Modern Classic: Bentley Continental GT

The Bentley Continental GT started as Project Java and was official launched in 2003. Photos: Supplied

The Bentley Continental  GT first generation hit the “Cannes” scene in 2003, as a car purely designed under Volkswagen’s ownership of Bentley. 

The history of the GT began in 1994 when Project Java conceived the idea that Bentley needed a more affordable, smaller car to get more sales.    The Continental R was priced over £180,000 and sold in low volumes, and this needed to be enhanced with something else. 

Project Java was ultimately scrapped but elements of it made it through to the GT dash design and apparently the Sultan of Brunei obtained 13 Javas!  

The Continental GT that resulted was a bigger car than the Java ever was going to be. It was conceived as a car that could cover long journeys with four passengers and accompanying suitcases in the trunk, all at the rate of 200mph (320km/h)

The GT was hand-assembled but “mass-produced”, according to Bentley.

Launched in 2003, as a coupe at the Geneva motor show and subsequently seen at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, it had a 6.0 W12 twin-turbo engine putting out 412kW and hitting 100km/h in 4.8 seconds. 

A four-door sedan version called the Flying Spur debuted in 2005 and a two-door convertible followed in 2006.  

Collectively, the three models raised initial sales from 1000 in 2003 to 9000 by 2009. 

The GT was hand-assembled but “mass-produced”, according to Bentley, which was a polite way of saying it had finally taken its business model, under VW, to something more sustainable. 

It had a major facelift in 2011 and follow-up tweaks in 2014, which resulted in a 4.0 V8 coming online as the GT V8 (373kW) and the GT V8 S (388kW), to accompany the GT W12 and the GT W12 Speed (459kW). 

It was conceived as a car that could cover long journeys with four passengers and suitcases in the boot.

The first generation ran for 15 years before the next shape GT, which I am also a happy owner, debuted in 2018. 

Perhaps fittingly, the second generation GT had strong overtones of the first with its “bespoke private jet look” side and rear profile and pronounced front grille. 

First-generation Continental GT’s are regularly seen on NZ streets. Many have low kilometres and are first owners, especially those owning the last few years of the model run. It’s quite difficult to tell earlier models from later ones, of the first generation, such is the trick of Bentley’s minimal styling tweaks over the years.  

TradeMe features a number of examples but the ultimate, I would suggest, would be a NZ new V8 or W12 from the beginning of the 2011/2012 facelift.

It was seen at the 2003 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.