∙Bentley Continental GT in Diamond Black Pearl
∙Special order red premium leather
∙Full service history
∙Recently retrimmed headlining

Introduced at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, the Continental GT was the first Bentley to be developed entirely by VW Group and away from Rolls-Royce also very quickly became its fastest-ever seller, due in no small part to it being mass produced in the company’s Crewe factory as opposed to being hand-built like its predecessors.

It also had a lot of parts commonality with other VW Group cars – the four-wheel-drive platform was derived from that of the VW Phaeton luxury saloon, while under the bonnet it got the German firm’s innovative 6.0-litre W12 engine, which in the GT came with twin turbochargers giving it 552 bhp and a top speed of 196 mph. 

It was a hugely impactful car, both due to its imposing size and also its astonishing performance, while it was also as opulent as Bentley owners were used to. Its appeal went beyond the traditional, too, bringing Bentley ownership to a newer and more youthful customer base, helped in no small part by David and Victoria Beckham becoming two of its first customers.

In time, a convertible appeared, along with a series of ever more expensive special editions, but this example is the GT as first intended – a large, imposing and powerful GT with an incredible soundtrack. It was a very, very expensive car when new – over £160,000 when you factor in the impressive list of options fitted to the car (the ‘99’ code in the service book denotes a special commission interior), but today will command a fraction of that making it a huge amount of GT for the money. 

MX54 OJD was supplied new in December 2004 to an owner in Cheshire by Bentley Manchester and was almost immediately registered on a private number plate. 

After that it has had five further owners and three separate cherished plates, but the history all stacks up thanks to a combination of main dealer and specialist maintenance in Cheshire, Manchester, Scotland and the South-East – it’s well-travelled but also well-loved car.

The current owner has just had the headlining – a common Continental GT fault – professionally refitted and retrimmed and is selling the car as a good example with a sensible mileage and in one of the best colour schemes: Diamond Black Pearl with red leather. 

The Bentley comes with a valid MOT until September this year along with a UK V5C. It also has a selection of bills with it, but the most critical thing is the service history, which reads like this:

04/01/05 - 1,499 miles – Bentley Manchester

16/06/05 – 9,691 miles – Bentley Manchester

20/12/05 – 16,600 miles – Bentley Manchester

19/12/06 – 26,605 miles – Bentley Birmingham

10/09/08 – 37,701 miles – Dunning Motor Engineers (Porsche specialist)

25/02/10 – 50,361 miles – Academy Motor Group

09/06/11 – 56,166 miles – Performance Hub London

11/08/12 – 62,045 miles – Performance Hub London

29/08/13 – 71,397 miles – Performance Hub London

29/08/14 – 77,336 miles – Performance Hub London

17/09/16 – 81,544 miles – Performance Hub London

04/07/17 – 81,672 miles – Performance Hub London

It has just been given a major service by the vendor – a performance car specialist – ready for its new owner and the current mileage sits at just under 96,000.

The Bentley looks incredible in Diamond Black Pearl – a colour that has a very slight hint of brown in it when it catches the light and really sets off the Continental GT’s elegant curves and strong rear shoulder line. 

The body is very good and the paint is still largely excellent. It has a few small stone chips to the front end, one of the rear lamp lenses has a small crack in it and one of the reversing lamps also has some superficial damage, but there’s nothing off-putting here, or expensive to put right. 

A couple of the wheels have some kerb marks on them, the worst being the offside rear, but they’re not extensively damaged nor worth refurbishing unless you’re a perfectionist. There are no dents or scrapes on the body, though the fuel filler cap is slightly misaligned and may need adjusting. With the W12 under the bonnet, it’s one of the parts of the car you’ll use the most!

It’s the cabin of this car that’s its piece-de-resistance, as the red leather sits in complete contrast with the sober black exterior. It’s a seductive and quirky look and it’s all in fine order. 

The vendor has just had the car’s roof retrimmed in the original spec red leather as the lining had dropped, which is a common Continental GT fault, as well as a couple of repairs to the seats while it was at the trimmers, so it wears its age extremely well. The radio, sat nav and trip computer all work as they should and the original red-piped carpet mats are still in great order. 

Some of the switches exhibit some wear, notably the Stop/Start button next to the gear selector and also some of the window switches on the driver’s door, while the driver’s side seatbelt is slow to retract. Overall, though, it’s a marvellous place to sit.

Make no mistake, the twin-turbo W12 is a very specialist powerplant and will require the attentions of a marque expert to maintain it properly, but the good news with this example is that it a pretty comprehensive history and has just had a major service.

It sounds absolutely wonderful and a quick test drive confirmed that it holds temperature and registers good oil pressure. Similarly, we were able to determine that the brakes, suspension and steering all feel as they ought to, with no knocks or rattles apparent at the time of our photoshoot. 

The driving experience is wonderful – it feels vast, commanding and stupidly comfortable as well as being pretty quick. And that sound….

No Bentley will be cheap to own – a 6.0-litre 12-cylinder engine and the need for specialist maintenance will see to that – but you can offset a lot of that cost by buying one today, when depreciation will be minimal and the value for money on offer utterly stupendous. 

This is a great example – it has been regularly maintained, has a wicked interior, offset by a stealthy dark exterior. Whoever buys it will be making a statement, but doing it subtly. 

The Continental GT is a historically important car, too. In time, that means it’s probably a pretty shrewd investment, as well as something that’s thoroughly enjoyable to own right now.