Beginning as racing machines in the first quarter of the last century, Bentley evolved through rather staid “also-rans” to Rolls Royce beloved of the rich and infamous to the modern iteration of the last 20 years or so. Despite the changes of ownership of these two archetypical British marques, both survived, have adapted to the tastes of their respective target markets and have produced winners. They are now though distinctly different from one another.
While Rolls has addressed the limousine market exclusively, Bentley’s atavistic inclinations towards its racing days led it to produce limousines with sporting muscle. When they were virtually indistinguishable from Rolls Royce, Bentley seemed a slightly less expensive choice, and that was all there was to it.
That has radically changed.
Arab News drove two extremes of the Bentley range, the beauty and the beast: the Mulsanne and the Continental Super Sport. The two cars could hardly be more different in character but share a sporting heritage.
The Mulsanne is an out-and-out luxury limousine with all the appointments of privilege. The Super Sport, though less generously appointed but to the same impeccable standard, is pure sports car and surprisingly road legal. What they also share is the ability to surprise the driver when flooring the accelerator.
The gracious Mulsanne, without demur, slips into a lower gear, and with the manners of a valet, firmly presses the driver into the seat as the 505 horsepower V8 delivers the torque through an eight-speed gearbox. There is almost no noise and absolutely no perception of gear changing. One stares with disbelief as the speedometer needle journeys round the dial at a crisp canter to way beyond the directives of the EEC traffic authorities.
Into a corner, and the earlier Mulsanne’s tendency to lean has gone — the chaps at Crewe have really sorted that one out. Hard braking produces a restraining “hand on the shoulder” feel from the seat belts, but that is it. The whole exercise barely rippled the sherbets on the rear drinks tray.
Swapping conveyances into the Super Sport, the whole feel and setup changes. It is rather like slipping on a body-hugging racing suit and as the door clunks shut, one feels integrated into the machine. Push the start button and instantly, the exhaust note from the 621 horsepower W12 48 valve engine announces the car’s potential with a very audible growl. Drop the suspension, select sport mode (a superfluous courtesy detail as this thing is a sports car even in comfort mode) and with a regal wave from the sales manager’s hand indicating “floor it,” the last thoughts of “fastest lorries” are left tumbling in the dust.
Bentley’s test driver described the Continental GT Super Sport as “scary” when he pushed it to the limits on the Nürburgring. Pressed, he mentioned that the cars was deceptive because it behaved so perfectly under pressure that driver concentration had to be at maximum when pushing hard.
The car literally howled away from the standing start snapping at the rev-limiter in seconds. As I dabbed the paddle-shift, the box flipped up instantly with a proper racing-car muffled explosion from the exhaust. No time to think about that as the world was shrinking to a small steady dot at the end of a blurred tunnel, as information of one’s progress came through very stiff suspension accompanied with a rumble and gritty ride.
Four more “pops” from the exhaust through 160 kph in a tad under nine seconds and on to near twice anyone’s legal limit, and heavy braking was called for to return to earth. On reflection, it was probably safer to brake than hit a tree, but the deceleration must be about the same. Ultra-grippy, sharp and zero fade carbon fiber-reinforced Silicon Carbide brakes — the largest and most powerful brakes ever made — demonstrated the main advantage of the braking lifestyle-choice; continuous consciousness, just.
Need one ask about cornering? With every attempt to make the beast slide, it shrugged off contemptuously. I suppose it can be done, but only by genetically modified test and race drivers.
Scary? Agreed! However, it is a unique Bentley and a real return to the marque’s origins where winning was everything and excitement was just part of the job description.
These two cars do, however, present a problem to the potential client: which one to buy? They are for very different characters. More than one client has made the sensible decision to buy both, obviously to satisfy the “inner boy.”
Good choice!
