Bentley Continental GT V8 S: The Definitive Grand Tourer
The argument about which car is the world’s definitive grand tourer tends to end the moment someone asks anyone who has actually driven a Bentley Continental GT across a long distance. The answer arrives quietly and without drama, exactly as the Continental GT does everything. At Vegas Auto Gallery, it is the car we point to when a client says they want one car that does everything well and does it every day.
The Twin-Turbo V8 Case
Bentley offers the Continental GT with both a W12 and a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8. The V8 S is not a compromise. The twin-turbo V8 produces around 542 horsepower in the GT and offers a character distinct from the W12 — lighter over the front axle, slightly more alert to the driver’s inputs, and capable of a sound on overrun that the W12, for all its magnificence, does not match. The eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive with rear-wheel-drive bias make the V8 S feel athletic in a way the W12 does not prioritize.
Cylinder deactivation drops the V8 to four cylinders at cruise, reducing consumption without the driver noticing any change in refinement. The Continental GT will return the kind of fuel economy on a motorway run that surprises people, given what it is capable of when called upon.
The Interior That Takes Weeks to Build
Bentley’s Crewe factory employs craftspeople whose sole function is the interior of a Continental GT. The diamond-quilted leather is cut, stitched, and fitted by hand. The veneers are bookmatched across every surface. The open-pore wood on the door cards and fascia takes days to finish. There are roughly 10 hides of leather in the cabin of a Continental GT, and each one is chosen to match the others in texture and tone before it is cut.
- Twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, approximately 542 horsepower
- All-wheel drive with rear-wheel-drive bias character
- Hand-stitched interior assembled over many days in Crewe, England
- Bookmatched veneer and hand-selected leather throughout
- Cylinder deactivation for long-distance efficiency
The Continental GT is the car Nick Dossa returns to when the conversation turns to what makes a car truly usable at a high level. It is not a weekend-only proposition; it is a daily driver that happens to be one of the most beautiful and capable grand tourers ever built. See it alongside the full Rolls-Royce and Bentley collection at Vegas Auto Gallery, and explore the case for a pre-owned Continental GT as one of the best value propositions in the exotic market.
No car resolves the tension between performance and luxury more completely than the Continental GT. The V8 S is the version that adds the word ‘driver’ to that sentence.