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Bentley Unveils Its First Hybrid Continental GT: A New Era of Luxury Performance
Bentley’s electrification effort finally takes in its core two-door GT coupé Exotic '2+2' sporting coupes hardly come any more different than the Bentley Continental GT and the Porsche 911, and yet Crewe seems to be following Stuttgart’s philosophy as it develops its modern luxury grand tourer into its third decade.Just as ‘all-new’ model generations of the Porsche can be considered in pairs (the 2004 ‘997’ being a technical development of the ‘996’, ditto the 2019 ‘992’ of the ‘991’), Continental GTs have developed similarly. The second-generation GT of 2011 refined and improved the chassis of the 2003 original, and now the fourth generation has refined and improved the Porsche-developed platform and body of the third.When, in 2023, Crewe announced the end of production of the W12 engine that powered the GT for so long, we all knew major change for the Continental series must be afoot. That change now manifests itself as the first plug-in hybrid Continental coupe that Bentley has made, and also its most powerful GT yet: the Bentley Continental GT Speed Hybrid.The car has taken on a new electronic architecture to facilitate that under-bonnet change; features a new active suspension system which, it’s claimed, extends its dynamic repertoire; and gets quite widely revised exterior styling and cabin technology, the former intended to sprinkle some of the stardust of the firm’s ultra-rare limited-series cars – the Bacalar and Batur – on this series-production model.
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Affordable Ferrari Adventure: The £16,000 Ratarossa Experience
The 'Ratarossa' was bought from California for just £16,000Yes, you can buy a flat-12, gaited-manual Ferrari for less than £20,000. Should you? That's a different story...
Fortunately, the interior handle and door card on the driver’s side of Scott Chivers’ left-hook Testarossa spider is secure. Pull the handle on the passenger side and it comes off.
I am driving Ratarossa, a Ferrari Testarossa well-known by the internet. The car derives its name from the ‘recycled automotive transport’ exemplified by rusty Type 2 VWs and is the ultimate expression of Scott’s philosophy.
Its grey body is rough. The engine cover is barely secure, it’s been hit hard with the lowering stick. But the car’s original flat-12 engine and five-speed manual ‘box remain.
Scott bought it from a chap in California who was intending to restore it, but just never got round to it. All in - car, shipping, taxes - this Testarossa cost just £16,000.
It’s an amazing thing. And quite intimidating to get into. Nevertheless I make it into the driver’s seat, wearing the stringbacks Scott thinks are total Don Johnson.
I’m about to turn the ignition key but, first, let us pray. Down on my right is the famous Ferrari gate. I can’t wait. Reverse is down and forward; first, straight back. Better get those two right. I fire up the flat-12.
There’s a cacophony of mechanical gnashing and a delicious intake howl when you dare to blip the throttle. No wonder Scott’s elderly neighbour complained to the council.
The pedal box is for Formula 1 drivers in Sparco slippers. I’m wearing motorcycle boots. I practise telling my B from my A. C, the clutch, weighs a ton. So do the front wheels. I can barely operate the steering.
Pulling away is surprisingly smooth. First to second gear and beyond is a deliberate operation, although there is some spring bias to help tee the selector for each slot.
There’s no lag or hesitancy as the engine accepts the next cog. The temperature looks good and the blue smoke on start-up has cleared.
Given that its body has been stiffened with the equivalent of a garden gate, the Ratarossa feels surprisingly taut, at least at 40mph.
The brakes are firm but progressive too. The steering has lightened up but it’s not what you’d call quick. You have to wind on the lock nice and early to avoid ploughing straight on.
And is that petrol I can smell? “A small leak,” explains my co-pilot.
Whatever its niggles, the Ratarossa is wonderful and unique. The looks of fellow drivers alone tell you that.
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The BMW XM: A Bold Hybrid Fusion of Performance and Heritage
Does only the second-ever bespoke M car leave us excited about the future, or longing for the past? The BMW XM is the division’s first bespoke car since the mid-engined M1 of 1978 and one that M CEO Frank van Meel says offers the best of X and the best of M. Hence the name.This is also M’s very first hybrid, giving a heady 644bhp and 590lb ft. A low-slung 29.5kWh battery grants an electric-only range of 55 miles. It feeds a 148bhp electric motor integrated into the ZF-built eight-speed automatic gearbox. The rest of the output comes from M’s phenomenally strong ‘S68’ twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8, with up to 738bhp in the full fat XM Label Red. The XM, then, outshines even the Aston Martin DBX 707 – an SUV so monstrously over-endowed that they put the figure in its name.