I've got a 2011 supersports convertible, last of Gen 1. I've had it for nearly 4 years and customised the body James but I don't wish to post a photo unless you'd like one sent to your email address. I've got full electric seats, TV and all the usual goodies. I can't believe the car you're driving is 200k and no electric seats ! I've grown up with cars and take a personal interest in the servicing, repairs and regular maintenance to reduce preventative problems. I have all my work done at my friend's garage at mates rates and there is a Bentley specialist I use for intricate matters who only charges £70 an hour. For those looking to buy a beast like this, here's a few tips: Interestingly you'd have thought Bentley would have a service interval for the front diff and transfer box but they don't. They do for the rear diff but on the front diff and transfer box there are no drain plugs or fill ports. Oil never lasts for ever so I have this changed every 50k. Ditto with gear box oil and filter. Beware the sump is plastic with incorporated oil filter and prone to leak when distorted by heat. You have to buy a new sump with every oil change. You can buy a metal sump, so with oil changes you only need the filter Change your engine oil every 5 - 6 k miles. It's the life blod of your engine. Buy a Bentley compatible trickle charger. It de- sulphates the AGM battery located in the left side of the boot which powers all the electrics. The battery on the right side is for the starter. If you don't use the car for a few weeks you may not have enough in the battery to start it. But you can switch the starter to use the AGM battery by first turning the ignition key fully to the left. You must keep both batteries well charged as a drop in voltage may cause some electrics not to function properly. These cars rely on correct voltage. Either use the car regularly or use the trickle charger. Change your pads when needed and you'll never have to replace the ceramic discs. My advice .... you've got 630hp ..don't have the engine chipped .... or the turnos dialled up .... you'll mess up how all the computers / sensors communicate and fault codes could appear which are incorrect. If 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds isn't quick enough for a beast like this then buy another car .... It doesn't have to cost uou bundles to maintain if you keep away from Bentley main dealers. There are 2 drain plugs in the engine bulkhead. Rod and hoover through or, you'll get water in the floor under the passenger's feet, where there are computers ! And a drain plug in the recessed fuel filler cap. It's an eyeful of a beast and if you want to hear a better roar from the exhaust you can open the spring flaps on the rear boxes. Go and enjoy !
To James, Those seats do indeed have height adjustments (3 settings in fact). ..... It's just that, you'd need to take it to the dealer or a Bentley specialist to do the adjustments (need a specialist 'key' to unbolt it from the mountings). P.S: That seat was indeed on its' highest setting on that car you tested.
My old employers took one of the early Coupe's in part exchange for a new Kia Sportage years back,they paid 18k for one with very little service history and had the engine light on.It was diagnosed as having faulty Lambda/02 sensors,and was advised to change all 4,the labour quote was thousands,so they traded it out to a guy who had 2 changed and only paid hundreds to have the job done using VW parts by a mechanic who knew you could remove part of the suspension rather than the engine to get to the little blighters! The thing has presence whether you like them or not.Great Video as always 👏
I’ve had one of these , one of the rear air suspension units went . I went over a hill at a ridiculous speed . The next morning the car made a weird hissing noise and the car went to its lowest suspension setting . To their credit Bentley Surrey recovered the car from my holiday home in Wales and gave me an Audi A6 as a run around . Bentley only replace the air suspension units in pairs . The radiator also developed a leak and there were other issues . End price or of the repair at Bentley Surrey ….. 18500 . Fortunately I purchased an aftermarket super car warranty. On top of this you will visit the petrol pump 3 times a week plus all the usual servicing costs . It’s also not that reliable electronically and the tech is prehistoric. Oh it also has turbo lag at lower speed and it’s very heavy . It’s fun but not thrilling . My Wife loved driving it because it’s a bit of a show pony . I changed it for a 997 Turbo S which is significantly superior on every front and to put this into context my Wife has only been in the 997 Turbo S once and refuses to drive it lol too insane for her . My advice . Bentley is like a silicone enhanced lap dancer fun for one night but quickly gets boring .
@@UMNRZ this was back in 2015 bro but warranty direct in Reading . They have a high end super car cover . It was around the 2k a year Mark . Good luck though getting covert on a GT / GTC / GTC SS though because they are so unreliable they are quite weighted policy against them plus it needs to be under 100k miles or 10 years ( I think ) check the small print but I had no issues with them on my old GTC SS.
@@ArbitraryFilmings Because for every 1 person who had x and y break, there's 10 people who just gave them £2k for absolutely nothing and they refuse to pay out half the time. It's the same way insurance can afford to pay out £30k to someone who was paying £700 per year. Probably, they also have reduced rates agreed at garages in return for their large amount of custom and don't pay VAT for the work. Over your life, you will likely spend more on warranty than you will on fixing cars. If I just look at the stuff I've had to replace over the last 7 years, I've spent £2246. That was on an Alfa 159, BMW 320i and now BMW 335i convertible. Warranties I have looked at were about £900 per year. I don't think they'd have paid out on the clutch or subframe rust or or spring which account for £775 of that. My dad has spent nothing on 2 cars in the last 8 years. Okay these are not Bentleys but, people paying for warranties on these cars are funding the Bentleys too.
The weirdest part about this car, the isr version, which stands for ice speed record. Bentley took a gtc supersport and went 205 mph on ice and made 100 special edition models to celebrate it.
@@JayEmmOnCars It gets even weirder. The ISR cars celebrated a record that lasted less than a month! Bentley had previously broken the record in a Continental GT with Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires back in 2007 (199.87 mph). Since Bentley chose Pirelli SottoZero tires for their 2011 record (205.48 mph) Nokian broke the record almost immediately with an Audi RS6 tuned by MTM (206.05 mph). Bentley essentially lost the record due to Pirellis attempt to upstage Nokian. The record was set higher by Nokian in 2013 for good measure with the same Audi and the record still stands as of date (208.60 mph). Source: www.evo.co.uk/audi/rs6/11637/audi-rs6-breaks-bentleys-ice-speed-record
@@richardharrold9736 Good question. The record itself doesn't require the cars to be standard. Even on official press photos there are visible aero mods and nothing is usually said about what is under the hood. For example Renault set the record in 1988 with a "standard" R21 Turbo Quadra that still managed to reach 250.610km/h (155.721 mp/h).
That is some of the most consistent, high-quality-looking carbon fiber trim I've ever seen in a production car. Looks like real prepreg, not at all like the shiny, heavy, gelcoated crap that most people would consider attractive.
"how the heck do we explain the second-gen Conti Supersports with 710hp?" On the 2nd-Gen I'd say: "The Supersports gone soft ~" (*more power & more noise, yes; But the sharp turn-in of the 1st-Gen is not present on the 2nd-Gen, sadly)
I have owned two Bentley's, and sadly on my experience would not buy another one. They manage to be incredibly unreliable. A real shame as they are stupidly good looking cars.
Big thaks to JayEmm for his great work. There aren't many other reviewers who know to mediate what is a car really about.....this Conti GT was always an impressive looker turning heads...and rising eye browes with its performance figures...but....as traditionalist....for me there will always be the CAR....the BENTLEY....The KING of them all....the AZURE...."keep on rollin' babe...know what the time it is"...Azure is the wofty mighty land yacht which cruises in its own dimension....and for me personally it is exactly what makes it 100% Bentley...no matter it doubles cost of the GT in every way...
@@JayEmmOnCars problem with the Azure is it's based on an ancient platform... and Jimmy Savile had one. There was the Mk2 Azure which was a Brooklands convertible - very rare cars though.
Says a lot of how worthless 0-60 time is as a general performance metric a la the old days when a gearbox map makes the car 30% faster... Nice video. Cheers.
The lower rear end ratio makes the GT3-R my favorite Bentley if looking for a fun ride. Who needs 300km/hr+ realistically?! Let it get to 100 faster with the lower rear gears👍
After watching your reviews for the last couple years I have to say James you make my day everyday I look forward to your new videos and I absolutely love that car take it easy bud good job keep it up 👍
I’ve had one mate one of the air suspension units went , Bentley only replace them in pairs . The radiator also developed a leak and there were other issues . End price or of the repair at Bentley Surrey ….. 18500 . Fortunately I purchased an aftermarket super car warranty. On top of this you will visit the petrol pump 3 times a week plus all the usual servicing costs . It’s also not that reliable electronically and the tech is prehistoric. It’s fun but not thrilling . My Wife loved driving it I changed it for a 997 Turbo S which is significantly superior on every front and to put this into context my Wife has only been in the 997 Turbo S once and refuses to drive it lol too insane for her . My advice . Bentley is like a silicone enhanced lap dancer fun for one night but quickly gets boring .
70K for a 12 year old, way to much, SS or not, that is going to cost the next owner thousands a year to own at that age, makes no difference about the low millage, he got part right
Magnificent opulence. The Supersports will be sought after as the best version of the gen 1 series. The Supersports Coupe did away with the rear seats altogether. It is far more desirable than then Gen2 Supersports which had the Audi 8 cylinder turbo engine. I had a limited edition ISR Supersports GTC which came with in black with a special red carbon fiber weave interior, red wheels and a red sticker down the sides. Sadly, a bit of spilt oil on a roundabout killed my car.
I always liked the GTC, I think it's a beautiful car (any version) and being an actual four-seater makes it far more versatile than let's say a 812 GTS. The Portofino is barely a 2+2. BTW the five fastest four-seater convertible production cars are all Continental GTC's.
this is by far the best car to enjoy 992 turbo s doesnot come close to this masterpiece, no s63 no g63, nothing at all and all that for 70 000eur and 80k mileage this machine is as light as if you were moving along the road in a nutshell, it floats like a feather even though it is 2250 kg heavy. How easily the car rushes forward at the slightest touch of the pedal, which could not be said about the 911, 992 turbo s. Which was so stiff that it shook your guts while driving over grooves in the city. The driving pleasure of the Supersport when driving in the city is 100x greater than that of the 992 turbo s...... and who cares about a racetrack, i dont.... this car feels so super that i even wud like to buy on more, just in case if any car shud cost at least 1million, this car is well, speaking of fuel consumption, it's 18l per 100 on average. While the Panamera 4s 310kw diesel consumes an average of 8l whether I pay 200 or 400 euros per month for fuel is a joke, right? and if you take into account ultra-economical electric cars like taycan turbo s, which really have no fuel or maintenance costs, then its price will drop by 50% in 2 years and the loss is 100,000 euros. Did you see fuel economy anywhere? buy a supercar for 70k that everyone fears and is a fraction of its original price, be prepared to fix it up for maybe 20k someday and enjoy life, it won't be long
Delightful…..and well presented….i am not familiar with the technical car stuff…I spend the past 40 years …merc..bmw and Porsche …and now I want an aston or Bentley This 2013 Bentley certainly ticks all the boxes….what may I ask …was the sale price….and what typically is the cost of 2013…to 2019 convertible Thanking you in anticipation
Buy the convertible Gen 1. They only made 162 of these and most were exported to USA and China. They will appreciate in price. The coupe will devalue. Forget Naim ... absolute rubbish..... go look at the last Gen 1 convertible
@@tonyfischer1462 Thanks for the recommendation. I dont want a convertible read horror stories about maintenance on bushings roof seals etc, will get a non vert instead. Its a buyers market too they have depreciated nearly 70% in europe in 10 years
@@FrymanKikkoman yes the coupes have. But the convertibles are different. They only made 162 and most went abroad. Depending on the year the coupe has 3 engines .... 552, 600 and 631bhp. Test drive especially the 552 ... you might find it too slow. Do your due diligence!
a couple weeks ago i saw a mk1 bentley continental gt parked in a electrical repair place. i just about saw it out of the corner of my eye because it looked like it had been slammed to the ground (im just over 6ft tall and it was getting to around my hip in height). i asked the guy if it was working or not and he said nope absolutely not. curiousity got the beest of me and i asked whats wrong with it and he said "that cars issue means the entire wing needs to be taken off to fix it". he said "you couldnt pay me to try doing that myself and the one part needed is worth £5,000". i think he said it was a compressor or a pump of some sort, but i stopped asking any more questions after hearing his repsonse. i always wondered why you could buy a basic continental gt for under £15,000 and now i know why, theyre like the mercedes equivalents of the time. extremely expensive to keep running but not worth enough to justify running.
Great review Jay, beautiful car, interior looks Pristine, the exterior definitely needs a hard-core detail with some paint correction, and then it’ll be perfect…..
I prefer the gran Cabrio because picturing myself and 3 friends having a blast in the mountains of my area seems much more possible, but this concept of stupid huge cabrios where 2/3rds of the car are useless has always been my soft spot. How would an m850i Cabrio or m8 cabrio fall into this comparison?
I was wondering if you ever thought about doing a review of a later model lotus europa? They seem so rare and interesting to me. There's one for £28k on auto trader and its utterly bizzare but in a cool way
Will need a wee visit too a detailer to fix the holograms on the paint. It will come up a treat on that paint. Worked on a mk1 mulliner and looked awesome when the gloss is turned up to 11.
I was saddened to find Bentley removed the "Continental" from the name for the Continental Flying Spur. They forget GT in Continental GT is also two words
You've got to like this for what it is, crazy-as. Not a fan of looks, black over black wheels, trim looks ace tho, red and black... Do like the chunk of metal and rubber and history you're getting, tho. 70k
Nice review but you start by describing what makes a gt car then say the original only did 0-60 in 5.5 sec. gt cars are not meant to be about blistering acceleration, but comfort, good handling and power.
@@darkchild130 Not specifically aimed at your post, but the 0-60 is pretty uninteresting for just about any performance car these days. It used to be a measurement of general performance, but those days are long gone. As evidenced by the fact that a gearbox map made it 1 second faster.
@@GoldenCroc it’s uninteresting to you. There’s a reason manufacturers still publish these stats, and journalists still test them. It’s a simple metric people can understand and therefore good marketing.
@@darkchild130 You are correct, there are reasons indeed. I was just assuming that since we are watching Jayemm:s videos, we are at a level of car interest and understanding far beyond the normal person, making these metrics useless for the reasons those same normal persons find them interesting. Now, of course I like 0-60 numbers as much as the next guy, but for wildly different reasons. As I said, this wasnt really a straight up reply to your post, but rather a general observation, and your post was the most suitable to quote.
@@GoldenCroc lol don’t be daft, you think most of the people who watch these videos aren’t into 0-60 times? There’s a reason practically all RU-vid car reviewers still talk about them, it’s an easy touchpoint and metric for comparison across the board. Just look at any Tesla video, I bet you can’t find one without mention of the 0-60 time on all of RU-vid😂 Ironically, I’m an ex mechanic and have owned several track cars so I don’t give a shit about numbers like that, I’m more into power to weight ratios and how suspension is setup, but this isn’t that kind of channel. It’s the kind of channel for old Top Gear fans. The kind of people who like stats like horsepower and torque, and 0-60 times…
I worked for Bentley back in '06 for two weeks, driving VIP's in Napa Valley California. I drove all the models to and from the SF airport, back to Napa. These cars are luxurious, but they just never excited me enough to want to own one. Now I can actually afford a used one and I still wouldn't buy it. I bought a Mercedes S Class instead. More reliable, more service shops available, less expensive to maintain, plenty of power, perhaps not as much panache, but a better car.
Disagree... Mercs were once quality cars but no longer .... they are now run by accountants.... so not the quality anymore. Bentley is far superior and reliable if you carry out preventative maintenance and can be done cheaply at a local garage... not a Bentley main dealer and alot of the parts are Vw Audi, Phaeton, RS 8
@@tonyfischer1462 the e class with a twin turbo diesel 4cyl e220-e250 have been european taxi drivers car of choice because of its reliability and luxury
Hope that Bentley had a toasty heater along with the seats and wheel. Cool cars but always worried about service and expensive thingies going wrong outside warranty.
@@BibtheBoulder Disagree. Carry out preventative maintenence at your local garage. You must drive the Bentley and not keep it parked up in the garage. That's when things go wrong
I was very interested in your comment about it not being a sports car. I have owned a 2008 GTC with 32k on the clock for the last 9 months and I love the car, however, I brought a slower car because I missed the thrill of driving, so I picked up a 997.1 manual C4S and that is just such an analogue experience. The problem is I cannot justify both, so I would like to find the same presence and luxury that the GTC has with the excitement of the 997. Any thoughts? Would a DB9/Gran Turismo cover off both angles ? With the cost of living going up along with my mortgage payments, something will have to give
Good advice, I bought one but sold it, regrettably, within 12 months when I was made an offer too good to refuse - why? because I don't have the resources to have them all at once :)
I love the coupe in black. But the black on black with the black softtop isn't working for me. Looks a bit cheap. Its likely just the classic British weather. I almost thought the front looked like a Rover 75 for a moment.
Jay, I have a question from another barell. Do you ever get annoyed about bad allignment of the car that you are testing? Is it often the case that there is sth wrong with it? With all my cars I find that this is the most often screwed up job ever. I just changed steering rack and steering rods in my S4 and I'm pissed... again, only once the guy nailed it perfectly in my S4.
Yes that can be an issue and is so difficult to diagnose because it's hard to tell the difference between a bad car or a car with a bad setup unless you know what it's like when it is "good"
@@JayEmmOnCars Thank you Jay, I don't know maybe I'm the only nerd, but I would be interested in a shop that would share how they set up geometry for instance in classics like your 968 ( I have 944S2 so I might use it too ;) ) and show some tricks how to get the sweet spot regarding handling, but again maybe it's too technical for most viewers... don't know.
"I'm just an idiot on the Internet" ... except that genuine idiots don't tell you to seek expert advice as you did. :) Plus, you're bang on the money when it comes to running costs, which, if you're not used to vehicles in this class, look utterly astronomical the first time you encounter them. However, the *real* killer for a car like this is insurance, which, if you plan to use the car as your regular transport instead of "special occasion" material, will hurt *badly* when it's time to pay the premiums. The newcomer to one of these will be forgiven for thinking he's insuring a small warship when the bill arrives. Again, these are cars you take on with your eyes open, and ideally, the financial firepower required to keep them going. But, if you can afford the indulgence, a *glorious* indulgence they are, as befits a carriage that was built with the understanding that some of the customers for it are addressed as "Your Royal Highness". But *always* bear in mind that this comes with a "Your Royal Highness" price tag attached!
That's nowt insanity.... I had my S65 chipped .....it produced 873 foot pounds/1123 Newton MTRS of torque and 976 horse power and wheelspan on the M11 in winter at 70mph when kick down erupted !