Bentley’s Continental GT has a name to suit it: four voluptuous syllables then two emergency stops. This is the first car I reviewed, and it is still my favourite. I think this is because I grew up in Esher, and this is the car of the functional aspirant upper-middle class. It is important to remember that the state limousines – the pair of sinuous maroon sharks that transport the monarch from one demonstration of public magic to the next – are Bentleys, based on the long-gone Arnage, elongated for majesty.

The Bentley is for people who work hard: the still responsible. Just enough flash. Not too much. If Aston Martin is British romance and Rolls Royce British violence in lambswool, Bentley is British functionality and taste. It sits well with Audi under the banner of VW – they have owned it since 1998 – because Audi expresses the habits and longings of a similar class in Germany. If British functionality is only a pleasant memory now, it makes me appreciate the new GTC Speed, a convertible in Alpine Green, much more.   

Canada wants to make quoting the Bible........

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