!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!London
Folkestone
Paris
Fontainebleau
Amboise
Le Mans
Le Touquet
Calais
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It’s^ an^ effortle
ss thing^ to^ drive^and^ sit^ in^ over
long^ distancesEnough^ roo
m^ for^ pos
h frocks^ an
d fancy^ ha
tsThe^ Conti^ prov
ided^ welcome^ he
atwave^ reliefUnderground
car parks can
be challenging
to negotiate
Bentley has a r
ichhistory at (^) Le M
ans
Westminste
r Hotel, Le To
uquet,
scene of (^) hig
h jinks (^) and all
sorts
Big wheels^ need^
breathing^ space
14 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 67
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I kept things relatively tame but
can absolutely see the GT’s potential.
And despite many tweaks to the
driving modes (Sport, Comfort,
Custom), I can confirm that ‘Bentley’
mode is the best. Cruising effortlessly
through forest-filled country roads
with the odd rond-point, I noticed the
GT’s intelligent coasting system kick
in a few times. Cleverly, the engine
and gearbox ECUs are linked to the
sat-nav, meaning the car selects a
gear and engine control based on the
road ahead, speed limits and so on.
For the next couple of days we
ambled from chateau to chateau
with only one grumble: amid a heat
wave, I returned to the car and was
greeted with the message ‘stop-start
engine fault, function unavailable’,
which then seemed to rectify itself
almost immediately. Talking of the
heatwave, the GT deserves a gold star
for the rapid efficacy of its air-con,
making the cabin a welcome retreat
on many occasions during our trip.
Onwards to the motorsport haven
of Le Mans. First stop was to see my
nine-year-old godson, who spent a
full 30 minutes looking at every line
of the GT. A post-dinner treat was
a brief demonstration of the GT’s
straight-line acceleration, which,
suffice to say, left him thrilled.
The next day we headed to the
Mulsanne straight, part of the
f a mou s L e Ma n s 2 4 -hou r t r a c k.
In case you don’t know the
connection, 96 years ago, at this
very place, WO Bentley refused to
watch one of his customers take part
because his cars weren’t designed
to race. The car set a lap record and
would have won had it not been for a
hole in the fuel tank. With Bentley’s
support, the marque won the next
year, 1924, and again from 1927-30.
Ours was a brief visit, and one
sadly done at a sedate speed, but the
thought of 1920s Bentleys tearing
down this strip was enough to thrill
this modern-day Continental driver.
After another chateau stay (yes,
it’s a tough life), our final sojourn
was Le Touquet and the Westminster
hotel, an art deco residence favoured
by the Bentley Boys, who escaped to
the seaside town from London for
weekends of revelry and gambling.
It was here that Jack Barclay (of the
Mayfair Bentley retailer) accrued
such a large gambling debt that his
mother had to bail him out before
banning him from racing and telling
him to focus on his car sales business.
I can’t say we did Le Touquet in the
fashion of the Bentley Boys, but it was
a charming place nonetheless and
satisfyingly close to Calais.
The overheight carriage gamble
d id n’t go qu it e a s smo ot h l y on t he
way home, by the way, although my
pidgin French got us the desired
result after some friendly debate.
S ome 180 0 m i le s l at e r, I ’d
happily do the trip – and more – all
over again. If you can ignore the
conspicuity and tight manoeuvring,
I can’t imagine a car more deserving
of its grand tourer title.
RACHEL BURGESS
BENTLEY CONTINENTAL
GT W12
Price new £159,100 Price as tested
£208,765 Economy 26.9mpg Faults None
Expenses None Last seen 7.8.19
TEST DATA
RESTRICTED VIEW
My favoured seating position
means there’s an annoying blind
spot around the right door mirror.
ACE AIR-CON
Possibly the most speedy, efficient
air-con I’ve come across. Perfect
for 40deg C-plus in France.
LOATHE IT
LOVE IT
was free car parking, but what I
didn’t know was that this hotel had
an underground car park with an
acutely narrow entry and exit. We
escaped unscathed but with plenty
of h a nd d i r e c t ion s f r om my c o - d r i v e r
and some enthusiastic horns from
delightful French drivers behind us.
The next run was towards the
heart of the Loire valley, on a mixture
of country roads and motorways.
Plenty of f lat, open lanes with great
visibility gave the perfect chance to
gently test the impressive dynamism
of which I’d been assured the GT is
capable, despite its heft – 2250kg
- and my anxiety at keeping a
£210,000 car pristine.