Not because it's not a great car - it certainly is. But because I didn't get a chance to to push it to any of its limits on the open road, I didn't see many of the differences the V8 is meant to have.

I kept the windows up, so the V8 sound wasn't that obvious. It was still a quiet interior. The interior was the same color as mine, so the layout was exactly familiar, and I was searching to find the lower specs that made the difference on this cheaper model. The steering was just as light as my W12, which is to say it's beautifully light and makes the car feel very nimble.

The only real difference I could establish was a subtle sensitivity on the throttle. I only noticed because I found it hard to keep a constant speed at city speeds, there was a slight wavering to the engine note which persisted even when I kept my foot in a rock hard position. Otherwise it was very responsive, just like mine also.

In fact, and I guess this is the hallmark of a great design, all the improvements were going on underneath the surface, such as the 40% fuel efficiency and low carbon emission from the new engine design. The 8 shift gearbox was smooth, but no smoother than my 6 shift in operation round the city. Braking was more sensitive, and of course suspension as good as ever on the 20" wheels.

I wish I could have taken it out further on the open road, but time was against me. I have memories of a superb car, but not one that differed much from my own. The sales guy said the V8 is selling well, mainly by brand changers jumping from BMW and Mercedes, and I guess time will tell whether the V8 is as popular with the Bentley boys or not.

For me, even though the W12 is thirsty and probably more expensive to fix, I like the 12 sound and higher specs, and will likely stay with that model. So far.

 

Size matters. Bigger is always better!

 

Once you go 12-cyl you never go back

 

That was a nice write up with a lot more detail than I provided on my first test ride but my impression was similar. I suspect that many of the brand changers are choosing the V8 due to the reduced price. Giving the consumers choices is good business.

 

+1. I agree

 

Everything is big in Texas. Heading out your way soon. Track schedule is the 15th and the 22nd. Lets have some beers and Texas BBQ! W12 twins turbos!

 

Could be, sure. But I fail to understand how at that level of spending another $20 grand is going to make a difference. It's only a few dollars extra a week on the average lease too.

I wonder if we're fixated on the wrong things. If most people can't tell the difference inside or outside between the V8 and W12, then why should they buy the bigger engine? It's only bragging rights, but then I guess that's all that is left when you have everything!

 

A couple of years ago I met a young man who had a Windows Phone 7. Being an Apple fanboy, I asked him why he bought the Windows phone. He replied that it cost $50. At that moment I started to recall the time that I would debate if I should pay 5 cents more for cheese on a burger. Yes, I am that old.

 

Windows Phone LOL! As a developer i have one..... laying around here somewhere gathering dust.

 

If there's an exception to every rule, then I guess I'm the exception: I doubt I'll ever go back to the W12 unless Bentley cheapens the V8 model in the future so as to differentiate it more from the 12. Otherwise, with the Mulliner interior and all the same bells and whistles, I prefer the V8 after owning two prior W12s, one of which was a 600-HP Speed model that I drove for 3 years. Chacun a son gout.

 

Grwisher is correct bigger is better.The W12 is a more powerful engine, very smooth and is proven. If you say realizing what you are driving and enjoying it braggin rights then so be it.

 

There are exceptions and cars are a very personal things. Please take no offense to me discussing the two cars and I respect your right to enjoy the V8.

I took my daughter out car shopping this weekend and we drove the V6 Mustang, Honda Accord 6 cylinder and the Scion Frs. Darn the Bentley does spoil a man those cars were all weak, cheap and slow.

 

It's selling well because Bentley extended the $1999 CGTV8 lease deal past December. Mash the pedal if you ever get a chance, you'll be surprised how much pick it has for a 5k lb car.

 

Looking at performance stats for GT vs GT V8, the differences are 67 hp, 29 lb-ft of torque and 0.2 seconds 0 to 60mph. It would be interesting to see how torque curves compare, but the web page for the V8 model states that max torque is available from 1700 Rpm, so there is not a huge difference there as well. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the V8 is the same engine currently installed in a 2013 Audi S8, pushing that 4,641 lbs car from 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds. With a $1500 ECU flash, that engine can probably deliver higher performance than the W12.

Where I am going with this is that people who don't care about engineering or performance will not care about the W12 because everything else is 99.999% identical between a V8 car and a W12 car (quality, features, luxury,etc). $20K is not a huge difference for a $200K car, but most people going for a V8 will do so because of how little that extra $20K delivers to them (i.e. bang for the buck). I can tell you for sure that if you take a group of people who never driven a Continental before and do a blind test between a V8 car and a W12 car, only 1 our of 10 would be able to tell which one is which.

I think Bentley would have been better off switching the standard Continental to a V8, keeping the W12 for the Speed and coming out with an even more powerful Supersports model later.

I personally would not go for a V8 model because I consider myself a car guy and I appreciate the wonderful engineering of the W12, but people who do not care about what's under the hood would beg to differ.

 

Yes, add me to that equation too. There's very little to note between them, and I hope it's not an indicator that Bentley going to phase out the W12 in time.