Bentley Continental GT review: the grand tourer Bahrain's causeway was built for
4.5/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the V8 unless the W12's extra theatre genuinely matters to you: it is meaningfully cheaper to insure and run in Bahrain, loses less of the character that matters day to day, and the W12's headline numbers are rarely usable on local roads anyway. Either way, budget for depreciation as the real cost of ownership, not the sticker price — this is a car bought new by people who plan to change it in three years, and bought used by people who understand exactly what that means for them.
Pros
- All-wheel-drive traction handles the causeway crosswinds and wet winter mornings with total confidence
- Genuine factory-backed dealer (Behbehani Brothers) in Bahrain for service and parts
- Cabin isolation and seat cooling are class-leading in 45°C summers
- V8 is quicker-revving, lighter and noticeably cheaper to run than the W12
- Interior quality is a clear step above German rivals at this price
Cons
- Depreciation on a new example is severe within the first three years
- Low front splitter is vulnerable on Manama's unmarked speed bumps
- Rear seats are strictly for short trips or small children
- Servicing and tyres are priced like the badge, not the segment
The Continental GT has always been Bentley's most honest product: a car that admits it is built to cross continents at speed in complete comfort, and does not pretend to be anything sportier. The third generation, on the MSB platform shared with the Porsche Panamera's underlying architecture, is the best version of that idea Bentley has built — stiffer, better balanced, and finally rid of the slightly numb steering that dogged the second generation.
In Bahrain, that translates into a very specific kind of brilliance. The causeway run to Saudi Arabia is where the car makes the most sense: 45 minutes of high-speed cruising where the air suspension irons out expansion joints, the cabin stays library-quiet at 140 km/h, and the twin-turbo engines have nowhere near enough road to show their real limits. It is, without exaggeration, one of the most relaxing ways to cover that distance available at any price.
W12 or V8
The W12 is the emotional choice — a genuinely unusual engine layout, more low-down shove, and a soundtrack no V8 can replicate. But the 4.0-litre V8 is the one to actually live with in Bahrain: it is quicker-revving, meaningfully lighter over the front axle so the car turns in with less effort, and both cheaper to insure and noticeably less thirsty in the stop-start crawl around Seef and Adliya. Few owners who choose the V8 report missing the extra cylinders.
Living with it in the heat
Bentley's climate control is genuinely excellent in 45°C summers — the ventilated seats and three-zone system hold the cabin cold even parked in direct sun for a few minutes before the engine starts. The bigger local concern is speed bumps and unmarked kerbs: the front splitter sits low, and Manama's older neighbourhoods punish it if you are not paying attention. Ground clearance is not a spec Bentley publishes for a reason.
Ownership reality
Behbehani Brothers' Bentley Bahrain dealership means genuine factory service and parts availability locally, which is not something every exotic brand here can offer — a real point in the Continental's favour over lower-volume rivals that route everything through Dubai. The trade-off is depreciation: a three-year-old Continental GT loses a large share of its original price, which is bad news buying new and very good news buying used, provided the service history is complete and the air suspension and electronics have been properly maintained.
This is not a car for someone counting fuel receipts. It is a car for someone who wants to arrive at a very high speed having done nothing that felt like effort, in a cabin trimmed better than most private jets. On that specific brief, nothing else in Bahrain does it as well.