Browse over 9,000 car reviews
What's the difference?
Bentley has been building cars for more than 100 years, but the famous British brand was re-born 20 years ago when it launched the Continental GT.
The sporty coupe and convertible reinvigorated the brand, returning it to its former glory days when it made cars that were dynamic and not just big and luxurious.
Now onto its third generation, the Continental GT has not only helped Bentley re-establish itself but also become a modern motoring icon.
Which is what the company wanted, an iconic model, like the Porsche 911 that could be a flagbearer for the brand.
Like the 911, this latest iteration is available in multiple forms, and we’re testing the Continental GT S Convertible, a two-door, four-seat grand tourer - with an emphasis on the ‘grand’.
Marvel Studios has become the master of extracting as much value from a concept as any corporation in the world - except one.
Each year we’re bombarded with at least a couple of superhero movies and even more television shows, so much so now that the term ‘superhero fatigue’ has entered our social consciousness. We no longer care if Thor or Spider-Man save the day because we’ve seen so many world-ending disasters being stopped at the last minute we can no longer feel excited.
Porsche, though, is able to create one spin-off after the other and still have true motoring enthusiasts getting sweaty palms and elevated heart rates. The current 992-generation 911 range included a frankly mind-boggling 23 variants, from standard Carrera all the way up to the race-car-in-disguise GT3 RS and the full-speed, full-lux Turbo S.
And yet, somehow the German maker found room for a 24th variant. How? By going off the beaten track. Literally.
The Porsche 911 Dakar is unlike anything the brand has done before, taking the iconic sports car and giving it an off-road twist.
So, what is it exactly? Well, for those unfamiliar, the Dakar Rally is an off-road race that typically lasts two weeks and sees competitors take on the roughest and toughest conditions the desert can throw at them. It’s a gruelling and sometimes fatal challenge, but it’s the toughest test of human and machine.
It’s also typically contested by large, SUV-based vehicles. In recent years it was Toyota HiLuxes and Volkswagen Touaregs doing the winning, while in the early days it was Range Rover.
Porsche won the Dakar Rally in 1984, using a specially modified version of its 911 to beat its conventional off-roader competition.
To celebrate that victory, and add one more variant to the 911 range, Porsche created this jacked-up, beefed-up version of its sports car.
But is it all looks and no substance? We went bush to find out…
It may not come cheap, isn’t ideal for family buyers and will have you visiting the petrol bowser regularly, but it’s still hard not to love the Continental GT.
It’s an over-the-top car in so many ways, from the dramatic styling to the plush and pampering interior to the effortlessly powerful engine, this is a car that is a pleasure to drive 10km or 10,000km.
It’s certainly not cheap, especially if you start diving into the options list, or the even more costly Mulliner program, but price is relative, of course, and for Bentley buyers purchasing one of these cars isn’t about getting a ‘bargain’ but instead it’s about experiencing the finer things in life.
Personally (and I’m expecting some hate from the fans in the comments), I hope Marvel slows down on the superhero movies and shows, but Porsche can keep doing its thing if cars like the 911 Dakar are the result.
It’s certainly a very niche offering, and one that will almost certainly go to collectors in this instance. But even that didn’t stop Porsche from investing in proper off-road upgrades to ensure the 911 Dakar is just as capable in its element as the 911 GT3 is in its and every other member of the range.
There’s been no official word from Porsche, but my hope is the 911 Dakar follows the same scenario we saw the the previous-generation 911 R. That was another strictly limited special edition, basically a GT3 without the big wing, and it was so popular it spawned the 911 GT3 with Touring Package for this latest generation.
It may be unusual and unlikely, but the 911 Dakar is also unquestionably a great addition to the already extensive 911 range.
The most interesting aspect of the third-generation Continental GT design is how similar it looks to the first-generation model launched 20 years ago.
Put the pair side-by-side and you’ll notice the latest model is more refined and features crisper lines and more intricate details, but the overall shape and design themes, such as the grille, headlights, etc, bare a similar family resemblance.
This is a deliberate act from Bentley, choosing an evolutionary styling approach for the Continental GT in the same way Porsche has approached the 911.
As for the specific details of this particular Continental GT S model, there are some key differences between it and the standard GT and GT Azure models that sit beneath it in the range.
The most notable - even if it is slightly harder to spot on our black test car - is a ‘black pack’ that swaps all the chrome finishes on the exterior to black.
This includes the grille, headlight surrounds, lower bumper grille, window surrounds, door mirror caps and the exhaust tips. The S also adds black sports sills and black-painted alloy wheels.
As you can see in these images, our test car was fitted with the optional 'Rallye Design Package'. It adds another $54,730 to the cost but brings with it this head-turning paint scheme inspired by the racing livery from the 1984 winner. It’s actually a two-tone paint job with a wrap, the first time Porsche has produced such a finish on any of its production cars.
The ‘Roughroads’ is a substitute for the original cigarette brand that sponsored the car, while the white and blue scheme, with red and gold highlights is almost identical to the ‘84 car. Owners could pick any racing number between one and 999, our test car had #176 because that’s the number carried by the winning car.
The Rallye Design Package isn’t just a fresh look, too, it also adds the white wheels, a half roll cage, six-point racing-style harnesses and a fire extinguisher, so you can enter motorsport competitions and really push your Dakar to its limits.
As mentioned earlier, the Continental GT is a two-door, four-seat grand tourer, but while it’s certainly grand, calling it a four seater may be a stretch.
There are two small seats in the rear that can be used if absolutely necessary but anyone in the back won’t feel like they’re in a luxury car because they’ll be cramped for space - even with the roof down.
You could pop small kids in the back in a pinch (and there is a pair of ISOFIX anchor points) but the Continental GT is hardly a family car.
In fact, the Flying Spur is a four-door sedan built on the same underpinnings as the Continental GT, so Bentley does have family buyers covered.
So, let’s keep our attention on the front seats, which is where you want to be in this grand tourer. The seats are comfortable and offer fantastic support, thanks in large part to 12-way electronic adjustment.
To help you enjoy your convertible with the top down regardless of weather, the seats are heated and available with a vent to blow warm or cool air onto your neck.
The seats are just the start, the whole cabin is a blend of modern technology and classic luxury elements.
There’s the media touchscreen, but there’s also a physical button for most functions, so it’s a busy layout but one that will likely appeal to Bentley’s older clientele.
Our test car was fitted with not only the optional sound system but a rotating display, so you can hide the screen away when you’re not using it.
Overall the build quality and attention-to-detail is exceptional, as you’d expect for a car at this price. And it’s really one of the main reasons you buy a Bentley, because it has a level of luxury and quality above brands like Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.
The interior is probably the most ‘normal’ 911 element of the Dakar. Yes, it’s strictly a two-seater (even without the optional roll cage), but it doesn’t feel much different to a GT3, especially as the brand’s 'Race-Tex' synthetic suede is the standard trim material. The only exception is the unique ‘911 Dakar’ badge on the passenger side of the dashboard, which tells you exactly which one of the 2500 examples yours is.
While Race-Tex is the primary trim, there’s plenty of leather elements and contrasting stitching to give a premium look and feel. The standard seats in the Dakar are the lightweight full bucket sports seats, made from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic and also trimmed in Race-Tex. This adds to that sporty, GT3-like feeling. They’re comfortable when you’re in them, but as they’re quite deep they make getting in and out a bit trickier than the standard Porsche chairs.
The rest of the technology is standard Porsche. The multimedia system is as simple and intuitive as ever, one of the better examples on the market today, which is something you typically think of with Porsche but it shows the company’s attention to all the details.
The Dakar comes equipped with a Bose surround sound system and full smartphone integration, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
However, it’s worth noting if you add the Rallye Design Package and get the roll cage it will cut down on the amount of usable storage space. Without it, you can use the now-carpeted space where the rear seats would go for extra storage, but with the cage you can only squeeze a few soft items in. The rest has to go under the bonnet in the relatively deep but narrow front storage space, which measures 132 litres.
So, if you do want to take an extended road trip in your 911 Dakar, springing for the roof storage system would be a helpful idea.
Naturally the Continental GT doesn’t come cheap, with the range beginning at $430,300 (all priced exclude on-road costs) for the ‘entry-level’ coupe model.
The Continental GT S Convertible we’re testing here is priced from $568,400.
But with cars like the Bentley, the list price is really only the starting point as the company offers a huge array of ways for owners to personalise their cars and this can make a dramatic difference to the cost.
For example, our test car featured several additional extras including its interior leather colour combination, upgraded 1500W 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, larger 22-inch alloy wheels and more, which pushed the price to $667,806.
In terms of personalisation, the sky's the limit. Or perhaps to be more precise, your bank account is the limit. That’s because Bentley’s Muliner department can create unique colours, leathers, trims, you name it, whatever your heart desires is yours - as long as you can afford it.
Even if you don’t want to go down that path there’s still plenty of choice, with the Continental GT available in 16 standard body colours plus an extended range of off-the-shelf hues.
There are three standard roof colours with four optional colours, as well as five interior leather choices and 11 different veneer 'species' to select from.
Focusing on the equipment that comes standard with the Continental GT S, this includes 21-inch alloy wheels, air-suspension, full LED matrix headlights, a 650W 10-speaker sound system and a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen which incorporates navigation, Bluetooth and WiFi streaming, digital radio, Apple CarPlay and even a CD slot (which is a rare find these days).
At first glance you might just think the 911 Dakar is just a sticker pack and a new set of wheels and tyres, but you’d be very wrong.
Yes, there is a sticker pack (more on that later) but Porsche has made some pretty significant engineering changes for the Dakar. Enough that the company claims it now has similar ground clearance and approach angles of a “conventional SUV.”
These changes include up to 50mm more ground clearance than a standard 911 Carrera, plus an extra 30mm of lift when needed from the hydraulic suspension. This higher height isn’t speed restricted, so you can stay lifted and put your foot down, which is perfect for high-speed off-road driving.
There are unique five spoke, forged alloy wheels (19-inch front, 20-inch rear) fitted with specifically designed Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tyres. To fit this new package there are wider wheel arches with stainless steel for extra protection.
Other unique additions include red aluminium towing points front and rear, a new front bumper with underbody protection and a new, fixed rear spoiler. The bonnet is also very similar to the one found on the 911 GT3, made from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic to save weight.
Porsche has added rear-wheel steering as standard on the Dakar, as is its 'Dynamic Chassis Control' anti-roll stabilisation system, with both intended to help its off-road prowess.
There are some notable - and unusual - optional extras for this version of the 911. These include roof racks able to incorporate a lightbar and/or an extra storage rack that can take on an additional 42kg of luggage. Shovels, traction boards, spare tyres and fuel or whatever else you need for an outback adventure. You can even add an optional tent if you want to go camping in your Porsche 911.
Despite an official asking price of $491,400 (plus on-road costs) it’s hard not to give this 911 a perfect score for price because this is one of the very few cars that will almost certainly appreciate in value, rather than shed it. Porsche is building just 2500 examples of the 911 Dakar globally, so these will become a collector’s item and should be priced accordingly.
Bentley is renowned for its big, powerful engines, specifically its unique W12. That’s available in the top-of-the-range Continental GT, but the S model we’re driving is motivated by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.
It may not be what Bentley is famous for, but it’s a fantastic engine in its own right and it’s paired to a well-matched eight-speed automatic transmission and an active all-wheel drive system.
Making a very healthy 404kW and 770Nm it has no trouble getting such a big car moving.
Bentley claims the Continental GT S will run 0-100km/h in just 4.1 seconds, which is very rapid and particularly impressive when you realise this car weighs 2335kg.
While it has elements of the 911 GT3, the 911 Dakar is based on the Carrera 4 GTS Coupe, at least from a powertrain point of view. Both models share the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine tuned to make 353kW/570Nm, paired with Porsche’s eight-speed dual-clutch transmission as standard. Naturally, it’s also fitted with Porsche’s all-wheel drive system, but the Dakar gets some unique features.
For starters, it’s equipped with the same trick engine mounts as the 911 GT3, which are stiffer to cope with extra off-road driving.
The all-wheel drive system features two unique modes - 'Rallye' and 'Off-Road', designed for improved loose surface performance. The former sets the all-wheel drive with a rear-bias and primes the powertrain for sporty driving, while the latter actives the differential lock for better slippery surface traction, also setting the engine and transmission for maximum low-speed response.
One major difference between the Dakar and the Carrera 4 GTS (owing to the former's off-road changes) is a much lower top speed; 240km/h compared to 309km/h for the GTS. The 0-100km/h times are almost identical, though, with the Dakar taking just 3.4 seconds and the GTS 3.3 seconds.
If you’re looking for a fuel efficient car or are worried about the price of premium unleaded at your local service station, the Continental GT is not for you.
In an entirely unsurprising way, this two-tonne, twin-turbo V8 luxury car is not a fuel-sipping proposition.
Even the official combined urban/highway cycle is 12.5 litres per 100km, which is thirsty.
But if you’re spending most of your time around town, rather than driving to your country weekender, you’ll probably be looking at returns in the mid to high teens, based on our experience.
We saw an average of 16.7L/100km on the car’s long-term trip computer that included more than 1400km of driving.
Fortunately it has a 90-litre tank, which translates to a theoretical driving range of 720km - as long as you can hit the official claim.
Despite the knobby tyres and extra weight (which is only 10kg in standard form, but will obviously blow out if you get the roof basket and load it up) fuel economy for the 911 Dakar is only fractionally heavier than the GTS. Its official rating is 10.5L/100km and on test, which included spirited driving on- and off-road, plus a mixture of motorway and urban running, we returned 12.6L/100km, which is solid for a sports car.
Coupled with the 67-litre tank, you’ll have a theoretical range of 638km on a full tank, which won’t get you across the outback but is respectable for this type of car. It isn’t a Toyota LandCruiser so obviously it won’t get you quite as far on a single fill.
There’s a duality to the driving experience of the Continental GT, as it manages to blend its obvious luxury focus with a genuinely dynamic edge that makes it a true grand tourer.
The combination of the powerful engine and air suspension means it possesses a laid back personality and effortless nature around town.
The engine delivers its performance with ease, moving this big car rapidly whenever you put your foot down, so you can jump into gaps in traffic or make a brisk getaway from the lights.
It soaks up all the bumps and imperfections on the road with minimal fuss, too, despite our test car riding on 22-inch wheels, so you feel cosseted inside the plush cabin.
However, if you find yourself on the open road, the Continental GT S is equally at home.
Dial up the ‘Sport’ drive mode and the engine feels more responsive, the steering is more direct and the suspension is more taut but still compliant.
It makes this a really fun car to drive on a fast, sweeping rural road, where you can let the engine stretch its legs.
Because of its size it’s not as enjoyable on a twisty road with lots of changes of direction, though.
But for enjoying an opulent daily commute or a weekend drive in the countryside the Continental GT S is a great companion.
Porsche isn’t known for doing things in half-measures, so it should come as no surprise that the 911 Dakar has some serious off-road potential. Thanks to the extra ride height, underbody protection and the new tyres the Dakar has some strong off-road credentials.
It has 161mm of ground clearance, which is only 26mm less than a Macan. Porsche also claims an approach angle of 14.2 degrees, a breakover angle of 16.2 degrees and a departure angle of 16.4 degrees.
Even so, the idea of taking a Porsche 911 off-roading still feels unusual, especially when you get gravel under the tyres… and yet, the Dakar feels at home. With the drive mode set to Off-Road and maximum ride height engaged, the Dakar is more than capable of navigating some very rough terrain.
We headed down some rugged trails in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, and after some heavy rain the previous weeks, the surface was extremely rutted, chopped up and littered with large gravel. While you wouldn’t put it in the same off-road capability class as a 70 Series LandCruiser, the Dakar had no trouble navigating roads that would normally break a sports car. Even when we came across a water crossing the Porsche just powered through it without any issue.
Back on sealed roads, and despite the knobby Pirellis, the 911 Dakar handles just as well as you’d expect a Porsche sports car to. It doesn’t feel significantly slower or dulled by its off-road elements and instead has the same smooth, effortless performance that has made this model a sports car icon. It's obviously not quite as precise and poised as a 911 GTS on road tyres would be, but it's not far off.
The everyday added bonus of the Dakar’s off-road upgrades is, unlike any other sports car (except maybe Lamborghini's Huracan Sterrato), you never need to worry about speed bumps or potholes, so it would actually make for a surprisingly liveable daily driver.
Despite costing more than $500,000 there are still several optional safety features for the Continental GT, which is surprising and disappointing.
There is a decent level of standard equipment, including four airbags - driver and front seat passenger, as well as side - and a reversing camera, as well as active safety items including pre-collision warning, collision prevention assist, rear cross-traffic alert and multi-collision brake.
However, equipment that is standard on much cheaper cars that’s optional on the Continental include active lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control with 'Traffic Jam Assist', traffic sign recognition, pedestrian warning, reversing traffic warning and top view cameras.
These are available in optional packages, but it’s not unreasonable to expect every safety feature Bentley offers as standard given the asking price.
As for an ANCAP safety rating, the Continental GT doesn’t have one - again, largely because of its price.
As ANCAP testing requires multiple vehicles to be destroyed it’s not financially viable to test all models in this premium market, so cars from the likes of Bentley, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and others rarely have an independent safety rating.
Porsche equips the 911 Dakar with airbags for both occupants, covering the front, thorax and sides plus cruise control is standard. However, there’s no suite of active safety features, with only ‘Warn and Brake Assist’ standard and the Dakar missing out on the 'Lane Change Assist' that’s fitted to the 911 GTS.
Given ANCAP requires seven cars for each crash test it’s unlikely the organisation will spend the $1.9 million it would need to get its hands on enough 911s; and certainly not the limited edition Dakar.
But that’s in no way meant to insinuate the 911 is an unsafe car. Far from it. It feels solid and secure, and its responsive and direct handling certainly impacts its active safety, while it has the key passive safety features, with full airbag coverage.
Another surprising feature of the Bentley range is the company’s three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which feels surprisingly short in this day and age - especially for a brand that takes pride in its carefully built cars.
There is a 10-year warranty available as an optional extra, but it feels like that should be standard if the company is willing to stand by its products anyway and owners are paying such a premium for their cars upfront.
The good news is all Bentley models are covered by a five-year servicing plan (intervals are 12 months/16,000km) which is included in the cost of the car.
As you should expect from such a premium brand, the local dealer will arrange to collect and return the car when servicing is required, and a loan car can be arranged if required.
While most car brands, even the premium ones, have moved to at least a five-year warranty, Porsche is sticking with three years (and unlimited kilometres). But you can extend the warranty, for a price, through your local dealer.
Porsche has also bucked the common trend for capped price servicing, with costs varying from model to model and across states and each dealership, so you’ll need to consult with your local showroom to get a clearer picture. Service intervals are every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.