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Bentley Continental GT/Flying Spur V8 or W12

Discussion in 'British' started by Nautilus12, Jun 10, 2016.

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  1. Nautilus12

    Nautilus12 Karting

    Mar 20, 2016
    67
    #1 Nautilus12, Jun 10, 2016
    I'm thinking of swapping my s class for either a gt or a flying spur and have been looking at '12 and '13 GTs, and '14 flying spurs. I see a lot more w12s on the market than v8s and was wondering which engine you all prefer for a daily driver? Most of the "deals" to be had seem to be on the w12s, but I am unsure if its better than the v8. I plan on checking them out at the local dealer soon though.
     
  2. kevfla

    kevfla Formula 3

    Nov 20, 2003
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    gone 4 good
    #2 kevfla, Jun 10, 2016
    The W12 in my Phaeton was so vibration-free, I had to keep checking my tach while stopped at traffic lights, to make sure the engine hadn't stalled.
     
  3. Christian Sasfai

    Christian Sasfai Karting

    Dec 31, 2012
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    Christian Sasfai
    #3 Christian Sasfai, Jun 10, 2016
    I agree. My wife has a Conti GT with a W12 and you cannot tell it's running at a stoplight. However, if you tromp the skinny pedal on the right when the traffic light turns green, there is no mistake that the engine is running. I don't drive it that often, but when I do it always amazes me how fast it is. It will hang with my F355 no problem (or maybe it's the other way around!) and is just a fantastic car all around.
     
  4. absent

    absent F1 Veteran
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    mark k.
    #4 absent, Jun 11, 2016
    My wife had W12 for 2 years, I had a V8 rental recently for a week.
    The latter sounds better, handles a little bit better (not really that important a difference in that type of car), has less noticeable lag and slightly better throttle response ( my wife's car was 2007 and she tried 2009 Speed when it came out but trade value was ridiculous and she got a G55).
    The Speed corrected all the issues and is the best of the bunch.
    I like the V8 but prefer W12 after all, the torque is amazing and the car can cruise effortlessly, "wafting" that the V8 can not match.
    Try to find a W12 Speed.
     
  5. noone1

    noone1 F1 Rookie
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    #5 noone1, Jun 11, 2016
    Does the V8 also get like 25% better fuel economy? That's nice if you live anywhere with Winter. In fact, filling up 25% less often is always good.

    Are you coming from a new generation S-Class? I would think the older Bentleys wouldn't live up to the amenities of a new S-Class. The S is a very nice car and have thought about buying one recently. Guess it depends if you use the rear seats much or not. Have you checked out the S-Coupe?
     
  6. Nautilus12

    Nautilus12 Karting

    Mar 20, 2016
    67
    #6 Nautilus12, Jun 11, 2016
    Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm coming from a '15 S550 4matic and live in the Northeastern part of the US. For me I'm still undecided on either a W12 or a V8 (leaning towards normal W12 as I can find more favorable specs in my price range).

    I was able to test drive a '12 GT W12, a '13 GTC W12, and a '15 BMW I8 for the sake of comparison today. I8 is nice but I definitely prefer the Bentley as a daily. I prefer the coupe over the convertible as it looks better (not a fan of soft tops) and felt more roomy. I already have a 458 spider as a weekend car and here in the NE we don't get many good convertible days.

    Flying Spur is out as well; I'm not impressed with the looks and prefer the slightly smaller size of the GT. Even though I have the S, I don't often use the rear seats often except for storage and I feel like the GT has enough rear space for passengers.

    In terms of reliability, for those of you have owned them, what should I expect if I go with the W12? Anything specific I should look out for? One of the cars I'm looking at is a '12 but has over 20k miles. It was quite dirty on the outside but the interior condition was very good - could've fooled me into thinking it had 2k miles. Also is it worth getting the extended warranty on these cars? About $4k a year, but I'm thinking if I do get the car I might as well try it for a year.
     
  7. absent

    absent F1 Veteran
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    #7 absent, Jun 12, 2016
    Do not consider any GT older then '12 model year (major re-do).
    Better yet, find a '13 and younger as they have the new 8 speed transmission.
     

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