The Opinion: Bentley Continental Supersports

So, you currently own a 600bhp Bentley Continental GT Speed. What is the last thing that is likely to go through your mind? The answer is MORE speed. Power in the Supersports is upped to 624bhp and the car is lightened considerably to increase the agility of the big Bentley. If I am brutally honest I have struggled with this concept since I first heard about it, but I was also intrigued and ready to be proved wrong. What I really wanted to know was in what situation this car excelled, more to the point in which situation this car was better than the other weapons that I could lay my hands on for this kind of money.

The good bits:

I was fortunate enough to pick the car up on a wet and windy winter’s morning, which as it turned out were the perfect conditions to display its talents. I had been wondering what to compare this car to, was it going to be raw like a GT3 or a Scuderia or softer and more Bentley like? The truth is in most cases it provides a great balance for road driving.

The kind of road driving I put it to was indeed the perfect showcase, where normally one would be nervous putting 624bhp on the road, the Bentley was the perfect tool to take advantage of gaps in traffic and make haste. The car never feels like it is going to bite and provides an immense amount of grip. In short, it works with you, even if it doesn’t provide the ultimately satisfying sparring partner that a GT3 would.

The alcantara trimmed wheel feels tactile; it isn’t too thick and gives a modicum of ‘feel’ despite the power being put through all four wheels. This is especially good as the car will even steer on the throttle up to a point.  I have written in my notes that the car is ‘quite quick’ and I suspect this is a bit of an understatement, it does feel usefully quicker than a normal GT Speed.

When it comes to performance it is also worth mentioning the Ceramic Brakes which I am increasingly coming to like. Not only are they fade resistant but they now are easily modulated from cold and as easy to use as their more conventional counterparts.

The bad bits:

So, it can’t all be perfect can it? The first problem is a pretty big one for me at least. I like to sit in a car rather than ‘on it’ and the seat is set far too high and with no adjustment vertically. Its not the end of the word but it sets one off on the wrong foot from the start.

The seats pose another problem, the ride at low speed is poor, (although it settles down with speed) and the seats amplify this, they are just too hard core for a Bentley, even a Supersports in my view. If there was an element of ‘seat comfort’ it would go a long way to nullifying the low speed jolts.

The gearbox it a controversial issue, I suspect I am in a minority to dislike the artificial ‘pop’ that you now get with an aggressive up-shift on current generation double clutch and sporting automatics. second to third in the Supersports I found to be particularly annoying. It is worth pointing out that this is a very good gearbox, I would just like to see a change in the software.

Overall:

I came away from the car thinking that it was pretty good. It is true to say that it was not as quick to change direction as other lightweight supercars, but then it is silly to consider this in their mould.

The biggest issue for me is the seating, I was not comfortable for the hours that I spent in the car, never mind if I wanted to take it touring. And that is the point, this is still a GT car, which you can now take on the track, not vice versa and that is why it should still cosset.

P.s. The good news is later cars got ‘normal’ adjustable seats.

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