![](\"https:\/\/lamortindave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bentley-continental-gt-convertible-review.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sure, Bentley flew me to Montana to see its headlining act, the new Bentayga Speed. But before an afternoon return flight on day two, there were some other Bentleys to consider, lined up in the horseshoe driveway of our Big Sky hotel.<\/p>\n
The big(ish) news here among the assembled non-Bentaygas is that hybrid V-8s now power the entirety of the Continental GT<\/a> and Flying Spur<\/a> ranges, tuned to varying horsepower and torque figures based on trim, but always with at least 670 horsepower and 685 pound-feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bentley insists this streamlining is a benefit, that its customers don\u2019t miss the hallowed W-12 engine which used to power the big bruisers in its portfolio. Proof is in the sales, they contend. W-12 purchases tailed off toward the end of the engine\u2019s production run, while these subsequent V-8 Hybrids have proven massively popular, contributing massively to Bentley\u2019s position as Volkswagen Group\u2019s cash cow.<\/p>\n More importantly, the cars prove the point about hybrid V-8s themselves: This powertrain sounds great and drives beautifully. I\u2019ll call it perhaps the most-refined hybrid powertrain on earth. As an engineering curiosity and connection to Bentley history, the W-12 can\u2019t be replaced. From the driver\u2019s perspective, the V-8 hybrid ensures the outgoing W-12 won\u2019t be missed.\u00a0<\/p>\n In slow-moving residential areas surrounding the resort, the kick of hybrid torque eases each Bentley effortlessly up short, punchy climbs without a single extra iota of strain from the drivetrain. No kicking down two or three gears when you squeeze the gas pedal, interrupting the sensation you\u2019re rolling along on a breeze. Instead, there\u2019s simply silent, effortless, assured propulsion from the hybrid motor.\u00a0<\/p>\n So often, hybrids are masterful partners for economy cars but rarely improve sports or luxury cars. These Bentleys provide an exception to the rule.<\/p>\n A hybrid lineup isn\u2019t much to write home (or to readers) about, but I was overcome by the overwhelming Bentley-ness of both cars I tested. After a 45-minute rip in the Continental GTC, I simply scribbled superlatives in my notebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n “This is a ****** Bentley, baby,” I wrote. “Like putting on a diamond necklace.”<\/p>\n Now, I don\u2019t actually know what it feels like to don a diamond necklace, probably because I\u2019m bound by the stolid shackles of masculinity. (Also I can\u2019t afford to browse at Tiffany, so let\u2019s go with the shackles). But if you\u2019re spending the cost of a nice Midwestern home on a form of transportation, maybe a diamond necklace on wheels is the sort of hyperbolic emotion worth wheeling out of your driveway.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s all to say: I can get my stealth wealth hit from the back seat of a Genesis G90 or an S-Class on 19s; We look to Crewe to deliver something of such sublime quality and style that it stirs us emotionally.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, first up, the Flying Spur Touring. Nice name to say. Green roof over striking silver body, the paint blends so seamlessly that your fingernail can\u2019t tell where one layer begins and another ends.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is classic Bentley, long and low and made of boxy shapes that seem to be sanded down so perfectly at the edges, you imagine water dripping off the thing even when it\u2019s sat under Montana\u2019s cobalt sky. However you look at it, the Flying Spur is breathtaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n As much as I enjoyed the Bentayga Speed and its vast capabilities, the Flying Spur is simply the Bentley closest to my heart. I suppose it\u2019s impossible to explain\u2014though I\u2019ll try\u2014but with the Bentleys that ride closer to the ground instead of parading around like The Mayor of Monaco on 23-inch wheels\u2014well, there\u2019s just something a bit more\u2026 Bentley about a Flying Spur. Some restraint.\u00a0<\/p>\n “A whiff of Gentry about this one,” I scribbled into my notebook following that wafty little stint in the Flying Spur.\u00a0<\/p>\n What does that actually mean? Well, the Flying Spur\u2019s drivetrain doesn\u2019t punch theatrically at your backside when its transmission shifts during a flat-foot quarter-mile blast, unlike the Bentayga\u2019s mill. The Spur\u2019s hybrid system simply smears the gear shifts together like a swipe of warm honey down your back while the engine note boils over gruffly on a swell of syrupy, easy mega-torque.\u00a0<\/p>\n And perhaps it\u2019s just how this Flying Spur was spec\u2019d by Bentley, but there\u2019s a stateliness to the Flying Spur\u2019s interior that fits better with my own preconceptions of the Bentley namesake. The \u201cCumbrian Green\u201d leather is laid across the Spur\u2019s interior by the yard, swathing the interior in a shade of avocado-skin that feels at once rich, luxuriant, and assured in its stateliness.\u00a0<\/p>\n You imagine a new life from behind the wheel of a Flying Spur. This one is full of tartan-lined waxed cotton jackets and maybe a Labrador riding shotgun.\u00a0<\/p>\n The vast leather surfaces are broken only by white contrast stitching and a walnut veneer stretching across the lower dash and center console. This dash layout looks slightly outdated compared to the Bentayga, but it just fits the Flying Spur.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also of note: Bentley\u2019s new “Azure” trim. Azure is a styling package, essentially, sat above the base model in terms of cost and prestige. It\u2019s meant to evoke a more easygoing yet overtly luxurious tone compared to the \u201cSpeed\u201d trim we sampled in the Bentayga on day one. \u201cAzure\u201d arrives with a not-insignificant bump in bling, converting the exterior trim to mirror-polish brightwork and slapping a pair of silver wheels on the whole thing.<\/p>\n Bentley\u2019s GT\/C Azure convertible cranks the luxury up another notch, but in a sort of fresh, new-age way. If the Spur is a musty sort of throwback to British coachmaking\u2019s golden age, the Azure is new luxury; It attends kombucha-ayahuasca wellness retreats in Sonoma with the other girlbosses and gets there by private chopper.\u00a0<\/p>\n You see that attitude throughout the interior of this blue-on-silver beauty. The leather quality and quantity match the Flying Spur\u2019s, but the Azure renders its interior in cooler shades, evoking a yacht\u2019s sleek ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n But then there\u2019s the diamond-pattern stitching holding each leather panel together, the visual depth of the beautifully painted trim pieces running along the dash, and in general, the way this interior looks like it\u2019s sitting inside a jeweler\u2019s glass display case. This is a beautiful interior, and I can\u2019t honestly say that about almost any modern car.\u00a0<\/p>\n While more and more customers go to Bentley for their SUVs, I find that Bentley\u2019s cars offer a purer expression of the brand\u2019s traditional ideals. Even if you ultimately walk out of the showroom with a Bentayga\u2019s keys in your pocket, you owe it to yourself to consider the alternatives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sure, Bentley flew me to Montana to see its headlining act, the new Bentayga Speed. But before an afternoon return flight on day two, there were some other Bentleys to<\/p>\n![\"Bentley](\"https:\/\/lamortindave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bentley-continental-gt-convertible-review-1.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kyle Kinard \/ Motor1<\/p>\n![\"Bentley](\"https:\/\/lamortindave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bentley-continental-gt-convertible-review-2.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kyle Kinard \/ Motor1<\/p>\n![\"Opalite](\"https:\/\/lamortindave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/opalite-over-cumbrian-green-2025-bentley-continental-flying-spur-review.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Bentley<\/p>\n![\"Opalite](\"https:\/\/lamortindave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/opalite-over-cumbrian-green-2025-bentley-continental-flying-spur-review-1.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Bentley<\/p>\n![\"Bentley](\"https:\/\/lamortindave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bentley-continental-gt-convertible-review-3.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kyle Kinard \/ Motor1<\/p>\n![\"Bentley](\"https:\/\/lamortindave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bentley-continental-gt-convertible-review-4.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kyle Kinard \/ Motor1<\/p>\n![\"Bentley](\"https:\/\/lamortindave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/bentley-continental-gt-convertible-review-5.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kyle Kinard \/ Motor1<\/p>\n