Bentley Continental GT S review

As the roads open up, so the Conti starts to charm. All-wheel steering is standard, with chassis guru Markus Thiel (a name to watch) explaining you shouldn’t feel the technology itself, only its benefits. I appreciated the eager, elegant turn-in, it shrinks around the driver and is an agile, responsive steer that puts you at ease despite its enormous 2350kg kerbweight.

The steering has a meaty, ‘Bentley’ feel, trading Porsche fingertip delicacy for a more elbows-out approach. It’s in keeping with the car’s character. The ride’s in-town shimmers soon fade, traded for a planted, assured feel with superb body control. There’s no float or wallow, yet it still breathes with the road surface.

Active roll control is part of the secret sauce here, says Thiel. It’s not rigidly roll-proof, so there is some lean, but it’s managed to feel as natural as possible. Active all-wheel drive and torque vectoring mean there is little trace of understeer, despite the island’s delightfully relaxed attitude to speed limits.

Deep into the Mountain course and the V8 is doing its thing. It’s a charismatic engine, with a mechanical blare under load and a thunderous soundtrack during overtakes. To me, not having that extra 100bhp means more opportunity to dig into all the torque and devour the revs accordingly. Apparently, some W12 diehards are resisting the switch to V8 hybrid; my advice is to try one.

There are sharp corners following long, long straights, and the (£14,000) carbon ceramic brakes quickly shed 100mph with monstrous efficiency. The pedal is a bit too firm, though. Factor in a touch of travel near the top, plus the battery regen’s weird habit of physically moving the pedal, and it’s easy to snatch them at lower speeds.

Then the drive back to base. In town it feels lush, with absolute refinement and a more cushioned ride than you’d expect.

And is there a finer GT cabin? Yes, it shows its age, but in today’s touchscreen-obsessed world, that is no bad thing. Give me tactile button overload every day. With pillarless windows adding a panoramic feel, it’s a lovely place to glide around in.

Hybrid adds to the experience, not least because it future-proofs that engine. There’s almost a decade until it’s theoretically ‘banned’, and I’d put money on legislators seeing sense after that 2035 deadline, too. And there’s up to 50 miles of electric driving.

If this is a taste of more sporting Bentleys to come, I look forward to the next. Andrew Frankel assured you Bentley was in safe hands with Frank-Steffen Walliser – who revealed it could become ‘maybe even more sporting than it is now’. This S is not only a step in that direction, but the best Continental GT you can buy.