Bentley Continental GT Speed gushes with elegance, power and sheer class

BENTLEY The Bentley Continental GT Speed packages a 600-horsepower engine in a wood-paneled, leather-trimmed luxury coupe. Imagine you're watching Olympic track and field, and the 100-meter dash is coming up. One of the sprinters, a favorite to win the gold medal, is lined up in the starting blocks wearing a fancy tuxedo. As the starting gun goes off, he explodes off the line, quickly pulls away from the competition, and, as expected, takes the gold. That's about the best description we can offer for the Bentley Continental GT Speed. Pure elegance and raw power.

Bentley leaves no detail untouched by high classiness. There's a Breitling clock in the center of the dash (sort of like that sprinter wearing an expensive watch). The buttons on the dash are made of high-quality metal, no chintzy plastic here. Even the vent controls are special — chrome knobs that push and pull and add another bit of bling. The rich, supple leather reminds you of the stuff you would see in the wood-paneled sitting room in a country estate.

The world-class speed is derived from a 12-cylinder 6.0-liter twin turbo engine that makes 600 horsepower and 553 pounds-feet of torque. Bentley says the GT Speed has a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds. There is an air suspension with manual driver adjustment that controls the ride height and damper settings, which only enhance the thrill factor of the GT Speed's ride.

Options for the test drive model included lumbar massage for both front seats, an embossed Bentley nameplate to the seat facings and a Mulliner alloy fuel-filler cap. The test drive model had a total sticker price of $210,795.