By FRANK A. AUKOFER
Scripps Howard News ServiceThe 2010 Bentley Continental GTC Speed certainly is guilty of excess. It is wretched only in the number of dollars it takes to own one.
That number is $233,995 without options. A few of those on the test car brought the suggested delivered price to $276,405.
The GTC Speed, a two-door convertible, illustrates the performance that can be cooked into an automobile when cost and fuel efficiency are minor ingredients in the recipe.
As anyone who pays attention to vehicles can testify, performance refinements become smaller and more expensive as you move up the scale. It is the reason race cars can cost as much as a million dollars.
So it is with the GTC Speed. Its high-altitude price delivers a luxurious convertible with awesome capabilities.
Bentley, once the sporting alter ego of Britain's Rolls-Royce, now is owned by Volkswagen of Germany while Rolls-Royce has become part of BMW, the Bavarian Motor Works.
One result is that the GTC Speed is powered by VW's 6-liter W12 engine, though it has been considerably altered by Bentley's engineers in Crewe, England. A version of this engine was used in the ill-fated Volkswagen Phaeton, which no longer is sold in the U.S.
In the GTC Speed, the W12 -- the configuration is similar to that of a V12 engine -- is boosted by twin turbochargers to deliver 600 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, or twisting force.
Even for a car that weighs a porky 5,478 pounds, it's overkill. Mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with sport and manual-shift modes and driving all four wheels, the engine can propel the GTC Speed to 60 miles an hour in 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 200, according to Bentley's test figures. It is marginally slower with the top down because of wind resistance.
But the numbers do not convey the exhilaration that comes when you mash the pedal to pass another car. There's no turbo lag, just a seamless surge of power that pins you back as you hurtle forward, rocket-like. In a matter of seconds, the speedometer registers triple-digit speeds and you have to back off.
The tradeoff, of course, comes in fuel consumption. The GTC Speed earns a city/highway rating of 10/17 miles per gallon and a $3,700 federal gas guzzler tax.
As exciting as the sheer power, however, is the GTC Speed's handling and ride. Once again, it demonstrates what can be accomplished when cost cutting is a low priority.
The GTC Speed has an air suspension system and special fat high-performance tires on 20-inch wheels. Along with an extremely stiff chassis, the combination produces one of the best ride and handling combinations anywhere.
Ride and handling always entail compromises. Improve the ride and the handling suffers. Tighten the handling and the ride gets choppy.
The GTC Speed manages a ride that is almost creamy while delivering pinpoint handling that feels as if the car is gliding through curves.
Brian Gush, a Brit who is Bentley's director of chassis and power train engineering, describes the suspension in organic terms.
"It's breathing," he says. "It doesn't allow the road surfaces to print through."
The result is a boulevardier that can be tossed around like a sports car on twisting mountain roads.
No surprise, the GTC Speed has brakes to match its power and handling. They haul the heavy Bentley down from high speeds with authority. Should you want even more braking power, you can order the test car's $16,500 carbon ceramic brakes, which Bentley says are the largest and most powerful brakes ever fitted on a passenger car.
As befits a car for the wealthy, the GTC Speed has appropriate appointments. The top is fabric, but it is a triple layer affair that makes the interior as noise-free as that in a coupe. Fine leather and hand stitching are in abundance, and some of the controls are jewel-like.
Among the more notable appointments are the optional engine-turned aluminum inserts in the dash. They are reminiscent of trim in the Cord 810 and 812 models of the late 1930s, which displayed one of the most beautiful instrument panels ever.
For all of its super car and luxury attributes, the GTC Speed is behind the curve in several respects. Where other modern automobiles now have computer hard drives, the GTC Speed makes do with a DVD-based navigation system housed in the glove box. Next to it is a six-disc CD changer mounted almost as an afterthought and not in the dash as most changers are nowadays.
The GTC Speed is described as a "plus two," which is a traditional euphemism for a car with a vestigial back seat not fit for human habitation. This one can actually seat a couple of kids or small adults as long as you move the front seats forward.
However, none of the GTC Speed's minor shortcomings likely are deal breakers for someone with the desire and the wherewithal to own one of these adrenaline-inducing machines.
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service. For more columns, go to scrippsnews.com
