With spring here and taking the GTC through its paces after factory servicing last week I came to some cold, hard reality realizations. First, of course the car has almost no equal for grand touring IMHO. Quiet comfort and visual styling meets handcraftsmanship. Of course performance is more than enough for public roadway driving.

Yesterday my wife joined me as i drove through Vermont. We decided on a scenic tour around the Green Mountains and such. As life would have it, we were presented with virtually every type of road conditions. From nice straights to smooth and slow twisties (yet driven 'at speed') to rough potholes and dangerously tight/blind off-camber turns. Steep inclines up, matched by steep downward grades of roadway after reaching the top of a variety of maintains. It also rained for a short period of time as well. Other than snow/ice, as best i can tell every other type of road conditions was experienced during the drive. It is not that we were in a rush, or even had plans to 'arrive' anywhere. Was simply driving for the sheer pleasure of it. FYI: I work at home, yet tend to rack up around 5k miles a year... many of those miles are simply for the joy of driving.

BTW: i believe the Boston dealership has finally sorted the GTC as she has never felt better in the nearly two years she has been here. Huge thanks to the Boston guys and especially my service tech, because if it was not for their kindness and understanding i would have left this brand of vehicle long ago.

When the Bentley GTC (and previous GT) is working well, it truly is a remarkable vehicle. From snow and ice to wet tarmac and grippy dry conditions... During yesterday's drive with so many different road conditions i could dial up whatever suspension/performance settings desired and the car was brilliant! Sure, during part of the more spirited drive my wife did have her eyes closed, as some driving techniques do make her feel a bit apprehensive. Whilst casually driving, we enjoyed the beautiful Vermont landscape, the scenic splendor surrounding us both outside and inside the car. Even the improved audio system (Sony NW-ZX2 playing FLAC and DSD files) made the music soundtrack far better than i felt the stock audio system could ever deliver. Sight, sound, and of course the scent of flower blooming in the springtime.

Yesterday's drive was perhaps the best experience my wife and i have ever had within either of the Bentley cars we have enjoyed over the years. During the rain we naturally put the top up. My wife commented how she felt more closed in and missed having the top down. Eventually during our travels as the miles passed the sun shone through, the top went down, and all was right once again within our world filled with luxury... and love.

Sure the 'crippling' costs of service/maintenance and perhaps industry-leading devaluation/depreciation plus other items may need to be factored in. Yet you need to throw away any care for value, money, or financial investment because no Bentley owner should ever care about those things. 'Smart money' will of course look elsewhere. Instead, you need to be of the mindset of luxury and the joys of grand touring regardless of manufacturer defects, occasional troubles and yearly costs to keep the car serviced properly.

Taking a rest period and stepping out of the GTC... as my wife and i were enjoying a glorious mountain view in Vermont, with my eyes occasionally looking at the top-down GTC, the realization of my love of grand touring hit me. i can think of no other car that offers so much joy when all things are 'in the zone'. As a car junkie, am always on the lookout for the next fun vehicle, yet the GTC does so much right and is so very capable in so many ways no matter the road conditions.... i'm so screwed! LOL!

Love the GTC, damn the costs and even the sheer lack of support from the factory in England due to known engineering/manufacturing problems. Perhaps Bentley truly is a British brand in even the most classical sense of the word. Good thing they don't use Lucas

Wish I had some pics to post from yesterday's drive, yet we were simply basking in the breathtaking views surrounding us. We can leave all those 'selfie' pics to the kids. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the drive

Hopefully the GTC stays reliable this summer, because she has never felt better. When everything is 'on song', the GTC truly is a world-class vehicle without equal IMHO.


Enjoy the Drive

 

Nice write-up Steven.
You are quite correct about these cars. We absolutely love our GT and I should have it bang on after it's trip to Crewe next week.

Enjoy.

Les.

 

Very interesting read Steve. Well done.

 

Thx guys. As a car junkie I get the usual magazines, watch the usual online videos, did the Ferrari thing, the track thing, the racing thing... My fellow press buddies tell me about the hot cars at Automotive events they go to and I regularly get offered press passes/releases to various shows too. There is something magical about the GTC and now that she is sorted plus finally have the audio system sounding really good...

Oh crap, with all that said guess I need to get dressed and go for a fun drive. No, seriously, this post is making me want to go for a casual drive.

Did i mention I love cars... and am soooo screwed.

Will take a few pics of the drive, if I decide to stop in the middle of driving to do so. Lovely day out there today, especially with the top down


ADDED: Drove through three different one lane vintage wooden covered bridges... and one 'horsepower'

 

Bentley should use your post for their advertisement since this is the best ''declaration of love'' I ever read about a car...

 

LOL! Not sure to either be happy like a proud father... or ashamed. Yes, I love love love cars and driving for the sheer pleasure of it. It is sad that so very few people nowadays drive their vehicles for the pure pleasure of it. To find those magical roads that lead to some secret special place. Or perhaps a small hidden lake to enjoy a romantic picnic with your wife. Or the race track and see just how far automotive engineering combined with your driving talent can take it.


In a word: Passion!

 

New username?

Nice ride and report. I had the top down yesterday but just to the office and back. I like to take a day drive like you described but most of the time my wife wants to take the Harley's out. She gets car sick in the twisties especially how we drive them.

The more i drive my car, and i have put 30K miles on since I bought it three and a half years ago, I know I bought the right super car. Yeh I think about the Aton, Ferrari,McLaren and Porsche but none can match the overall ride and steadfastness of the Bentley. All those excuses aside the B ain't slow ole pig. I thought again yesterday that she is a fast car and rides like a pimp daddy.

Some of you may recall I did the Fabspeed pipes and a tuner so this fat girl can haul the groceries. Sounds pretty aggressive too.

 

BTW I was disappointed after a thread title like that to find no sex.

 

Try this...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/t...%2D+My+Passion

 

Would love to. When the owners of this site pay content creators for bringing in valuable data and photos that benefit their readership we can then talk about what items will be posted for the compensation provided.

 

I see! this should be called ''romantic capitalism''.......

 

AKA the oldest profession. AKA marriage. I had to give the wife a signed blank check and hundred dollar bill for her trip to the Harley shop to get a 1K service done on her new bike and anew pair of Wiley-X riding glasses.

Like I told you guys in the other active thread better keep that $ coming in. If we like it enough we will pay for it.

 

Steven - if you want to hear about "industry-leading devaluation/depreciation", speak to any owner of a Mclaren MP4-12C that bought new and wanted to trade his car in in the last 6 months . However, I do agree with you that low(er) depreciation does not buy happiness. Just ask Ferrari folks...

 

ek1, indeed it is staggering the moment any of these cars go off warranty how their resale value drops like a brick. I did some calculation whilst considering getting a new Jaguar Type-R convertible.

Did You Know: New Bentley GTC W12 servicing cost + depreciation over four year period = the cost of a brand new Jaguar Type R convertible.

In other words, you could own and trash a brand new Jaguar for the cost/depreciation of a Bentley in four years. Or you could have the costs for a full season of Formula Ford racing at the very sharp end of the grid in SCCA (provided proper driving talent of course).

Let us just hope the Central Banks keep printing money and buying stocks/bonds by the trillions because someone has to keep this sinking ship afloat. Then again the last crash provided Patek 3939H tourbillon repeater for around $180k, usable Ferraris for just under $35k, etc. I'd imagine Bentley's will go for under $40k. Hmmm, on second thought, bring on the carnage


Depreciation is a great thing within the proper hands

 

Definitely true about the depreciation cost of a Bentley, but one may also argue that the servicing cost + depreciation of Jaguar Type R convertible over four year period is equal to the cost of a brand new BMW 3-series convertible.

Some may even argue that just the servicing cost of Jaguar Type R convertible over four year period alone is equal to the cost of a brand new BMW 3-series convertible

But.....but.....you can't break speed records by driving a BMW or a Jaguar on a beach at 180Mph

P.S. I must be living in the wrong part of the country because I don't recall usable Ferraris for $35K even at the height of the recession. I remember it being more like $100K and those were cars sold by questionable dealers with no proven service records.