The Beautiful Bentley Continental GT Speed

I’d arrived on a sunny morning luckily, and was able to see the Bentley sat glistening in the sun, in all its glory. What a stunningly beautiful car it is too.

I was as excited to see it as I was about the Rolls-Royce Phantom that I’d reviewed earlier. I’d looked forward to seeing it for weeks.

This isn’t your average fast car by any means and just because it’s a ‘tourer’, don’t be fooled into thinking that this is a fat, heavy, wallowing, but ‘quick’ car. Oh it’s far, far from that. It encompasses being a comfortable, elegant tourer, loaded with all the gadgets to keep your journey as easy and tireless as possible, with being a continent munching beast and supercar, all at the same time.

As soon as I arrived to see the Bentley, it was already obvious that it was a lot more focused on the job than the normal Continental GT. The beautiful front grille is sat at a steeper angle, and its ‘mouth’, the front air intake, is wider. These all work towards the car having more air forced into it, cooling the engine and helping those twin turbos to breathe better.

It may be a trick of the imagination, but the car looked lower too. Maybe it’s those huge 20 inch, 13 double-spoke alloys, with their (very) low profile tyres.

I’ve been a passenger in, and driven, quite a few fast cars in the past. One of the most luxurious and quick was the Mercedes SL55 AMG. Speed, grace, power and great handling, all rolled into one. Well, this Bentley just blew it away. In all those categories.

Whichever angle you look at the GT Speed, it never fails to impress. Low, purposeful, sleek, expensive. These are some words that, when I ask, people use to describe it. It doesn’t need to move as it looks like it’s travelling at speed even when sat still.

After I’d admired the car for quite a while, I was ready to hear it running. That’s one thing that frustrates me at motor shows. I always view a car that is sat there, for all to see and touch, whether it’s a race car or a supercar, as a stuffed (and very obviously dead) lion. It’s okay to see it, the size of the beast, its flipping massive teeth and claws, but really we all want to see the real, live animal, roaring and tearing across the landscape in its natural habitat.

So I waited impatiently for it to be started. When it fired into life, I was frankly startled. The noise doesn’t seem to match the looks. It’s an elegant car. The sound exiting from the two exhausts at the rear, and from the engine, is far from elegant. Not that I’m complaining. It’s a welcome break.

Nowadays, companies seem to be making their cars quieter and quieter. Take Porsche for example. I love Porsche’s. They’re a real drivers car, and involve you greatly. But start one (this doesn’t include the GT2 and GT3), and the sound they emit – well, it just isn’t there. Even after you give it a bit of a boot, it still doesn’t satisfy the ear drums.

With the Continental GT Speed however, I can say to Bentley, well done sirs! What a sound. It burbles away nicely while at tickover and the noise makes you smile. Any petrolhead would be more than pleased with it in fact. When it had warmed up, we were stood around the engine bay and I decided to wind the owner up by saying the engine sounded tappity. I’m glad I did really, as he demonstrated that I was completely wrong by flooring the accelerator. It’s rare that I nearly sob over the sound of a car, but I did on this occasion. It is one of the best stock (if you can call this engine that) engine sounds that I have ever heard.

It started out as a low burble, then turned into an angry, throaty sound, mixed with those twin turbo’s sucking in everything around them. Trees, dogs and even whole fields were all pulled into the Bentleys induction system, never to be seen again. I’m going slightly over the top there, but that’s how it felt. After letting off the accelerator, the exhausts pop and crackle. This is how a performance car should sound. There’s no need for after-market exhausts, there’s just a need for more slightly-insane design engineers at the factories.

Sliding inside the car, the interior is superbly well made, and makes it feel like the £145,000 ($211,000) it costs. This one has the Mulliner, (a specialist division), interior which is only available on the GT Speed and not the normal GT. Mulliner hand make the entire interior. You can choose, among a huge list of options, whichever combination of stitching colour, door trim and (very deep) carpets you want.

Pulling out onto the road, the GT Speed’s power delivery is smooth and refined. But push that right foot down hard and this beast will nigh-on snap your neck. The engine delivers instant power at any point on the rev counter and turbo lag is non-existent.

Getting this 2.3 tonne car to 60 mph in just over four seconds (4.3 seconds for pub ammo talk), is a six litre W12 engine producing 600 bhp and 553 lb-ft of torque. They are insane figures. Just to put this in context a bit more, your average 2 litre petrol family car produces around 140-150 bhp and will make sixty mph in around 8 or 9 seconds. So look back above at the Bentley’s figures, rub your eyes all you want, but they’re not going to change. Even more crazy is the 202 mph top speed. And believe me, when this car is accelerating you know full well it will hit that magical 200 mph.

It doesn’t wallow or heave itself around the twisties either. Thanks to the excellent four wheel drive system, it’s composed and handles well. In fact unless you look down at the needle, which I don’t recommend on a tight bend, you won’t really notice the ridiculous speed you are going at.

The surge in speed pushes you way back into those incredibly soft-but-firm seats. Those lovely seats aren’t going to do anything for you under heavy braking however, as you will struggle just to hold your eyes and other facial features in place. Some people complain of a lack of braking power. To them I say, go get a doctors note for a reality check. This is a 2.3 tonne car for goodness sake and those 8 piston calipers provide more than enough stopping power, no problems at all. I didn’t soil my pants and, as I set any car’s braking system by this wholly scientific method, they must be okay!

In this car, Bentley have made something almost unique. A luxury touring car that handles well, eats continents for breakfast and will make you throw your continental breakfast back up, should you be inclined to put that accelerator to the floor. I love it, and I love Bentley for building it.

Now, if I can just get the money together for one…

All photos taken with a Nikon D90 DSLR

Part 2 - The Drive

Ah yes. The drive. Something I’d really been looking forward for a long time. How often does a person get to go in a Phantom on the road? Not very often is the obvious answer.

I’d only seen the car to photograph and sit in for the first part of the article. This time I’d come back again for the ride. You know when you’re a kid, and you know you’re going on holiday the next day, you get that feeling in your stomach and it’s hard to sleep? That’s exactly how I felt the night before. This was something special. Even non-car lovers like this Rolls-Royce. It’s the sheer presence of it that does it for them.

When I arrived, the Phantom was still parked up in the garage, so whilst waiting, I took the time to take some photographs of another of the owners cars. A Bentley Continental GT Speed. Nice, but that’s for another article altogether.

As I walked over to the Rolls-Royce, the owner was unplugging it. Apparently it’s to keep the battery charged when it’s not being used. There’s a lot of electrics on the car, so the battery needs to be kept topped up. After being unplugged, the car was driven out into the bright, warming sunlight. What a day for a drive out. After weeks of dull, cold and rainy weather, finally a warm and sunny day. Rare weather for March, as rare as a Phantom is in fact.

While the car was sat, waiting for the engine to warm up, I took the chance to take in the Rolls lines. For me the huge grille, including the Spirit of Ecstasy, is the single most striking part of the car. It reflects the past cars that Rolls-Royce have been producing for over 100 years now. It is a mark of power, wealth and a benchmark for luxury that other high-end car manufacturers try (and fail) to attain.

By now the Phantom’s huge engine was warmed up and ready to take its passengers on the most luxurious drive of their lives. For this car, I was a passenger. It’s the way to travel in a Rolls. You don’t drive, you are driven. It gives you time to take in the surroundings that you are sat in. Besides, I wouldn’t want the responsibility of driving this massive behemoth as it’s worth a cool £265,000 without optional extras. I’d definitely drive it on a closed road, but as this drive would take place amongst everyday drivers I’d be sat in the back of the Phantom. Battered old Ford Escorts and Daewoo Lanos’ were flying about on the roads, and their drivers were clearly the type of people that, judging by the amount of dents and scrapes on their cars bodywork, wouldn’t wait about if they did hit another car.

I stepped into the rear of the car, sinking into the soft leather of the seats. Pressing a button on the inside of the car near the C pillar’s quarter light shuts the door promptly and quietly. There’s no engine noise to hear. It’s spookily silent and it feels almost as if the car is floating, maybe that’s why it’s called a Phantom. It certainly fits.

Acceleration is hushed, and rather than the usual feeling you get when accelerating in a ‘normal’ car, it’s a hurried along kind of speed, a graceful fast walk instead of a run. Typical of Rolls-Royce in fact. This doesn’t mean that the Phantom is slow by any means though.

It has a 6.75 litre V12 engine with 450 bhp and 530 lb/ft of torque, which takes the car to 60 mph in just 5.7 seconds. Not bad considering it weighs in at over 2.5 tonnes. It has a governed top speed of 149 mph.

However, these figures are all irrelevant to the buyers of these cars. One doesn’t enquire of ‘performance’ at a dealership. It’s out of the question, sir! It’s all about the ride. And what a beautiful ride. This is a continent busting car. Entire countries could be devoured beneath its massive tyres, without so much as it batting an eyelid (or light). The comfort level is beyond belief.

You are sat back behind the quarter light of the C pillar, so that you are away from the prying eye of the public. 1920’s and ’30s art deco style with a modern twist surround you, from the interior lights right down to the storage compartments in the doors. The white leather and piano black panels of this car match perfectly.

Being swept along in the Phantom, you are very aware of the reactions of other people. There are generally two types of reactions. One is that they stare in awe, mouth agape and slightly smiling. The other is purely of either jealousy or a mixture of hate and anger. They see the car, and know it’s there (at 19 feet long it can’t really help being noticed, poor thing), but they turn their heads fully the other way, not even looking straight ahead, but to the side.

Whatever, I’m sure if they were offered the chance of a ride in one they wouldn’t turn it down, and if they did they’d have to be mad to. For it is, as many people describe it, the best car in the world.

It’s a pure breed Rolls-Royce (ignore that the engine is German). It’s a hand-built, custom car that, true to the companies history, provides the most exotic luxury available, topped off with the best drive and and ride around today.

If you ever get the chance, beg or borrow, but please don’t steal, a go in a Rolls-Royce Phantom. You won’t ever forget it.

Rolls-Royce website

All photos taken with a Nikon D90 DSLR

Z Cars Racing Mini

No, this article isn’t about that popular British 1960s and ’70s police drama. It does have a very slight connection to the topic though.

Z Cars is a car tuning company with a difference. Based in Aldbrough, East Yorkshire, Z Cars was opened in 1996 by owner Chris Allanson, aged 50. Chris, who was a police officer for 26 years, has been building cars in their various forms since he was 20. In 1996 however, He decided to open Z Cars, and has never looked back.

The Z Cars factory in Aldbrough, East Yorkshire

Mini’s are a Z Cars speciality. Most people have owned a Mini at some point in their lives and probably will remember the highs (the handling and character) and lows (the break downs and rust problems). But the Mini that Z Cars build is not ordinary by any means. They may look like Mini’s but it is exactly there that the similarity stops. It has a Mini shape but nothing more. This is Z Cars own chassis, its own suspension front and rear, its own steering and hubs and its own glass fibre bodyshell. There is nothing more than image about this car that is Mini…except its soul, in character it remains very much a Mini.

They make a ‘normal’ Mini and their special Monte Carlo version. The engines are replaced with Honda V-Tech’s and Suzuki Hayabusa’s and have up to 400 bhp and (if driven properly) can do a 0-60 mph time in under 3 seconds (which is almost as fast as the £1.2 million Bugatti Veyron supercar), and a 0-150 mph in 9 seconds. That’s as fast a time as an average family car will hit 60 mph in from a standing start. They don’t come cheap though, and cost around £60,000.

As well as the Mini’s, Z Cars also build a Lotus Elise, a car already well known for its road and track capabilities. Z Cars make it even better, and again with the Suzuki Hayabusa engine, it can be tuned to 400 bhp. Z Cars will also tackle almost any one-off commission. Not long back they even built a £140,000 Batmobile replica for a client.

They also built an Ultima supercar. These cars are fast already but the client wanted something unique as Chris relates. “I got a telephone call out of the blue from a chap called David Gomez from Spain, and he said “can you build me the fastest car in the world?”, I said “what are you after”, and He replied, “ I want you to build me a car that looks a million dollars and has two turbo Hyabusa engines a thousand bhp and four wheel drive”, “Ok” I said “leave it to me”. The specification for this Z Cars built Ultima are astounding! 1,000 bhp, four wheel drive and 185 mph top speed. It will go from 100 mph to 180 mph in just 3.5 seconds. Unbelievable, but true.

This amazing car tuning and building company may be based out in the countryside, away from the city, but they are known world-wide, as M.D Chris Allanson says, “We have built cars for people all over the world including America, Holland, France, Spain, Canada and Colombia, to name a few, and the clients age’s range from the young ‘just passed their test’ age, right up to people in their sixties”.

Latest projects include a four wheel drive TVR Cerbera with a Nissan Skyline HKS tuned engine, which produces around 800 bhp. Z Cars build about 50 Minis per year and 6 one-off specials.

They’re not just about tuning though, and will do spraying, welding and part supplying for your car. They have the very latest in rolling-road technology, where you can check your cars bhp and torque ratings. It is an excellent setup capable of 1200hp, with a strap down pit and knurled rollers to avoid wheel slippage. Their spray booth is also state of the art, and the sprayers finish is highly professional.

A beautifully welded custom fuel tank

They also sell the V-tech PowerBox and EcoBox. These do exactly what they say on the box. The PowerBox can give your car up to 15% more bhp and torque and the EcoBox can save you 10% to 12% on fuel. They’re great as they can be transferred between vehicles so there’s no need to buy one every time you change your car.

All in all, Z Cars is one of the best car tuning and building companies in the UK, with some of the most exciting projects around, and if you want something special building, they’re definitely the company to go to.

Contact Z Cars on either 01964 527725 or 08444 140624, or visit the website www.zcars.org.uk

All photos taken with a Nikon D70 DSLR

Part 1: The look and design

“Strive for perfection in everything you do”, said Sir Henry Royce, company founder and, it seems, perfectionist.

I’ve been invited to take a look around a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Excited? Just slightly. I’d only ever seen this car in the flesh once, at the London Motor Show a couple of years ago, behind a huge barrier of razor wire and armed guards. Okay, not really that extreme but it might as well have been. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to be able to sit in it and take in all the beauty and craftsmanship and maybe start that 6.75 litre, V12 engine, then perhaps craftily ‘borrow’ it for a while. Actually, it’s lucky it did have a barrier around it now I come to think of it.

So when I was asked if I wanted to go on a grand tour of the HMS Phantom, I jumped at the chance. The first impression I got of it, as it was backed out of the garage, was that it has a huge, expensive ‘get out of my way, I’m very rich’, look. At over 19 feet (nearly 6 metres) long, and six and a half feet (2 metres) wide, this is not even a large car, it’s humongous.

To stop peasants and commoners stealing the Spirit of Ecstasy (the angelic looking statue on the front of the bonnet), it has an in-built security feature. For example, if the car is locked, and detects the movement of the Spirit, it will make the ornament retract and drop down inside the grille, after which a metal plate will slide over the space where it had been. If the driver, from within the safety of the Phantom’s luxurious surroundings, observes shifty-looking people eyeing up the prized statuette, he can also retract it with the push of a button. It’s just a simple thing on Rolls-Royce’s part, but it all adds to the drama surrounding the car.

“Strive for perfection in everything you do” said Sir Henry Royce

On opening the ‘coach doors’ as Rolls-Royce refer to them, you are greeted by the sight of ultimate luxury and refinement. The Phantom that I had the privilege of viewing, had a white-on-black interior, which had a very art deco look, and just oozed quality. Everything, of course, is hand-built, and the customer can pick and specify just about anything. This particular Rolls had the TV monitors in the back of driver and passenger’s seats, a mere £20,000 option. Yes, I was thinking, that’s the same price as a brand new BMW 318i. Unbelievable, but then again when you’re paying over £265,000 for the car in the first place, it doesn’t seem a whole lot of money.

When inside, one doesn’t have to shut the doors themselves, and neither does the chauffeur. Instead, an inconspicuous button by the c-pillar is pressed, and if by chance, you can’t be bothered to even do that, the driver will know a door is open, as the car will only drive at walking pace until it is shut again. Leg room is more than adequate, and you can stretch out in comfort in the beautifully deep leather seats. In fact, I heard that when the cows heard that their hides would be used for the seats in Phantom, there was a bit of a scuffle and a rush to put their names down for it. One at a time please lads.

Sitting in the drivers seat, you are surrounded by just a few buttons and switches. Simplicity is the order of the day here. The satellite navigation system and control computer are hidden behind the beautifully styled clock, which, at the push of one of the chromed buttons, flips around to reveal the screen.

The dials are also designed to look minimalist. There is a speed indicator, a fuel gauge and a water temperature gauge, but instead of a tachometer there is a Power Reserve dial, which shows how much power you have left. A nice, classy touch I thought. You really don’t need a rev’ counter in the Phantom, it’s much better to see how much power you have left.

The gear shifter lever, located on the steering wheel’s column, is again, simple but functional. Forward and reverse is all that you need and is all that is provided.

All in all, I’d say that this Rolls-Royce keeps well within Sir Henry Royce’s quota of striving for perfection.

Part 2 – The drive.

All photos taken with a Nikon D70 DSLR