Review: 2026 Bentley Continental GT S

Review: 2026 Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider

As forced induction and electrification continue democratize horsepower throughout the automotive industry, luxury automakers have faced a growing challenge: how do you make an exotic machine feel special at a point in time when even mainstream vehicles offer jaw-dropping performance? Ferrari, to its notable credit, has answered this question in part by staying at the forefront of the latest technologies, as evidenced by cutting-edge entries like the SF90 and F80 – both of which utilize performance-tuned hybrid systems in conjunction with turbocharged engines and sophisticated all-wheel-drive setups. While those two mid-engine monsters offer truly stunning capability, there’s also a growing contingent of performance enthusiasts who yearn for the simpler days of long, curvaceous hoods, rear-wheel drive propulsion, and the banshee wail of a high-winding 12-cylinder engine at full chat. And that’s precisely where the 12Cilindri Spider stakes its claim. As the successor to the 812 Superfast, the 12Cilindri leverages clever active aerodynamics, advanced traction and stability control systems, and a trick four-wheel-steering system that manages the movement of each wheel independently to enhance cornering response, but it’s ultimately an homage to Ferrari’s storied V12 heritage. Aside from the no-nonsense name (which literally translates to “12 Cylinders”), the 12Cilindri’s exterior styling clearly takes some inspiration from the 365 GTB Daytona of the late 1960s. And rather than saddling its latest GT flagship with the complexities of bulky batteries, electric motors, turbochargers, and AWD, Ferrari has instead chosen to focus on the fundamentals that have made GT cars like the Daytona such enduring icons: elegant design, a finely honed chassis, and a truly spectacular naturally aspirated powerplant. It’s a 6.5-liter dry-sump V12 that produces 819 horsepower and revs to a searing 9,500 rpm. Ferrari only cites a deliberately ambiguous dry weight of 3,571 pounds for the Spider, which carries about 130 pounds of extra mass as compared to its coupe counterpart. But at a time when an alarming number of new performance cars are saddled with curb weights that start with a five, the potentially sub-4,000-pound 12Cilindri Spider feels lithe and unencumbered by countermeasures expressly designed to combat the laws of physics. Although its primary mission is to enable drivers to carve their way through picturesque locales at a lively pace without compromising comfort, the 12Cilindri has a notably more sports-car-like persona than the Aston Martin Vanquish – its closest rival – thanks in part to the Ferrari’s incredibly rigid chassis, dual-clutch gearbox, and earnestly performance-tuned suspension. While the eight-speed DCT occasionally takes a beat to get things going from a dead stop, and the hunkered-down stance makes the nose-lift feature a necessity when negotiating steep driveway aprons, the 12Cilindri Spider still manages to retain an admirable level of civility around town and out on the highway. Outfitted with a killer Burmester audio system, a retractable hard top that opens in just 14 seconds at speeds up to 28 mph, and sport seats that feature heating, ventilation, and adjustable bolstering as well as multiple massage routines, the 12Cilindri Spider can be a posh, effortless cruiser when called upon to do so. The only glaring deficiency in this regard comes from Ferrari’s HMI implementation, which utilizes frustratingly difficult-to-use capacitive surfaces on the steering wheel and the instrument panel to control features like adaptive cruise control and mirror adjustments, along with the various functions that are accessed via the 15.6-inch digital gauge cluster. While the infotainment system looks sharp and is quick to respond to inputs, Apple CarPlay conked out on more than one occasion during the few days I spent with the car. Nitpicks aside, one feature that definitely works as intended is the steering-wheel-mounted Manettino switch, which allows you to toggle between the available drive modes. Sport is the default, a naming decision which helps set ride quality expectations, but you can also press this switch like a button to enable Bumpy Road mode, which relaxes the adaptive dampers beyond their standard tuning for more compliance on rough pavement. Out in the canyons, I found myself more interested in the additional drama provided by Race mode. In contrast to convention, Ferrari chose to leave the steering, throttle mapping, and brake-by-wire settings the same in the Sport and Race modes for the sake of predictable response, instead heightening the driving experience when set to the latter by easing the electronic assists, ramping up the programming for the gearbox and the electronically-controlled rear differential, and – importantly – opening up the exhaust valves. While it’s still a little bit quieter than I’d prefer, even with the top down, the noise that this V12 makes while working its way past 9k is a soundtrack to your sweetest dreams. It took some conscious effort to stop myself from short-shifting the first few times I laid into the throttle with the gearbox in manual mode. The revs just seem to build endlessly. It’s also a decidedly different experience than what’s offered in the latest Vanquish. The Aston also features a 12-cylinder atomic bomb under its hood, but the crucial difference here is that the Vanquish’s lofty power figures are owed in part to turbocharging. This gives the Aston a substantial advantage in peak torque (738 lb-ft versus the 12Cilindri’s 500 pound-feet), but it also relegates its redline to a relatively pedestrian 7,000 rpm. The upshot is that not only does the 12Cilindri deliver a much more emotive soundtrack when you drop the hammer, it also feels significantly more buttoned down when called upon to hustle through a technical section of road. Its quick steering rack takes a moment to acclimate to, but it soon becomes apparent that the chassis, brakes, and powertrain have no problem keeping pace. <- Gallery -> The Manettino switch also has dedicated settings for partially or completely disabling the traction and stability control systems if you’re feeling brave (or prefer to do your grand touring sideways), but the intervention is so seamless when these systems are enabled that they rarely distract from the proceedings. While the Vanquish twists and shimmies as the powertrain and the electronics have a debate over the fastest way forward, the 12Cilindri just feels more planted and easier to trust when really hauling the mail. In an era when quadruple-digit horsepower has somehow become readily achievable for production cars, the Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider is a reminder that character and emotion aren’t attributes that can be easily quantified on a spec sheet. There will be a time – probably in the foreseeable future – where folks will gaze into the open clamshell hood of a 12Cilindri and say, "Man, they don’t make ’em like this anymore." Like it or not, the days of the unassisted Ferrari V12 are almost certainly coming to a close. With that in mind, well-heeled traditionalists would be wise to savor the moment. View All Ferrari 12Cilindris For Sale Images: Bradley Iger

Review: 2026 Bentley Continental GT S

Bentley’s Continental GT S proves electrification can enhance – not dilute – the effortless speed, refinement, and craftsmanship expected of a modern luxury grand tourer

by Kirk Bell – May 23, 2026

The sport coupe and convertible appeal to enthusiasts who appreciate performance and a sleek design. U.S. automakers offer only the Ford Mustang to fill that niche. It’s loud and sporty with retro looks and perhaps too much attitude. The Brits sell a car that represents far more taste and a much bigger bank account: the 2026 Bentley Continental GT coupe and GT C convertible, which are newly offered in sportier S trim.

Smooth and silent or robust and raucous

The fourth-generation Continental GT arrived for 2024, and the 2026 Continental GT S shares its plug-in hybrid powertrain while adding the chassis tuning from the higher-end Conti GT Speed model. You won’t miss the Speed’s 771 horsepower because the GT S still makes 671 extroverted horses of its own from a twin-turbocharged V8 and a transmission-mounted electric motor.

The V8 spins up 512 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque, and the electric motor makes 188 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. The two can work together or act on their own.

Starting the car defaults to the Bentley driving mode, which in turn defaults to the EV Drive mode that lets this beautiful grand tourer drive on electrons alone unless the car exceeds 87 mph or the driver digs too deeply and too greedily into the throttle. That’s how I began during my drive of the Conti GT S in New York’s Hudson Valley.

Had I the patience, I could have driven an EPA-estimated 30 miles without gasoline thanks to the 25.9-kWh battery beneath the floor. I lacked that kind of patience.

The Conti GT S is serene when using the whisper-quiet electric power, but it comes alive when running the V8’s robust power. Choose the Sport drive mode and the V8 starts with a low, guttural thrum and moves the hybrid system into a Hold mode to maintain the battery charge. Drivers can also pick a Hybrid mode that runs the powertrain most efficiently or a Charge mode that overruns the engine to charge the battery.

With the engine and motor chipping in their full 671 hp and 686 pound-feet of torque, the Conti GT S rockets from 0-60 mph in just 3.3 seconds and, given enough space, tops out at 190 mph. The power arrives immediately thanks to the electric motor’s instant torque, and it only builds from there. Passing is a matter of a synapse firing, a twitch of your right foot, and a check of the rearview mirror to see where that car went. The eight-speed dual-clutch automatic shifts smoothly and keeps the power at the ready, especially in Sport mode.

This powertrain is EPA rated at 19 mpg combined when the electric range is depleted in the base GT trim, and it should get the same rating in the GT S. Owners can recharge the battery overnight on a Level 2, 240-volt outlet via the 7.2-kW on-board charger.

Rumbling or silent, docile or robust, the GT S’s power represents the base level for the Continental lineup, but the handling is a cut above.

Upgraded chassis

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While every Continental gets the same suspension and chassis systems, the GT S shares the sportier tuning for many of those features from the higher-line GT Speed and GT Mulliner models. The Conti GT S is heavy, as the hybrid system adds about 500 pounds for a total of 5,421 pounds for the coupe and 5,811 pounds for the GT C convertible.

To fight all that mass, Bentley outfits every Continental with several advanced chassis features and gives a sport tune to several of them for the GT S. These features include all-wheel drive, twin-valve adaptive dampers, air springs, active anti-roll bars, rear-axle steering, and an electronic limited-slip rear differential with torque vectoring.

The dampers and air springs get a firmer setting in Sport mode, but their Comfort setting is the same as in the base Conti GT. The GT S sits 10 mm lower in Sport mode, and its active anti-roll bars, stability control, rear-wheel steering, eLSD, and torque vectoring also have a performance tune.

The rear-axle steering turns the rear wheels as much as 7.2 degrees opposite the fronts for parking lot maneuverability, then at 60 mph begins turning with the fronts for better stability. The active anti-roll bars can apply almost 1,000 pound-feet of torque at each axle to fight body lean.

The twisty roads of New York’s Hudson Valley provided the right canvas for the Continental GT S and GT C S to strut their stuff. From the outset, both the coupe and convertible felt hunkered down and stable. The steering had good heft, was stable on-center, and provided good feel for what was happening at the wheels.

While the active anti-roll bars did indeed counteract most body lean, Bentley leaves a bit of lean that came off as feel through the grippy 275/35R22 front and 315/30R22 rear Pirelli P Zero summer tires. Bentley also stiffens the rear bar more than the front for better front-tire bite and rear-end play. Team that with an AWD system that only sends power to the front when it’s needed, and the Conti GT S has the lively feel of a rear-wheel-drive car.

Big 16.5-inch front rotors with 10-piston calipers and 15-inch rear rotors with four-piston calipers had no problem bringing the GT S under control for successive corners in the esses. Topping it all off was a comfortable ride quality. Despite the low-profile tires, the Conti GT S absorbed all but the sharpest potholes without pounding through to the cabin.

Variety and beauty

As good as the Continental GT S is to drive, it is even better to sit in because Bentley makes today’s finest interiors. Two-tone leather and synthetic suede upholstery come standard, and full leather is an option.

The options list is daunting, with more than 46 billion build variations. Buyers can pick from a variety of exterior and leather colors, contrast stitching and piping choices, carpet colors, and interior trims, including wood, aluminum, and carbon fiber. The care Bentley artisans show at the factory in Crewe, England, is reflected in perfect fit and finish.

Conti GT C buyers also get a choice of seven colors for the four-layer soft top that shuts out the environment like a coupe’s steel roof. Bentley charges a substantial premium for the droptop, though anyone in the Continental market will shrug that off. The coupe starts at $288,750, including a $4,150 destination fee, while the GT C runs $325,350.

Coupe or convertible, the 2026 Bentley Continental GT S is a grand grand tourer that can be driven like a green commuter or a powerful and lively canyon carver. Either way, you’ll show your impeccable taste and just the right attitude by driving it.

View All Bentley Continental GTs For Sale

Images: Bentley

Kirk Bell