Volkswagen Group in Germany and then go through a process of meticulous hand-building, checking and re-checking for perfection.
Leather comes from Scandinavian beef bulls and is tanned in Italy. Some models take 14 hides, that’s a lot of steak. Leftovers go to make garden gloves, key fobs and bijouterie.
Synthetic options are available and some use skins from winemaking. Wood comes from all over the place: Mississippi, Hawaii, Japan. There’s eucalyptus and varieties of walnut and wood you’ll never hear of. Stone is also an option. You can have your own tree made into veneers.
The woodworking process takes six weeks. The sewing shop is equally skilled, mostly by hand but machines embroider the winged flying B company emblem on to the upholstery. Exactly 4,771 stitches are sewn in six minutes. It used to be 4,760 but the 11 new stitches gave a clearer definition.
There are 62 standard body colours but that choice can be almost unlimited, as are the permutations of veneers, inlays, seats and custom builds. Someone said there are 39.2 billion, yes billion, possibilities.
Imagine the loaded Texan coming to see how his $189,000 Continental was progressing, casting a glance at a few “possibilities” and spending an extra $100,000 on the car. His wife was with him so he bought her a convertible. And a handbag in matching leather. Now let’s go home, honey…..
Really big money is spent on the bespoke Mulliner division’s very special models. With roots that can be traced back to before the birth of the motor car, Mulliner operates today as Bentley’s personal commissioning division. From special features and finishes to entirely new coachbuilt vehicles, the Mulliner name continues to represent the ultimate in Bentley luxury.
These include the Blower and Speed Six continuation models which are replicas of the Bentleys which raced in the 1920s. They won at Le Mans in 1924 and then another four in a row from 1927. They are eligible for historic racing, protecting the historic originals from the risks of crashing. A dozen of each, all now sold, went for £1.5m a copy. Sold, too, are a dozen roofless cars called Bacalar (£1.5m each) and 18 Batur coupe versions at £2m. Do the maths.
Figures like these support a happy team of 4,000 and a self-funded investment of 2.5 billion over the next 10 years, taking the brand electric. The first electric Bentley comes in 2026 and by 2030 there will be five electric models and, they threaten, no petrol engines. The factory is already carbon neutral. Solar panels supply 46 per cent of the electricity, rising to 84 per cent when the project ends.
Quote of the day from the shop floor: “Rolls-Royce makes a good car. We make the world’s best”.
Verdict: The future looks sweet.
Cars driven:
Continental GTC V8: engagingly powerful twin-turbocharged, 4.0 litre petrol V8 engine with 542 bhp and 568 lb ft of torque, acceleration to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 198 mph. Officially: 25mpg and 284g/m CO2. On our run: 20 mpg. It is 190 inches long.
Flying Spur Hybrid: uses a petrol twin turbo petrol 2.9 V6 and an electric motor giving 536bhp and 553 lb ft. The 0-60 time is 4.1 seconds with a maximum of 177mph. Fully charged you may get 25 electric miles and the stated economy is 85.6mpg and 75g/km CO2. On our drive 40mpg. It is 209 inches long.