2012 Bentley Continental GT V8

By any measure, this very fine-looking Continental GT V8 is a particularly good example of the model and the marque.

It is low mileage, having covered just 38,433 miles in the last 12 years.

It has a service book full of stamps, all from Bentley main dealer H.R. Owen of Cheltenham.

It is well maintained, properly cared for and, in our humble opinion, is in the best possible colour combination – ‘Dark Sapphire Blue’ with cream-coloured leather upholstery.

We have driven the vehicle and can honestly say that it drives like a new car. 

It is very well screwed together and entirely free of any creaks, squeaks, sighs, pops, rattles or groans.

It starts on the button and handles with surprising grace, poise and balance for what is, ultimately, a pretty sizeable and weighty bit of kit.

And it does the full-on Jekyll and Hyde dual-personality thing that has become the hallmark of these fabulous cars. 

You can waft serenely along ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads, swathed in indulgently luxurious comfort and impervious to anything as vulgar as potholes, or you can pop it into ‘Sport’ mode, flex your right ankle and thunder off towards the horizon like a nervous cheetah at a fireworks display.

Take your pick.

The car comes with an MoT that’s valid until September 2024. 

The vendor, who always promised himself a Bentley one day, is only reluctantly selling because he’s just not using it enough.

Used sparingly for high days and holidays, the car has seen less rain than the Atacama Desert and has always been kept warm and dry.

The bodywork is devoid of any dinks, dents, bangs, crumples, creases, ripples or folds of any significance that we can discern.

The panels are smooth and even, the shut-lines and panel gaps are crisp and consistent.

The wheels are beyond reproach. The matching Pirelli P-Zeros look pretty decent, but there is some light cracking to be seen on the outer ‘shoulders’ of the tyres (although clearly not enough to worry an MoT tester). 

The blue paintwork is mostly good, save for the entirely normal number and distribution of stone chips in the usual places – front valance, wheel arches, the ‘nose’ of the car, etc. 

There is a scuff and a small patch of rough paint on the n/s/f wing between the wheel arch and the door, but it’s really only discernible by touch rather than sight. 

There are one or two light swirly scratches on the boot lid of the kind that look as if they would promptly capitulate if threatened with a decent machine polish. 

The lights, lenses, chrome work, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings are all very good.

The inside of this majestic car, you won’t be remotely surprised to learn, is every bit a match for its exterior counterpart and is a case study in tasteful luxury and classy ambience. 

The cream leather seats, front and back, are untroubled by meaningful creases, let alone any ingrained patina, and the only light scuffs we could find were on the outer bolster of the passenger seat back rest. 

The door cards are in fine fettle, as is the headlining.

The carpets and mats are following a very similar script in terms of quality and condition. 

The richly glossy wood veneers have resisted the tendency to crack or de-lacquer with commendable stoicism.

The steering wheel, gear selector, instruments, dials and controls all look good to us – save for one tiny scratch to the leather on the steering wheel boss. 

We didn’t press every button, twiddle every knob or flick every swich, but those we did press, twiddle and flick responded in a timely, predictable and uncomplaining fashion.

The vendor tells us that, as far as he’s aware, everything works as it should. 

The huge boot is spotless.

The engine and engine bay (what we can see of them under the various plastic shrouds) are clean, dry and tidy. 

The undersides look to be possessed of plenty of structural integrity and nothing we’ve seen has prompted us to tut or raise an eyebrow.

This car comes with its service pack and manuals, plus a few invoices, bills and receipts to cover various routine maintenance jobs.

The car comes with two sets of keys, a fully stamped-up main dealer service history, a clean HPI check, and an MoT certificate with no advisories.

This is an excellent, solid, low-mileage example of one of the most impressive high-performance, ultra-luxury GT coupés ever made.

Being a V8, it’s a little more practical (and affordable to maintain) than it’s more complex 12-cylinder stablemate.

More to the point, this carefully curated and fastidiously maintained example ticks all the right boxes for mileage, history, provenance and condition.

We like it a great deal.

We are happy to offer this fine vehicle for auction with an estimate in the range of £32,000 - £36,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at the Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.