Bentley Continental GT Azure: 'I drove a £250,000 supercar around Yorkshire for the day - I think it's worth the price'

Well, it’s not every day I drive a Bentley so I had to make the most of the opportunity of driving what I think is probably the most expensive set of wheels it has been my pleasure to look after.

This is a £242,300 supercar, the Continental GT Azure. A purple beast which is the epitome of power and luxury, a car which would actually be more at home on a racing track where its vast power could be properly deployed.

I say purple but Bentley call it Cricket Ball and say it is a deep red. I beg to differ. Definitely purple.

Mixed views on the colour: my car enthusiast mate Steve liked it although he blanched when I mentioned the near £10,000 bill such a colour would demand. I’d prefer silver or black, which would be cheaper.

But less of the colour, more of the power and the style. GT Continental Azure is as the name suggests a Grand Tourer and the Azure denotes it as a model which majors on luxurious comfort. A cocoon of exquisite craftmanship, as Bentley put it.

This is a 4.0 litre V8 which actually sounds quite tame most of the time. But press the pedal and it roars to life with the sort of purr which makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

It is poised and balanced when pushed but just as happy pootling around town. It is a supercar but it is also incredibly versatile.

It is billed as a four-seater but in truth those in the rear have to be small. Luckily Declan and Jude fitted well and kept their muddy feet of the cream upholstery.

It’s the detail which makes this car stand out. The stitching is sublime (although Clive rightly spotted the door seam didn’t quite match the dash seam) and the way the central display can be rolled at the touch of a button from three traditional dials to a more modern display is fantastic.

It’s what marketing types call a surprise and delight (sad) feature. Sad? Well, it impressed me.

This is a car which is easy to personalise. There are seven standard paint finishes, plus Bentley’s Extended Range, plus Mulliner’s range of premium finished. That’s 80 in total.

There are 15 upholstery colours to select from for the Nappa leather primary and secondary hides plus an array of high-gloss woods, open-pore woods and high-gloss painted veneers.

The test model had a “duo-tone cabin in Portland and Burnt Oak leather, with the centre console, door waistrails, and fascia finished in Open Pore Crown Cut Walnut veneer, and detailed with hand cross stitching by Mulliner in Burnt Oak”.

It is an incredibly comfortable car, more so than you might expect for a car with such power and performance.

It has brilliantly designed seats. The cabin has mood lighting and the car comes with a raft of features, most of which you might expect on such a high-end model such adaptive cruise control, night vision head-up display, massage seats and even an arm to fed you the seatbelt buckle.

The gears are stunning. It has an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and active all wheel drive. Electronic limited slip differential and torque vectoring keeps keener drivers than I on the straight and narrow.

It comes with a 12.3in central screen which can operate from gestures and it can operate Alexa-style with a Hey Bentley greeting.

It has lane guidance, cornering assist and remote park assist, but I must say it never feels intrusive.

Now the elephant in the room is the jumbo price: £244,300. Outrageous but is there a better car on the road for the money? It’s debatable.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi might say so but it’s a question of taste. I don’t think you could buy a better car but others may beg to differ. But Cricket Ball paint? I’d swap it for silver.

One point though. This car seemed to attract attention less than other Bentleys I’ve driven. Perhaps the purple is the choice of the more subtle millionaires?

Meanwhile, Bentley has revived its Supersports name for a faster, lighter and more focused version of its Continental GT.

For the move to the Supersports model, Bentley has ditched the Continental GT’s hybrid system, leaving the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 to its own devices.

The Crewe brand says that it produces 657bhp in total – down on the 771bhp in the hybrid Continental GT – while 800Nm of torque is also sent through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox directly to the rear wheels. This also represents a significant change from the all-wheel-drive Continental GT.

Bentley says that the Supersports will manage the 0-60mph sprint in 3.7 seconds before reaching a top speed of 192mph.

These powertrain changes are combined with carbon ceramic brakes, an Akrapovic titanium exhaust and 22-inch forged wheels to create a more purposeful version of the Continental GT. Bentley says that sticky Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres can be added as an option, too.

On the outside of the Supersport, you’ll find the largest front splitter ever fitted to a Bentley road car, alongside carbon fibre side sills and rear diffuser which, when combined with other aero elements, help to generate 300kg more downforce than a standard Continental GT Speed. There’s also a carbon fibre roof to help lower the car’s centre of gravity.

In total, the lightweight changes have helped the Supersports to shed nearly half a tonne over the standard Continental GT and Bentley says that it ‘will weigh less than 2,000kg’ overall.

The changes extend to the cabin, too, which is now strictly a two-seater configuration with two new sport seats set lower into the car for a sportier experience. Rather than housing seats, the rear of the cabin now gets a carbon fibre shell trimmed in leather.

To date, there have only been three previous Supersports models, stretching all the way back to the original ‘Super Sports’ of 1925.

This latest model will be limited to just 500 units worldwide, available to order from March 2026. Though Bentley hasn’t disclosed a price for the Supersport, expect it to cost in the region of £400,000 – a big increase on the standard GT’s £237,000 starting price.

Bentley Continental GT Azure: £244,300 as tested with extras such as the paint (£9,540); Naim premium audio (£7,350); contrast upholstery stitching (£5,835); 4.0 litre V8 engine generating 512bhp and a 140kW electric motor offering a combined 671bhp; Top speed 168mph and 0 to 60mph in 3.5 seconds; It can manage 53 miles in electric-only power; Emissions 29g/km weighted; Three years’ unlimited mileage warranty