2010 Bentley Continental

Bentley Continental

Bentley’s Continental GT doesn’t so much compete as it does command attention. Park one in Sandton, and you’ll see what I mean. It’s not really chasing Porsche 911 Carrera or Mercedes-AMG GT buyers—at least, not here. South Africans who want a coupe that shouts old-money luxury, not Nürburgring lap times, already know where to look. Only a single Continental is listed right now—a 2016 GT V8, petrol, auto, with 95,279 km and a price tag of R1,488,888. That’s not a market, it’s a sighting. You buy this car for the theatre, for the way it makes you feel pulling into a Winelands estate or out of the Michelangelo valet. On paper at least, 95,000-odd kilometres isn’t high for a grand tourer that was built for long, lazy hauls between cities. Bentley owners don’t rack up mileage the way bakkie drivers do. No new Continentals on offer means used is your only shot—and even then, you’re really buying into the experience: the V8’s muted thunder, the way leather and wood wrap every dial and button, and the sort of cabin tactility the Germans can’t quite bottle at this price. Still, running costs and the headache of parts if you’re outside Gauteng or the Western Cape? That’s the price of exclusivity, and it matters more than any spec sheet the rivals can throw at it.