Bentley Continental GT S First Drive Review: Fast and Luxurious Weekend Escape Pod

The 2027 Bentley Continental GT S is a quintessential aristocratic express. The design is distinctive and impressive without being imposing or aggressive. To the pilot’s pleasure, the driving experience can actually be described in largely the same way. It’s an incredibly capable machine and plenty fast for your ass, but composed and gentlemanly even when provoked.

Bentley has been wise to evolve the CGT slowly. The shape and silhouette are largely unchanged from the first-gen car—and they still look awesome, even if you’re more likely to see them on a buy-here-pay-here lot than a Country Club valet line these days. The Bentley coupe’s cockpit hasn’t changed all that much, either.

The powertrain, however, is considerably more sophisticated than the Bentleys of the past. When we reviewed the even more powerful CGT Speed, my colleague Cy Soliman called it “still exquisite as a hybrid.” I would even dare to take that a step further, at least in the case of this S model—it’s largely exquisite because it is a hybrid.

The Basics

The Continental GT comes in a few main flavors—the “base” car, the luxury-focused Azure, the high-output Speed, and the flagship Mulliner, which also has extra horsepower. This S model sits between Azure and Speed, with the sporty decorative flourishes of the two higher-hp models but not the engine tuning. Make no mistake, it’s still extraordinarily powerful.

With a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 and a 140 kW electric motor, Bentley claims this car puts out a combined 671 horsepower and 686 lb-ft of torque. Despite the steel-and-aluminum monocoque coupe weighing a chonky 5,421 pounds, the 0-60 time is a sizzling 3.3 seconds, with a top speed of 191 mph.

But straight-line speed isn’t even the Conti GT S’ real party trick. That would be the supremely serene way in which the car glides over asphalt and around corners. For that, we can thank the vehicle’s air suspension, advanced twin-valve dampers, variable-ratio all-wheel steering, aluminum double-wishbone suspension, electronic LSD, and all-wheel torque vectoring.

Driving

Whether you’re lurking through a parking garage, cantering over mountains, or hard-charging down an onramp, this car feels more like it’s floating than rolling. The level of isolation you feel in the cabin, even over New Jersey’s moon-crater potholes and in evasive maneuvers, is truly remarkable.

Put another way: If you’re looking for a visceral, feel-focused driving experience, this ain’t it. While something like a Lotus or Porsche provides extreme directness and communicative steering at the expense of comfort, the Bentley CGT goes wherever you point it, but the operative word is “effortlessness” rather than “engagement.”

Whether that’s a pro or con depends entirely on what you want your car to do. If you’re committed to driving as a sport and are charmed by a little vehicular harshness, you might be better off in something lighter. If you want to be able to make a sketchy pass around local traffic at 110 mph without unsettling the foam on your cappuccino, make your way to a Bentley.

It does feel plenty fast when you really step on the throttle. But where hardcore performance-oriented cars make you feel like a heroic warrior, this one kind of makes you feel like a god—steaming along unbothered, unhindered, and a mile above the fray at whatever pace you see fit.

When it’s time to reel the car in, 10-piston brake calipers clamp down on 16.5-inch front brake discs with an unbelievable abundance of stopping power. From any reasonable speed, even slightly unreasonable ones, the car can be pulled back quite aggressively with minimal nose-diving. You’d better hope all your passengers have their belts on before trying that—and if you haven’t finished that coffee, better hope there’s a lid on it.

When you’re not interested in hard-charging at all, you can actually move in complete silence thanks to the hybrid system, which makes 332 lb-ft of torque on its own. In fact, you can chill in electric mode for just over 50 miles when the battery’s fully charged. You might not be worried about gas prices if you can drop $300,000 on a car, but it’s still nice to be able to creep quietly when the mood strikes you.

How noticeable the vehicle’s hybrid system is depends entirely on your drive mode and style. Leaping into action from the eco mode, yeah, you’ll hear and feel the motor wake up and rush to attention. But the electric motors and gas engine harmonize melodiously in sporty modes—nothing is abrupt besides how quickly the horizon starts coming at you.

Speaking of songs—the exhaust sounds great, and my test unit didn’t even have the titanium Akrapovic exhaust option, which I don’t doubt is incredible. The Continental GT S does not use any computerized or fake exhaust enhancements whatsoever.

The eight-speed dual-clutch automatic is shiftable via the paddles, but I didn’t find the experience particularly satisfying. The car’s a little too isolated from the powertrain for shifting to be fun.

Design

The current Continental GT is pretty much perfect-looking, inside and out. The clean shape and sharp details exude elitism without the caricature vibe you get in some other vehicles at this ultra-expensive tier.

The midsized grille is great, and the haunches over the rear wheels are incredible. The whole rear quarter, really, is perfectly balanced and just awesome looking. The ten-spoke wheels are kind of whatever, and the headlights I’m a little conflicted on. The roundedness is pleasing, but the cat’s-eye turn signal is a little Ford Bronco-ish to me.

If you’re lucky enough to be in the market, choose your interior material and colors particularly wisely. There are some large interior surfaces that make or break the cabin’s look; my main test car had this huge sweeping skyline of shiny piano-black trim, which I did not care for at all. But some of the other cars had gorgeous wood, carbon, or interesting textured soft material. The bolder the better.

Finally, I love that the screen-off button removes the central screen entirely and replaces it with a trio of functional (but mainly decorative) analog gauges. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bentley goes back to analog for its main gauge cluster, too. Now that screens are no longer the realm of highline vehicles, the depth and elegance of old-school needles are coming back in vogue, after all.

Value

It’s silly to talk about “value” in a $300,000 car. Ultimately, the value proposition with a car like this isn’t “is it a good deal,” but rather, is it distinctive among other elite vehicles that cost this much, and I think the answer is yes. The Bentley Continental GT S has a personality that will be particularly appealing to some. If you think it looks cool and have the coin, the drive will certainly be enjoyable.

This Continental GT definitely has more presence than a big Mercedes or BMW. That said—and I hate to make Bentley’s talented engineers wince—but it’s not really that much better of a driving experience. In real-world driving, a $100,000 BMW 8 Series is also surprisingly spry for its level of luxury. Even the humble Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 ($90,000 neighborhood) delivers much of the same “sporty luxury” vibe for a fraction of the money.

But of course, Bentley doesn’t really speak to those looking for frugality in this frivolous category of personal coupes. And while a CLE more or less blends into traffic, arriving anywhere in a Continental GT is pretty much like bringing your own red carpet.

Verdict

The Continental GT S is very fast and very comfortable. But more so than a lot of other high-end machines I’ve driven, this car prioritizes a vibe over visceral engagement. It’s not just that it excites with speed or pampers with plushness—it creates a regal aura around the occupants that’s just a lot of fun to enjoy.

The Continental GT S feels fit for royalty. By extension, driving it makes you feel like a prince, regardless of whether you’ve earned that title. There are far cheaper ways to go fast, but the whole intangible experience of riding in a Bentley is hard to replicate.

Bentley provided The Drive with travel and accommodations, along with the use of a vehicle for the purpose of writing this review.

2027 Bentley Continental GT S Specs

Quick Take

Supreme luxury with a smooth ride at supercar speed.

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