Post-lockdown postcards
Tentatively returning to something like normal gives us a chance to appreciate more of the Conti’s considerable charms. By Tim Pollard
1. Three red British icons What is it about pillarbox-red British institutions? Parking our Conti next to a traditional post and phone box made for a poignant snap. Will the GT have such enduring design clout? I’m a fan of the restrained elegance, but predict it won’t age as well as Sir Giles Scott’s distinctive kiosk. Only time will tell…
4. A right grilling
That enormous grille lends a brutish face to our car, especially in contrasting matte black on St James’s Red paintwork. It’s hardly subtle. The latticework grille is plastic – none of the wire-frame grilles of yore – and punctuated by carbuncular, cyclopic cameras and radar sensors. Big Brother is watching you… 2. Mulliner, if you please
It’s easy to go overboard when ticking the boxes and our single most expensive option is the Mulliner Driving Specification, at £11,580. That brings gargantuan 21-inch wheels, quilted hide seats and door trims, plus embroidered Bentley headrests. Further tactile niceties include the machined metal fuel filler cap, pedals and oil cap.
5. Little and large?
Two more different cars I cannot imagine. Parking next to this fabulous 2CV belonging to James Walshe of Practical Classics magazine reminded me how big the Continental is. At 2187mm wide and 4850mm long, it’s a colossus, weighing in at a chunky 2.2 tonnes – nearly four times the featherweight Citroën! 3. Winter tyres in summer Our V8 arrived on Pirelli Sottozeros at the tail end of winter. Now it’s deep summer and temperatures have (occasionally) soared, I was worried how the compound would perform. Perhaps needlessly: grip is still excellent, wear appears insignificant and only squidgier steering feel lets the side down.
6. Dialling it up to 11
Head to our website to see the Bentley Rotating Display in action, flipping between wooden veneer, infotainment touchscreen and this triptych of dials. It’s pricey at £4770 but adds theatre. Except it spends 95 per cent of its time on the main touchscreen, as that’s how most functions are controlled.