Used Bentley Continental GT 2014 Automatic

The centrepiece of this updated Bentley Continental GT Speed and its performance capabilities is a reworked version of the British-built twin-turbocharged W12 engine, which has received a power increase for this 2014 upgrade. Although Bentley’s upstart V8 powerplant has been attracting plenty of the plaudits since it was introduced, the manufacturer is keen to show there’s plenty of potential left in the 12-cylinder. In fact, this upgrade can be seen as a reiteration from Bentley that the engine isn’t going to be pensioned off any time soon, with the Crewe manufacturing facility having recently been declared the Volkswagen Group’s centre of excellence for the W12.

In this GT Speed (which is also available as a marginally less rapid drop-top) revisions to the engine management software and turbo pressure have bumped maximum power from 616bhp to 626bhp and increased available torque from 590lb ft to 607lb ft. Given the transmission's preset shift points range from wafting smooth in drive mode to hammering race-blips in sport, there's little occasion to use them anyway. At pace or through tight corners the Bentley's nose-heavy bias is apparent, kept in check by all-wheel grip and a chassis hewn as if from granite. The suspension can be adjusted via a virtual slider on the infotainment screen to step from soft and cuddly with utter disdain for road joins.