The delightful new Bentley Continental GT Speed is the most powerful Bentley ever

There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge, noted philosophiserer Bertrand Russell famously wrote. And the big man was absolutely bang on, because knowing that the new Bentley Continental GT Speed’s uprated 4.0-litre V8 eschews a traditional vacuum system won’t further your life in any way. But it’s fun to know.

As is the fact this rather delectable leviathan is now a hybrid, with an electric motor hiding in the gearbox that negates turbo lag, that in turn facilitates a pair of much less complex single-scroll turbochargers. Because they’re simpler, they can run hotter to basically make a really, really big bang.

Like, 771bhp worth of bang. It’s the bangiest bang of any Bentley in history. Dubbed the ‘Ultra Performance Hybrid’, Bentley has managed to increase power and torque across the entire rev range so the bang is mightily accessible. Indeed, this V8 hybrid powertrain also manages to churn out a colossal 738lb ft of torque (more than the glorious W12 ever managed), allied to a dual clutch eight-speed automatic gearbox, an electronic limited slip diff, and of course, four-wheel-drive.

Because as Russell continued, anything you’re good at contributes to happiness. And the new Bentley Continental GT Speed is really very good at… speed. It’s in the name, after all. 0-60mph is dispatched in just 3.1s. Vmax is a heady 208mph.

Want more useless but pleasurable trivia? The electric motor itself can produce 332lb ft and is able to power the big Bentley on electricity alone right up to 87mph for up to 50 miles. There’s a 25.9kWh battery mounted behind the rear axle (recharged in under three hours), positioned so that it contributes to near a perfect 49:51 weight distribution – the first time the Conti’s had that. Though, this being a Bentley, there is a lot of weight – 2,459kg for the Coupe.

Plus, there’s 534 miles of total range when you add big mighty V8 to small e-motor, which is extremely handy if your desired destination is 533 miles away. And that journey will be made in greater comfort than before, because the new Conti features new dual-valve dampers and 48V anti-roll control. (Indeed, 68 per cent of this fourth-gen car is new versus the old Conti GT.)

That, claims Bentley, is enough to achieve the “best Continental ride comfort to date”. So a car famous for its world class damping just got… dampier. Saying that, it’ll certainly acquit itself admirably if you decide haste is of utmost importance, as we found out on a rather damp track in a prototype.

Bentley has sharpened up the steering feel, given it a sense of humour via a ‘Dynamic’ mode (or what it calls “rear axle slip”), and let it entirely off the leash with the ‘advanced’ ESC fully off for full throttle drifts. Or, as Bentley explains, “cornering stance can be balanced on-throttle by the driver”. 

Not in a rush? Take in the details, because the new Continental has morphed into a very handsome car. The biggest change is the single-headlight setup; the first Bentley to sport such an arrangement since the 1950s, apparently. The outgoing Conti was already a muscular design, the new car continues that trend, Bentley describing that it has “the stance of a resting beast”. Quite.

The entire car has been “visually cleaned”, too, giving it a more ageless presence. The rear’s been given a thorough going over with a new set of taillights, a new bumper, and a little lip on the boot for aero.

Naturally, there are huge 22in wheels hiding huge brakes, while you yourself can hide inside in a cabin filled with Bentley’s traditional, expensive and luxurious materials. And 20-way adjustable seats. Bentley calls out the new “precision quilt pattern”, along with a new chrome specification and Mulliner’s expertise in crafting a more personalised interior ambience should you wish.

Said ambience can be rattled via a choice of three audio setups, each with increasing levels of power, which you can access via the 12.3in high-def rotating display. Said ambience can also be altered via the potentially useless but enormously pleasurable knowledge that you can choose from 30 interior lighting options.

Of course this being a modern Bentley brings a tonne of technology, the car able to assess the immediate environment in its ‘semi-assisted’ drive mode and park itself, while there’s CarPlay and Android Auto included.

Plenty of things to waste your time with, then, but of course as Russell said, the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. So why not waste it in the GTC Speed, revealed here alongside the Coupe?

It’s only fractionally slower – 0-60mph in 3.2s, 177mph vmax – but gives you endless sky accessible in 19 seconds via a seven-bow fabric roof that can open and close at speeds of up to 30mph.

The choice of course, is yours. But allow this to inform it: UK prices will kick off from £236,600. Not a useless bit of knowledge, that.