Continental GT Speed is Bentley's fastest ever car - with a price tag to match

There is no avoiding it. During a week driving the Bentley Continental GT Speed it's the first question everyone asked.

The answer - with options, a cool £200,000, or as close as makes no difference.

This initial enquiry was usually followed up with the more tricky “Is it worth it?”

An objective view would be a Ford Focus could adequately perform the same functions for a tenth of the price.

Stick to the speed limits and both would deliver you to your destination at the same time, conveyed in air-bag cosseted safety and heated comfort. All the time accompanied by Radio Two.

Unlike, say a house or a yacht, road cars are restricted in size and what you can add on to them.

An impartial justification of the price takes you down the same argument as the usability of its 206 mph top speed.

Be in no doubt Bentley make one of the best screwed-together cars in the world. The doors shut with a secure bank-vault clunk. The engineering appears to have the built-to-last solidity of a Isambard Brunel bridge.

Although many German rivals come close - they don’t have that certain something to elevate them to the same level of motoring royalty.

In the rarefied world of high end luxury it needs something else to justify the price. At this level subjective opinion is key.
And there is a lot to love about the Continental Speed, the fastest ever model to come out of Crewe.

The heart of this car is the imperious 6.0 litre with a dozen cylinders set out in a W-configuration. The twin turbo motor has been fettled to lift power to a phenomenal 626bhp and torque 619lb ft at 1700rpm.

Reading raw numbers it is hard to get your head around how they translate in real-life.

Suffice it to say it will hit 0-60mph in 4 seconds as if caught in a huge relentless gravitational pull. Keep you foot down and you would hit three figures five seconds later.

This is the Don of the Bentley Continental range. The entry level V8 has 500bhp, the up rated V8 S 521bhp and the standard W12 582 bhp.

Fed through an eight-speed ZF auto transmission to all four wheels, with the bias split 40/60 it holds the road well for a car weighing 2.3 tonnes.

It will blitz a hot hatch in a straight line on a wide A road but the odds will be evened on a twisty country road.

You need to do your speed work on the straights as trying to hustle it round a roundabout at a decent lick will highlight its limitations.

But the big Bentley is not a car to chuck around, it rises above such brash displays of attention seeking.

Now in its 13th year of production many would struggle to spot the differences from the 2003 original.

But this is a compliment. Much like the Porsche 911 it is a sign that the design was spot on from the start.

However to differentiate it, the Speed has a redesigned front bumper and a slightly revised accompanying grille.

The center vent now stretches towards the wings and the the side intakes have been enlarged and raised closer to the headlamps.

At the back there is a prouder integrated spoiler on the boot lid.

Most obvious is the B-styled adornments over the air vents on the wings in front of the doors. Below these in silver script are ‘Speed’ logos which are repeated on the kick plates for the doors.

The car sits on huge 21 inch alloys which enhance its brutish charm.

Settle into the driver’s seat and the seat belt is still robotically proffered forward over your shoulder as if from a well-trained butler.

Bentley Continental GT Speed

Price: £168,900

0-60 mph: 4 seconds

Top speed: 206mph

Power: 626bhp 619lb ft torque

Kerb weight: 2320kg

Engine: 12 cylinder W engine twin turbo chargers

Gearbox: Eight speed automatic, Four wheel drive

Economy 19.5mpg (combined)

CO2/tax band 338g/km, 37%