2015 Bentley Continental GT first drive

Bentley's best-selling model; it claimed more than 50% of the company's sales last year, and one that has found more than 52,000 homes since its introduction back in 2003.

The changes for Bentley's facelifted Continental family are, in some cases, wide-ranging and in others specific. Namely, all cars get restyled grilles, bumpers, boot lids and exterior chrome details, and more colour choices (now 117 standard ones), additional alloy wheel designs and different leathers and Alcantara interiors.

More specifically, there are no changes to the V8 engine's power and torque, but Crewe's two-fingers-to-the-establishment W12 motor has been given the 'green' treatment in its non-Speed entry-level form. It has more power and torque than before, but can now run on half its cylinders at a cruise, helping save fuel and lower CO2. It's this engine that we're testing. 

The addition of optional high-speed WiFi won't get Bentley's most traditional buyers spilling cognac on their Chesterfields with excitement, but for Bentley it's another important technological step forward for what it knows is an increasingly tech-savvy marketplace. 

Even if it didn't need it before, Bentley has found another 15bhp and 15lb ft from its huge W12 lump, but the bigger story is its new cylinder deactivation, which works in a different way to the V8's.

You still need to be above third gear, the engine needs to be at the correct temperature and the throttle needs to moderated correctly, but where the V8 drops the same four cylinders to become a V4, with the W12, Bentley had to take a different approach.

"We had to use different software, which drops one bank of cylinders for 55 seconds, before switching both banks back on for three, then switching to the other bank for a further 55," explained Continental product director Paul Jones. "It'll just keep doing that - it's the only way you keep both cats warm enough."

Technically impressive stuff, and, unlike elsewhere in the VAG Group, you won't find a dash light illuminating to let you know you're running on fewer cylinders - it's not what Bentley owners want, apparently. 

You'll have a job working out when it's running on six, too - as with the V8 Continental - because it's nigh-on impossible to tell when the W12 begins its mechanical juggling act just a metre away in front of you.

Of course, when you've had enough of saving fuel, planting the throttle brings about similarly monumental performance as before. The eight-speed ZF gearbox is quickly to select the appropriate gear, and then as promised, from 1700rpm you're experiencing all of the W12's torque.

The result is relentless in gear performance, enough to ensure complete confidence in every overtaking situation, but it's not brash, visceral performance, as is the intention. You're aware it's happening and that the trees are flying past more quickly, but it's more muted than you might expect from within your quilted Connolly cocoon.

The W12's handling is telling of its GT focus. The nose feels heavier than the V8's and the steering pretty vague, both are more suited to fast sweeping bends rather than tight switchbacks. The body is well controlled for something weighing this much and pulling the gear lever back to Sport mode sharpens the throttle nicely. Ultimately though, you're fully aware of its bulk at all times.