Car of the Year Awards 2026: Best coupé for luxury
A good coupé isn’t just about style. The trick if it’s to be among the class leaders is that it must feel on point whether you’re enjoying a great road or enduring a terrible commute...
Bentley Continental GT Speed
Don't panic: We haven’t gone soft. Rating a coupé for how luxurious it is possibly seems a bit like celebrating the most civilised jet fighter.
But let’s just look at what a coupé is supposed to be. As its sleek looks suggest, it should be sportier than a saloon and – with either a swoopier roofline or two fewer doors – more focused on indulgence than practicality. And the Bentley Continental GT Speed fires a Sidewinder missile right into the centre of both of those targets.
Yes, it packs the same pulverisingly powerful plug-in hybrid V8 as you get in the Flying Spur Speed saloon, and both cars shine with the kind of interior craftsmanship that makes a Stradivarius violin look a bit shoddy. But only the Continental makes whoever’s behind the wheel the main character. Sure, passengers can come along for the ride (and they don’t exactly have to slum it), but this car is intended to thrill and pamper its driver in deliciously equal proportions.
The Continental GT’s high price means we can’t recommend it to as broad an audience as the BMW 4 Series Coupé. If you have the means, though, it’s like having your Learjet fitted with afterburners.
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