2006 Bentley Continental GT

It is true that today some dedicated supercars are capable of producing performance similar to that of the GT coupe; likewise there is a small number of large coupes capable of carrying four people in comfort. The design specification for the GT coupe was that it must not only house the hardware safely to realize 190 mph plus performance – including a 6-litre, twin-turbocharged, 12-cylinder engine – but that it must also carry four people. The design specification of the GT coupe allowed that a family of four and their luggage should be able to cross a continent in comfort, style and luxury.

Surprisingly, the first big challenge for the designers of the GT coupe concerned neither passenger nor luggage space. It concerned the installation of its 6-litre, twin-turbo Bentley engine, its all-wheel drive hardware and a new six speed automatic transmission. Once the problem of creating an effective crash structure in the small area in front of the front wheels had been solved, attention turned to the engine and gearbox. Firstly, the new transmission was modified by moving the differential forward, which allowed the drive shafts to be as far forward as possible, thus enabling the wheels to be close to the front of the car. Casting the engine block in a ‘W' rather than a ‘V' formation has made the engine much more space efficient than a conventional twelve cylinder motor of similar capacity. And, as we shall see, this not only helped with the packaging of the engine bay, it also liberated more room in the passenger area too.

But finding the correct basic seat position for those in the front was only the start. Mindful of the fact that drivers do not all come in the same convenient size, Bentley's packaging team resolved to ensure that the GT coupe fitted a wider range of potential Bentley customers than any other coupe in its history. And job one in this quest was to travel to New York and measure some professional basketball players. This led to exhaustive adjustment and extension of the seat runners until the car was capable of accommodating people for whom supercars could hitherto not even be considered.