2006 Bentley Continental GT Test Drive

The Younger, Hipper Bentley

Drive one and you'll be everybody's new best friend.

Exterior

1952 Bentley Continental R-Type + click to enlarge

Bentleys have always made emphatic style statements without shouting. Just look at the 1952 Bentley Continental R-Type, at right.

The new Continental GT upholds this tradition, with its bluff front end and  flowing fender lines that evoke earlier Continentals. Seen from the side, the GT looks as though it were cast from one metal ingot. If any part of the design is a letdown, it's the uninspired rear end and absence of past Bentleys’ long-hooded proportions.

A forthcoming Continental GT-based four-door sedan, the Continental Flying Spur, evokes the stretched-out style of its forebears and many industry insiders consider it more attractive than the coupe. Minor stylistic quibbles aside, the GT drew countless thumbs-ups and waves, with not one disparaging remark.