The most dynamic road car Bentley has ever produced, and which is the ultimate performance-focused version of the industry benchmark for luxury grand tourer models, has just been crowned the top honors in a prestigious annual automotive awards programmed by leading international publication Robb Report as the 2022 Car of the Year was the Bentley Continental GT Speed.
It bested nine other formidable contenders that included the Audi RS 6 Avant, which fuses supercar performance with wagon practicality, and the phenomenal track-inspired Lamborghini Huracán STO. The first generation of the Bentley Continental GT also took home Robb Report’s Car of the Year title in 2004.
Robb Report editors who evaluated the 10 vehicles that contested the Car of the Year award unanimously cited the Bentley Continental GT’s agility, which they credited to the luxury grand tourer’s four-wheel steering and limited-slip differential.
“This car sparks joy at every turn and every press of the gas pedal,” Robb Report editor Kylie White said.
In keeping with its “Speed” designation, the Bentley Continental GT Speed is powered by the British marque’s famed 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W12 engine outputting 659 horsepower and an extraordinary 900 Nm of torque, which allow the two-door grand tourer a top speed of 335 km/h and 0 to 100 km/h sprint time of 3.6 seconds. Both the engine and transmission have been calibrated to be driver-focused — in Sport mode the W12 upshifts later or downshifts earlier so it could stay in its power band longer, while the dual-clutch, eight-speed gearbox shifts twice as fast.
Despite the high performance levels, the Bentley Continental GT Speed maintains the luxury, comfort and usability for which Bentley models are renowned. Key to this is the Bentley Dynamic Ride and three-chamber active air suspension with adaptive damping, which allow the car to strike a balance between a plush ride and dynamic performance.
The 19th edition of Robb Report’s Car of the Year saw the publication shift to new roads and courses on which to evaluate the cars. Robb Report also reorganized its judging criteria and developed a new points scale that made the evaluation process faster and more fair. Plus, judges appraised models across five categories: looks, performance, luxury and comfort, utility, and “wow” factor and collectability.
“In the end, our judges hardly suffered, driving 10 exceptional automobiles representing a range of aesthetics, engineering and philosophies,” Robb Report wrote.
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