It was a golden car. But not just any car. With apologies to Marks & Spencer, this was a golden Bentley car.

I know. If you’re spending £162,400 on a set of wheels, would you really choose this colour?

It might be hard to imagine such a scenario where you splash as much on a set of wheels as it would cost for a plush two-bed flat in Ben Rhydding (I checked), but believe me, gold would be at the bottom of my options list.

What I found really amazing is that this Sunburst Gold, to use its official name, would set you back another £3,230.

Sunbed Orange, which is what I would call it, might be popular with footballers and X Factor finalists, but not with T&A journalists. That’s just as well because I don’t think I will be able to afford one anytime soon.

You see, Bentley, know their market. For years, this marque was synonymous with retired colonels and the landed gentry but it has broadened its appeal now to those younger types who might otherwise plump for a Mercedes-Benz SLS, a Porsche Panamera or a Ferrari FF. The average age of a Bentley owner has plunged, making it one of the hottest cars on the road.

And, Sunbed Orange aside, it’s a car to be proud of. It manages to look lean, mean, stylish, traditional and ever so powerful all at the same time. It is a long, low, well balanced car which is perfectly poised, yet happy to pootle around town gathering second glances like there’s no tomorrow.

So, what exactly do you get for your money? Well, the standard car is £123,850 which gets you a 4.0 litre V8 motor capable of stunning performance. It zips to 60mph in 4.6 seconds and on to 188mph. Yet it manages a reasonable 36.7mpg on a run. Excellent for a supercar and proof that even oligarchs work to a budget these days. Under all the fine lines, deep pile carpets, sumptuous wood trim and lashings of chrome lies great technology.

After years of development the result is a 4.0-litre V8, which is two litres smaller than the older W12, but which is cleverly turbocharged to deliver a huge 500bhp. One thing you will never find yourself saying is I wish it had another two litres!

This 4.0 litre beast has what Bentley calls variable displacement. It’s a cylinder shut-off system that, when the engine is under low loads, cuts fuel to four of the cylinders to leave it working as a 2.0 litre V4.

Press the gas and the other four pistons come back into play, yet what’s really remarkable is that you just can’t feel it working. It’s crucial, though. Without it there’s no way a range of over 500 miles would be possible from a 90-litre tank of super unleaded.

There are plenty of flourishes in the engine and gearbox, like mounting the turbochargers inside the V of the engine to save weight and keep the key air flow pipes as short as possible. That way the turbos respond more quickly and on the road there’s no noticeable lag at all – remarkable for a 2.3-tonne car (nearly 2.5 for the convertible GTC). For such a huge car there’s very little wind noise. Refinement is a big deal at Bentley. It has a wonderfully smooth eight-speed gearbox which makes driving this car a pleasure. It will move quickly, for sure, but it’s a car which demands to be driven properly. The power is astonishing from a standstill, delivered with a menacing swoosh, aided partially by the four-wheel-drive’s 60 per cent bias to the rear wheels.

Through fast, sweeping corners it’s well planted, and under the right circumstances it feels alive.

The noise from the four exhausts, visually linked into pairs with open figure of eight shapes, is fantastic. It’s a deep bass noise which sounds gorgeous.

The highest quality leather and wood available is standard, but customers have options on the finish of the gear lever, the materials to upgrade the steering column-mounted gear change paddles and the stitching in the trim. If you want it, then Bentley can do it.

The seats balance sporting support and cruising luxury with aplomb. In its most comfortable setting, the suspension handles poor roads respectably. Doubly so considering the 20in alloy wheels and low profile tyres.

With its starting point as a 6.0-litre W12 engine, Bentley perhaps had an easier task than some on the face of it to downsize and improve efficiency. But by choosing technologies to fit and complement the Continental GT, the result is a credible and very satisfying new way to drive a Bentley.

If there is a better car on the road in this class? I doubt it. But if you order one for me, I’ll have Onyx (black) or Moonbeam (silver). Anything other than Sunburst Gold.