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They may be the choice of royalty and the uber-rich, but their undeniable quality has always left me cold.

The two used to be more or less interchangeable. Bentleys were Rolls-Royces with a slightly less ridiculous grille, and more of a racy posture.

However, an awful lot has changed in the past few years and, while still linked, the two marques have veered apart under the stewardship of BMW and Volkswagen respectively.

The ultimate expression of this is the Continental GT. It's the first all-new Bentley for 50 years, and harks back to a time when its cars were genuine racers.

As a wake-up call to its opulent brother, it couldn't be more dramatic.

As a design, it borrows heavily from the 1952 R-Type Continental, with long sweeping lines and a distinctive bulge over the rear wheels. The giant Bentley grille remains prominent, but is integrated much more closely into the whole car. Like all Bentleys, it is massive - with enough room for four adults - but the GT disguises its bulk with sharp, sleek curves. It's also very fast indeed.

Whichever way you look at it, this is a stunning departure for a very traditional company. It's still not to my taste, but seeing as I'm not about to lavish 200 grand on a car, I don't suppose Bentley will lose much sleep over my scepticism.