Question for the Bentley brain trust -

I'm about a month away from purchasing a Bentley Continental GT Speed hard top.

Is there any significant differences between these three model years, such as more infotainment system options or other things that make the 2008 much more desirable vs the 2006 or 2007?

Appreciate your insights!

Thanks.

 

Hello Randy V and welcome.
Do you plan on making any changes to the car like the Ben HUR and radio? If your into XM radio I would say get an 08 because they added XM to the cars in 07. That way you don’t have to worry about running your own antenna. And with the 08 you don’t have to worry about the vacuum leak the 06 and some 07 have.

 

Thanks, guys. Ah yes - the vacuum issues being eliminated in 08 is compelling reason to go with that model year or newer.

What is the Ben Hur issue about? Personally not interested in satellite radio, but the ability to stream audio is important.

Anything else?

 

Hi Randy,
Do realize that the vacuum leak problems that occurred in the 03-07 had to do with the lines over the transmission in the GT's, but do realize that they all, past and 07 plus (newer) all suffer from the other vacuum lines along the firewall having the same leaking problems as the transmission mounted lines, SO, do be sure to make sure said firewall lines are good, via smoke test, prior to purchase.


Johnny

 

Well in that case just search for Bluetooth in here as some have fit a adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter and you find a station on the radio and it streams that way. They seem to love it.

 

Yea but he said he don’t really care about XM/Sirius radio...just streaming. So he has more options now. I don’t think I’ve ever used my navigation in the car. I always use my phone and she speaks through the speakers while I’m streaming my music. I’m a tech guy so I wanted all of that plus more 😂 . Some stuff I use, some I don’t but I want it just in case lol. I’m just waiting on mirroring without the cords like you can do in the house and I’ll be all set.

 

Let me see what your talking about...🤔...I had an idea to use an old fire stick but never got around to it.

 

I may be wrong but I thought the GT Speed started in 2008.

 

Yes, I thought the same as to the "SPEED" being mentioned, but I took it as Randy asking what the differences were between 2006-2008 of the Bentley GT in general, my main concern would still be any vacuum lines leaking as mentioned.

Johnny

 

Agreed 100%, so be vigilant in your inspection of the vehicle and its known issues.

 

Didn't view the videos to see if this was mentioned, but in addition to the obvious differences for the front bumper, I believe the 08+ have a more upright grille.

You can see it in the preview stills in the 2 youtube clips above. The older model is more curved and smooth to the hood and the newer one is more vertical, squared off. If you look at the body seams where the headlights meet, you can see the larger triangular shape just above the headlights, behind the top corners of the grill, on the newer model.

I have the 1st gen, but the newer 08+ looks better to me. (a bit more presence)

edit, also 08 speed has the newer style steering wheel also, which is another plus in my book.

 

I did the install on my current 06 GT.

As to the amount of work...

For someone with a bit of experience with wiring up stereos, with all the parts, instructions laid out, I think one could get this done over a weekend, spending maybe 5-6 hrs a day, accounting for mental breaks, etc.

1st day configuring firmware/software and getting everything working on a bench, 2nd day installing in car, running wires. If one knows their way around the BCGT as far as removing the head unit, back seat, center console, etc., day 2 could easily be cut down to 2-3 hours.

I had to learn how to do a lot of the stuff I've documented how to do in the instructions, so took me longer, not having that clearly spelled out as it is in the document, or in one place. I had to search the web, learn by trial and error what works, etc. Also got a lot of help and clarifications from lilo1980, who was very generous with his time.

Tried to document all of that to make it much easier for the next guy, with specific part #s, software steps, etc. Should shave 30-40 hrs of research/learning.

Biggest overall time gap was waiting on parts from overseas, some of which take ~30 days, followed by all the prep work to get the SW working, drivers installed, etc. Most of day 1 time is waiting for downloads, installs, firmware updates, etc. as opposed to actual work.

Additional time on top of the install times, I'd say 2-3 hours to carefully get all the parts ordered + another 2 to 4 hours of reading up/rereading/researching things/figuring out how to route wires, etc. to understand everything before tackling the job.

 

Thanks Rico and good luck with the firmware upgrade.

 

Thanks guys - your insights are invaluable.

That said... see my new - and hopefully last - thread about the car I'm about to purchase to join the ranks of you lucky bastids.

 

Not hardly Rico - you stuck with me now - lol.

Love this group. Have been involved in Porsche, several BMW models and Lexus forums - you lads here are a cut above.