Elite Traveler Spring 2020

From top Bentley Continental GT V8’s sumptuous interiors; the car marries the expected comfort of a Bentley with impressive supercar capabilities; the hybrid Polestar

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Few places on Earth are as breathtaking as Sedona, Arizona, where the landscape is covered with red rock formations, mountains and buttes that shoot up from the desert. Driving anywhere takes longer than usual, as you will frequently find yourself pulling over to take yet another photo of the incredible scenery. Here, we start our journey in Bentley’s new Continental GT V8 on an epic trip through Arizona to the Grand Canyon, putting the car through its paces while enjoying its unadulterated luxury. The GT perfectly marries performance and comfort. Christophe Georges, president and CEO of Bentley in the Americas, describes it as having the engine and the capabilities of a supercar, but the pure comfort expected of a Bentley. It maneuvers the hairpin turns from Sedona to the Grand Canyon with ease and grace, and on open stretches of highway through the Arizona desert, it shows its power by roaring from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. The 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine has a top speed of 198 mph. The hand- stitched leather seats are so cozy that an all-day drive is not something to be tolerated, but something to be enjoyed. Bentley has also solved the perennial question for anyone driving a convertible: top up or down? You don’t have to choose, since the roof can be opened or closed in under 20 seconds, as long as you’re traveling under 30mph. And you won’t be chilly, since the seats have new neck warmers and heated armrests. by Kristen Shirley From $198,500, bentley.com A splendid supercar: Bentley Continental GTV8

Lucky star? Polestar 1

Born in Sweden and raised in China, Polestar debuted stateside in America’s technology capital. Driving the streets of San Francisco, the special-edition, plug-in hybrid Grand Tourer — unambiguously named Polestar 1 — turned heads. For the (kind of) newly minted company, objective accomplished. Polestar began 25 years ago as a third-party Volvo racing tuner before assimilating in-house. The Swedish automaker refocused its energies to creating limited-edition Volvos. Fast forward to 2017, and Polestar is rebranded again, this time as a full-fledged automaker co-funded by Volvo and its Chinese owner Geely. Its mission to construct performance electric vehicles in a purpose-built factory in Chengdu, China seems at odds with its launch product. But that’s the rub. Polestar would be an enigma had it not pulled a play from Tesla’s book: Unveil the brand with a limited-run premium vehicle before shifting to more mass- market offerings. Capped at 500 cars globally per year for three model years, the four-seater Polestar 1 is already a collector’s item. A profoundly atypical option

in a quickly crowding electric landscape, the vehicle is an absolute indulgence. Based on the Volvo Concept Coupe of 2013, Polestar 1’s resemblance to it proves uncanny enough to engender a double take from passersby. While its hammer-like headlights allude to its Swedish beginnings, its concave grille, dramatically curved backside and subtle badging provide fresh visual cues. At 5,170 lbs, Polestar 1 weighs more than a Chevy Silverado 1500, but with double the power. An impressive 619 hp hails from a 2.0-liter supercharged and turbocharged combustion engine that controls the front wheels, along with a duo of electric motors and a 34 kWh battery that commands the rear (a rather uncommon all-wheel drive). Rather than working separately, the powertrain melds its two disparate energy sources. The result: four drive modes, with the fastest, Power, enjoying zero to 60 mph in a healthy 4.2 seconds. It’s possible to run the car on pure electricity, but that’s best left for traffic-filled city driving. From $150,000, polestar.com