GOOD:
This week’s unseasonal sunny spell would have been ideal timing to test-drive the latest supercar from British car maker Bentley - the open-topped Continental GTC. In fact, I went to Croatia for the launch of the car where the weather was even better and the scenery wonderful.
You look and feel a million dollars in this amazing car.
The new GTC has lost weight and smartened up with a more muscular, yet contemporary, look.
Awesome power from the vast 6-litre twin turbo-charged W12 engine that launches the near three-tonne car from a standing start to 96km/h in just 4.5 seconds, and to a top speed of 314km/h. The QuickShift automatic gearbox has an manual F1-style paddle.
It rips up the road. The engine outputs have been increased to 423kW, from 412kW in the outgoing model, and torque rises from 650Nm to 700Nm.
The steering has been redesigned for sharper bends, and it shows.
It has extremely comfortable seats and a sumptuous interior. There is a choice of 17 leather colours and seven wood veneers.
The triple-layered fabric hood can be put up in 25 seconds while driving at speeds of up to 40km/h. It also has a good stereo and satnav with easy controls.
There’s even a neck warmer that blows warm air on to your nape. That’s on top of the heated and massaging seats.
A new system called aluminium super-forming sculpts the front wings by heating the metal to 500 degrees and shaping the panels with air pressure. It means no unsightly weld lines.
A nod to green living too, it runs off normal petrol and E85 bio-fuel - or any mix of the two. Bentley says this FlexFuel system delivers CO2 reductions of 70 per cent when measured from the oil well to driving. CO2 emissions are 384g/km.
BAD:
At a starting price of £150 000 (R1.88-million in the UK but expect it to cost a lot more in South Africa), this wonderful piece of engineering is far beyond the pockets of the average buyer.
A bit of a squeeze in the back - and impossible if you put the top down and the wind-deflector up. But as this car is designed for a latter-day Cary Grant and Grace Kelly on the French Riviera (which the Croatian coastline resembles), two would be company and any more a crowd.
It’s a gas guzzler too. Bentley claims an average fuel consumption of 16.5 litres per 100km.
And you’ll have to go to the unrestricted autobahns of Germany to open up this car without the risk of losing your licence. -Daily Mail