2026 Bentley Continental GT S | PH Review

Bentley says it's 'rediscovering its passion for driver's cars'; the latest GT S is its jumping off point

By Stephen Dobie / Monday, 27 April 2026 / Loading comments

Mere weeks after we extolled the virtues of a base Continental GT, I’m here to counter that the new GT S is a wiser buy. Awkward. I can’t imagine any buyers will feel miffed with whichever of the Conti’s trim levels they clamber to, though the new, second-rung-up Continental GT S makes an especially arresting case for itself. It arrives as the more useable, attainable sibling to the crackpot rear-drive Supersports, and essentially pairs the lowlier powertrain with its gnarlier chassis package. The entry GT’s output mated to the Speed’s more tenacious underpinnings.

Everything is relative, of course, and ‘entry’ here means a 680hp petrol-electric combo thanks to the pairing of a 519hp twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 with a 190hp motor and 25.9kWh battery. The resulting performance is 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds and a 191mph top speed. Helping put it all to proficient use is ‘Bentley Performance Active Chassis’, aka an active all-wheel-drive system capable of sending 100 per cent of its torque to the rear axle. One which works with twin-valve dampers, torque vectoring both front to rear and across its axles, a 48V anti-roll system, an electronic limited-slip differential and all-wheel steering.

Omitted from base cars – but present here – is a looser, dynamic ESC mode that’s available once you’ve twirled its knurled drive mode dial to Sport and which ‘allows the driver to control the cornering attitude of the car whilst maintaining confidence to bring it back in line if required.’ The ESC can be extinguished entirely if you’re clamouring for sole responsibility of keeping its 2.5-tonne mass and 4.9m length pointing the right way.

The S makeover is completed by subtly tweaked exterior and interior trim, much of it in darker hues rather than chrome, though Bentley’s nigh on infinite world of configuration can carve out a car to your very specific tastes. While the S is positioned between the base GT and halo Speed, its price sits significantly closer to the former – just ten grand higher at £212,500 before options, or £233,700 as a GTC S drop-top. It’s likely to swell considerably, mind. An Akrapovic exhaust that helps underscore its additional dynamism commands £10,200, the carbon ceramic brakes ask £14,395 and the Spark Blue paint looking so resplendent in these images comes courtesy of the Mulliner department at – ahem – £19,425. This test car gets within a hair’s breadth of £300k…

Plenty to live up to, then, but with a fairly inspirational backdrop to help it do so. It’s surprising more car launches don’t take place on the Isle of Man, what with its fabulous scenery and sweeping rural roads unencumbered by speed limits. Perhaps it’s too big a billing for many cars to adequately fill, their deficiencies more likely to become apparent with the extra commitment the island allows. Or downright encourages.

No such worries here, of course. The Conti’s mix of luscious damping and absurd speed – even in this ‘base’ powertrain configuration – feels right at home on the palindromic 37.73-mile lap of the TT course. Hybrid power seems curiously befitting, the 30 and 40mph limits between the twistier, limitless bits all covered on electricity alone if you’re in Comfort or Bentley mode, allowing you to save all the ferocity for when no one is impacted by your sonic presence. There’s rather a lot of that with the Akrapovic specified, in fact; it’s a raspy, rowdy car with Sport mode activated, gurgling through urban environs like a muscle car wearing Sunday best.

Markus Thiel, Bentley’s Director of Vehicle Motion, rides along with me for my first lap of the Snaefell course and he’s a brilliant co-pilot to glean R&D intel from. He’s designed the drive modes to converge at their extremities, ensuring Sport still rides eloquently in town and Comfort or Bentley won’t feel too insouciant as you begin to approach the car’s limits. It means toggling between its setups doesn’t bring a night-and-day shift in behaviour, though I do find myself diving into its Custom mode to pair lighter steering with the more focused chassis and drivetrain.

His modestly sized team put in development miles around Bentley’s Cheshire base and into North Wales, and the way this car soaks up and shrugs off tougher surfaces only serves to prove it. Its composure is unflinching even with today’s inevitably higher speeds and this is a car that takes everything in its stride without falling short on character.

The S feels like a Continental GT developed to the nth degree of its remit, its additional dynamism woven carefully into the existing two-door Bentley experience in a way the more hedonistic, rear-driven tricks of the Supersports perhaps won’t be. The torque vectoring and all-wheel steering aren’t overt in their work but clearly nip neatly away the Conti’s sizeable kerbweight. While this car gains its ESC Dynamic Mode, you're not suddenly drifting it around or steering it on the throttle, rather sensing some welcome extra tension at its rear axle to coax and push you out of a turn.

It can carry absurd speed, of course, but slower, calmer cornering gives you a greater appreciation of its acceleration and how impressively linear and progressive it is for an electrified car. There’s a chance to flick up and down its gears and use more ratios than you might expect on the road. While the ECU shifts up for you at the 7,000rpm limit – even in manual mode – you can still hover in the high sixes in a bend and time your upshift nicely on exit. You don't feel robbed of control and hitting headlong against a limiter, however infrequently, would risk robbing the glorious cabin of its sense of decorum.

Credit to its steering, which is light and breezy yet packed with feel (rather than weight) to allow very efficient movements. There’s agility and keenness without the hyperactivity that defines a modern Ferrari. Indeed, there's no integration period required to operate anything here. There are rows of buttons and switches, a finely milled, traditional gear lever, and a completely round steering wheel. It sticks firmly to Bentley tradition without underwhelming. As does its supreme refinement once the engine ducks out of service and you’re whooshing along on electrons alone.

Markus wants his cars work with their driver, which sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s clearly the attitude which makes the S feel so effortlessly composed. It cordially meets you at your level where a GT3 or suchlike often cajoles you into climbing up to its elevation. This might be a problem if it felt like there was nothing to master here, yet the Continental GT S doesn't want for gratification. It’s clearly capable of about as much as you’re willing to throw at it at road speeds, even on a tiny island. It simply waits for you to call the shots. Bentley claims it’s rediscovering its passion for driver's cars under the leadership of (former Porsche man) Frank-Steffen Walliser. If the GT S sits among the entry points to that world, it would seem we’ve got plenty more to look forward to.

Specification | 2026 Bentley Continental GT S

Engine: 3,996cc twin-turbocharged V8, electric motor, 25.9kWh battery
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 680 combined (519@6,250rpm)
Torque (lb ft): 686 combined (568@2,300-4,500rpm)
0-62mph: 3.5sec
Top speed: 191mph
Weight: 2,459kg
MPG: 68.9 (52 miles e-range)
CO2: 93g/km
Price: from £212,500