Speed
(Review from 'BHP Bender' GT Speed vs M6)
Some might say that having over £300,000's worth of luxury sports cars / super-cars parked on the drive means I have an amazing job. So is it a fair review, a Bentley that has a phenomenal 600bhp being compared to the BMW M6's 550bhp? The Bentley does 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds, the BWM takes 4.6 seconds, so it's safe to say that within the first paragraph of this review we have established that the Bentley is quicker. Woo-hoo, I've confirmed something that both manufacturers already knew! However this isn't a verse review in the normal vein of verse reviews, here's the kicker and what this review is actually about….. is an extra 50bhp and shaving 0.1 of a second of the 0-62mph time worth an extra £70,000?
ON YOUR MARQUE'S
Firstly lets talk badges; Bentley's are expensive, very expensive. However, picture the scene, you're in a central London wine bar, the homeless and deluded city stockbrokers are all stood around, yar'ing and 'ahu ahu ahu'ing' . When the penniless and jobless bankers turn and ask you the question 'so what do you drive then?' Even as a humble journalist, the words 'a Bentley GT Speed' trips off the tongue like honey off a bee's backside. It gives you a very odd sensation. It's a mix of 'jealous much' smugness and out and out pride. You see if you say the word 'Bentley' to your average man on the street, the instant thought is that you're minted. Lets face it, you probably are, Bentley don't have a super-mini or a family hatchback in the range. If you own a Bentley, it doesn't matter which one it is, it's still a Bentley.
It's that exact thought process that's the problem with one of the most expensive BMW's money can buy. If the response to the aforementioned question is 'I drive a BMW M6' those that aren't car nuts have no idea what you've turned up in. It could be an Estate as far as they are know. Those who don't listen properly, well they just hear BWM and assume your in a 3-series (not exactly the jaw-dropping-wow-factor you were hoping for). When it comes to impressing car boffins though, an M6 is a great way to start. Its raw and brutal power never fails to impress, its handling receives praise and acclaim.
So they're both pricey motors, but the Bentley wins the 'which one's going to make people think you've got the most money' prize.
CAN YOU HANDLE IT?
Handling is another matter all together. The Bentley, considering it's a much heavier car than the BMW, handles beautifully, its graceful, elegant and when put into sport mode, an absolute monster of speed and tight corners. However it does tend to drift wide coming out of hard corners. It copes excellently well with sweeping bends and even putting your foot down mid corner doesn't faze the big GT Speed Coupe. In fact it's this style of driving really showcases what the Bentley is capable of. Then we come to the M6, press a few buttons, tweak some controls, set the car up properly for maximum power / the best suspension settings and the M6 is without shadow of a doubt the better handling of the two. Its poise in cornering under speed and its ability to hold the road regardless of how much you've just pushed your luck is absolutely breath taking. Tight right and left bends one after the other are handled without so much as the M6 breaking a light sweat. This is a car that's been designed for maximum handling.
The heavier Bentley loses the handling side of the review to the mighty German powerhouse. Both handle supremely well and are more than capable of handling almost anything you throw at them. The M6 just makes lighter work of the load.
SHIFTING OPINION
The more money the car the better the gearbox, or so you would think. The Bentley has one of the best gearboxes I've had the pleasure of driving. In Auto it shifts smoothly, quietly and without fuss, in Sport it feels like a race tuned monster, snatching gears with millisecond timing and precision, floor the Bentley in Sport mode in any gear and that wondrous box will respond by shifting you into a gear that will not only catapult you forwards, but also induce G-force strong enough to snap your neck.
This is the bit where it all goes horribly wrong for the M6 The seven-speed semi-auto SMG gearbox with DRIVELOGIC, fitted to my test car, was without question the WORST gearbox I've ever had to suffer. To say it's totally crap would be unfair, no wait it wouldn't because it is. Regardless of how you set the car up, whatever setting you have the gearbox in, be it manual, auto or sport, its not just jerky, its akin to being on a rollercoaster, it grabs gears and changes up and down for no apparent reason. Floor the Beemer and eventually the gearbox will decide to change down (if your lucky, if your not, it just wont do anything (and you'll be there looking like a right muppet). On long motorway journeys when it just sits in 7th gear without needing to change up or down its great, round town however it's so bad I nearly sent it back after the first 2 days because it wound me up so much! There is hope on the horizon though; my contact at BMW assures me that they will be fitting the outstanding seven-speed M-DCT (double clutch transmission) gearbox, available on the M3, as standard very soon.
So both these cars have outstanding performance, stunning looks, awe-inspiring road presence and both cost a fortune to buy, insure, maintain and run (combined fuel consumption for the Bentley is 17mpg and 14mpg the BMW). Both have fantastic build quality and superior technology and design. Both will do pretty much anything asked of them. So which one is the winner? At this level of motoring there is no winner or loser, I personally wouldn't buy the M6 due to the gearbox, the only place it would drive me, is to distraction. My choice would be, the GT Speed, its one of those cars that I'd never get tired of.
As
I write this review I shed a solitary tear, not because I've had a bad
month or due to watching a chick flick where she dies at the end. Nor
is it because the Bentley was rubbish or because I feel let down or
unimpressed by the magnificent 6L twin turbo 552bhp land yacht. No, the
reason I shed my tear is because at this very moment 1800 TU (the
personalised number plate on my press car) is driving away from my
house… without me in the driver's seat.
So what is
it that makes the GT Flying Spur so dear to my heart? Well for a kick
off its one of the most beautiful and graceful cars to bless the road
with its presence! It's also a true testament to Bentley's build
quality and design, with scrumptiously thick two tone leather (even the
roof lining is leather!) with stitching that runs perfectly matched to
each other (seriously - I went through every stitch in the car and not
one was out of line with another) and its solid dark wood inserts, it's
perfection. I just wished my house was this opulent and luxurious. But
the real reason the Bentley has warmed the cold empty space behind my
pecs where a heart should be… the way driving it makes you feel.
Sat behind the steering wheel, with those silver wings and big white B
smiling back at you, you feel special, not just because everybody looks
and all your friends (even the ones that don't know a smart car from a
Vodka and Coke) know its pure quality and style. You see that's the
thing about the Spur, it's just pure unadulterated class and so ergo
being behind the wheel of one ensures you feel like pure class.
Now those of you out there raising a tweezered eyebrow and muttering
snob under your breath take note! Yes the GT Flying Spur's starting
price is a massive £117,950, however it's more than just an expensive
motor, you see this particular vehicle has a split personality…
Leave the gear stick of the 6sp auto box in the drive position and you
have a wonderfully smooth powerful four door super saloon / limo, but,
slip that stick down one slot into S for sport or across into manual
paddle shift mode and all hell breaks loose. Suddenly your super luxury
saloon has disappeared and you're at the wheel of a deafeningly loud
17ft long, 7ft wide 2.5 tonne precision-engineered sports monster
capable of 0-62mph in a staggeringly quick 5.2 seconds. To give you an
idea of just how quick that is… a Porsche 911 GT3 RS (the fastest
production Porsche on the market) does 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds. But if
pure acceleration speed isn't enough, the top speed of the Bentley is
195mph and the Porsche…192mph.
And before all you tree-hugging-tofu-eating-children-of-a-dying-world
crowd start screaming about my carbon footprint and having a gas
guzzling tank for a car, I drove the Flying Spur sensibly on a 100 mile
round trip on the motorway and got 23 mpg (1mpg more than Bentley say
you can get!!) and round town I was getting a modest 18mpg (2mpg more
than
Bentley say!).
So whether your cruising down the motorway at 70mph whilst getting a relaxing massage from
your heated massaging seats or roaring past the boy racer in the
Porsche who thought you were some old duffer in a posh motor he could
leave standing, it doesn't matter where you are, who you are or where
your going, every single journey makes you feel amazing, every time you
close the door (whichever side of the door you are) you just cant help
but smile.. Would I buy one...? If I could afford it I'd be ordering
one in a heartbeat, Mr Right thou hast a new name and it is Mr Spur,
first name Flying.
In the gay world we live in, only a small minority see bulk as beauty and heavy as heavenly, the vast majority believing that rock hard Abs and Delt's big enough to crack walnuts are the epitome of perfection. Well trust me, it doesn't come much bigger or heavier than the Bentley GTC, and this is one car that just oozes sex and sex appeal.
Yes I am aware that the media have made the GTC appear as if it has become the WAGS car de-jour, any of you raising an eyebrow in agreement either 1) haven't driven it or 2) haven't been inside it.
This is a seriously sexy car, from its gorgeously thick luxurious embossed leather seating to the deep shag pile, the interior screams upmarket sophistication and elegance. In fact Bentley have done a top-class job, everything inside giving you the feeling of being all powerful and in charge, qualities which nobody can deny would up the libido of a bromide doped castrated panda. For those of you in the know when it comes to motoring, if the words 'its actually only a VW phaeton' are passing your lips, EAT YOUR WORDS!, yes they may share around 17% of the same switchgear / parts. However if you think that the A/C unit, knobs, buttons and wiring loom mean they handle the same or feel remotely similar you're sadly mistaken. What the two cars do share is the mighty 6L W12 engine, but the Bentley's 550bhp twin turbocharged block ensures the GTC has an athletic 4.8sec 0-60mph sprint. Driving the GTC is just amazing, it really shifts, floor it and the acceleration in any gear is phenomenal and really takes your breath away.
For a drop-top motor the size of Fuerteventura, the GTC handles fantastically and is genuinely a joy to throw into bends and is poised through winding country roads. So how much is it going to cost for you to experience this luxury day in day out? The GTC is a snip at just over £130,000, and I don't care if Victoria Beckham or Colleen 'married shriek for the money' Rooney have a different GTC for every day of the week, I'd still buy one if I had the cash
The whole motoring industry, in fact the whole world, is financial on its arse. However in these times of gloom and doom, I thought this month I'd check out one of the most expensive convertibles money, the stuff none of us have any of, can buy. That being Bentley's monster drop top, the Azure. The test car I had for a week cost more than a 4 bedroom detached house, at a whopping £230,000.
As motors go its exquisite, every little detail and touch is given the Bentley treatment. From the solid Burr Oak Veneer to the thick high polished chrome, everything screams unadulterated luxury, class and sophistication. The quality of the leather interior and suede roof lining gives the impression a cow-based genocide has taken place to ensure only the finest cow's bums go into this vehicle.
The engine is on another level of engineering craftsmanship to everyday cars; the big 6L V8 Turbocharged lump in the front produces a mighty 450bhp. This propels the two and a half goliath from 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds and to a top speed of 171mph. Cornering is out of this world, you seriously wouldn't think a car of this size and weight would be able to handle the way it does! All that fabulous power comes at a price though; fuel consumption is at best scary and at worst laughable. With a combined average of 14mpg posing round town to show off your new super convertible will be costly to say the least. Not to mention city parking is less than a breeze, regardless of the parking sensors. At 18ft long and 7ft wide you won't just be popping this land barge into your average supermarket parking bay.
When it comes to desirability driving the Azure is the equivalent of walking round with a host of naked male supermodels surrounding you, everyone and I mean absolutely everyone, male female, gay straight, old or young, EVERYBODY looks at you. The attention the Azure brings becomes somewhat addictive, you find yourself having to 'pop out' for milk you don't need A LOT.
So it's hard to park, costs a fortune to buy, almost the same fortune to fuel, insure and maintain, and you'll spend your whole life petrified that something's going to happen to it the moment you leave it alone. Its also fantastic to drive, a work of pure beauty and everyone wants to either be you or be with you. So do I want one? With every pore of my being lol, driving this car makes you feel so amazing I can't put it into words.