2025 Bentley Continental GT Speed Review: The Grandest Grand Tourer

The new Bentley Continental GT is one of the best Bentleys the company has built in decades. In its high-performance form, the Bentley Continental GT Speed is the best parts of athleticism, comfort and style. In every essence, it is a grand tourer.

There are few places more perfect for a long, sightseeing-filled drive than the middle California coast. To get there, I took a plane to San Francisco International Airport. I was to meet the car curbside, among the crowds of people looking for their friends’ white Tesla to pull up and pick them up. It was there that the visual allure of the Continental GT Speed was first apparent.

Around the corner came the Tourmeline Green-painted car. “Look at that,” a guy 10 feet from me said quite loudly to the woman next to him, pointing it out. I watched phones come out to grab a picture. When it pulled up so that the driver could toss me the keys, I got a “nice car” and Paris Hilton style “that’s hot” from the crowd before I pulled away, an easy maneuver with the car’s all-wheel steering.

The attention was all warranted. Bentley has managed to capture brash mystery on the front end of the car, with a new headlight design that gives a new light signature for the brand and the Continental GT Speed’s hallmark darkened brightwork.

The muscular body of the car sweeps into an aerodynamic swoosh as the eye moves rearward. The back end is a little more typical Bentley, but very swoopy.

Upon merging onto the highway from the airport grounds, it was immediately apparent that this plug-in hybrid Bentley was no slouch. Once going, its twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter V8 hybrid engine delivered 771 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque for use in a smooth curve that was emblematic of the elegance the Bentley brand exudes.

Heading toward Cupertino, I was aware that the car was earning looks from others on the road, far more glances than the Mercedes-Benz advanced driver assistance systems test car that I passed.

It’s true that test cars like that may be more frequently seen in the Bay Area than a Bentley. The company sold just 13,560 vehicles globally last year. But, the color and styling of the Bentley were standing out enough to garner passersby to slow down and get their phones out for a picture.

The cruising was comfortable in the car’s sporty seats and the three hours on the road flew by despite the usual traffic jams on the 101 between San Jose and Gilroy, California.

This was all helped by Bentley’s adoption of a new infotainment system which made connecting to my phone and taking meeting calls easy. It’s a vast improvement over the last-generation system. While it’s not perfect, if you’re the type of consistently use Apple CarPlay instead of a native system, you’ll be well satisfied.

The same is said for the rest of the interior. There’s not as much screen space as what you’ll find in a Mercedes-Benz or Rolls-Royce, and that screen can be turned away and hidden. I have zero problem with this and actually find it rather wholesome.

Knobs and buttons all look and feel premium. Appointments are unique and customizable. The tester had a dark gray interior with orange appointments and stitching – the right amount of sass to complement the exterior.

Arriving at my destination, the Inn at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach, I was made keenly aware of the exact dimensions of the Continental GT Speed’s trunk. It was just barely large enough to fit my large Rimowa suitcase, which the person who had dropped off the car to me at the airport had graciously stowed for me as I got behind the wheel. Thankfully, there was a back seat for storing my work bag.

Throughout my week on the peninsula, I drove the Bentley everywhere I went. At The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, it sat alongside two other Bentleys on the green of one of the courses having traversed the cart path and grassy hills with aplomb.

At another event, I parked in a dusty gravel lot. There, the car rode with ease and passed along far fewer of the bumps than I expected to feel.

Heading back onto the roadway the Continental GT Speed took to the street practically begging to far exceed the 55 mph speed limit.

After getting that out of my system (for the moment), I headed back to the Inn where I was reminded that the car does not perform its best at low speed.

It’s in the zero to 25 mph range where the car’s plug-in hybrid power allocation struggles to get the formula right in Bentley driving mode. For parking lot cruising or airport drop off lane negotiation though, it’s perfect.

Sport mode tuned that gap a little tighter, but the car still felt sluggish off the line from a stop in traffic, more than you’d want if you’re looking for a comfortable drive experience.

Cars tuned by European automakers tend to have a bit more leeway in pickup than U.S. cars. If I’d been driving the Bentley around Crewe, England, I probably would not have thought twice. But, for American driving conditions, tolerances and preferences, it was generally annoying.

After 25 mph, the car just soars, utilizing its technology in the right ways, staying planted in the curves and wanting to continue a road trip even though you’ve reached your destination.

It’s easy to go fast in the car. And, its power delivery pairs so, so well with the steering feel and grip. Even though it’s a muscled grand tourer, its dynamics play well with challenging canyon carving conditions.

The Bentley Continental GT Speed is the best Bentley the company has made in many, many years. It’s as fun or as tame as you want it to be and its sexiness cannot be argued with.

Out of the current crop of grand tourers on the market today, this Bentley feels the most complete. The Bentley Continental GT Speed isn’t just a grand, grand tourer. It is the grandest grand tourer.