I LOVE my 997.2S PDK. I've autox'd and done HPDE days in it and there really Is No Substitute.

However I have to be honest with myself. It's sitting in the garage 30 out of 31 days each month. I didn't buy it to be 'practical' .... but there are levels of 'impractical' and I am wondering if I crossed the threshold.

Recently we got a new dog -- English mastiff. She's 80 lbs today and will be 160lbs when full grown. Not a tall dog like a great dane, just a .... big... dog.

So now our new puppy is yet another reason the 997.2S isn't being driven (the backseat is a joke, even a chihuahua might not fit in it!) ... for a weekend road trip where we want to take our mastiff with us, we take the Tahoe instead ... so what is the point of having a beautiful car if you can't use it on a weekend trip??

Like everyone with a 911, I occasionally lust after the Bentley Conti GT and Aston Martin coupes. I am guessing the Aston has the same size issue the 911 does but I'm wondering if the Bentley Conti GT backseat is a bit bigger.

Obviously we would have to figure out a way to protect the nice leather etc. but I am asking, do you think a, say, 4 hr long drive with a 160 lb dog would be possible or advisable in a Conti GT?

Or am I just spinning my wheels and not facing facts that I need to switch to an M5 or Flying Spur in my old age? (Geez I am only 27)

 

The dog should fit without problem with a small caveat. Well, maybe not as it is a dog and does not need 'leg room' like a human. Since i sit with the driver's seat very far back, there is plenty of normal room MINUS much real semblance of leg room. On the passenger side, which is a bit more forward, there is plenty of legroom and headroom for even a tallish 5'11" person. Taking a visual and knowing dogs and looking at the AKC website, they say the dog should be:

Minimum height of dog is 30 inches tall at the shoulder for males and 27 ½ inches tall for females.

i measured from bottom of rear seat to what is basically the lowest part of the roofline. The measurements below are basically WORST case scenario (least amount of room).

34 inches from bottom of seat to roofline

49 inches from driver side armrest to passenger side armrest

20 inches wide from back of seat to front area (this is highly dependant on front seat position and note this is WORST case scenario).


So will your large dog fit? Well, i am familiar with Newfoundland and AKC says they ranging in size from 26 to 28 inches tall at the shoulder and 100 to 150 pounds.

IMHO it might be almost tight (might being key as hard to say, it could be a fit that is just right). For four hours ride, should be ok yet of course you already know the CGT is not a people carrier or caravan.

Hard to really say without actually getting a dog in there and trying it. Obviously it is not going to be an expansive amount of room for the dog, yet sometimes being a just right fit is better, like a properly-sized bed that wraps around the dog nicely adds safety and comfort. Wish i knew more.

 

Wow man, that was an extremely in-depth and helpful reply... thank you!!

I think I agree with you -- it MIGHT be a little tight we would just have to try it.

The leg room doesn't really matter (as she just lays down across-ways entirely on the seat) except as it pertains to her width. 20 inches as worst case (and 24" or so more likely) seems like it would be plenty.

Her size, as a female, would be roughly the same as a MALE newfoundland.

The mastiff sheds WAY less than a newfie though ;-)

 

Related question regarding the center console / armrest in the rear seats.

Is this an option? Is it removable? I am concerned it would be uncomfortable for a dog laying across it.

As far as I remember it is an option to include it or not on the Flying Spurs.

But every Conti GC I see on the 'bay has it in the rear (maybe something mechanical is underneath it?)

I suppose you could lay a big blanket or a dog mattress over top the entire rear sets to make a surface to lay on.

Thanks for everyone's patience for this thread, I just want to find out if this would even be possible for us. Maybe a dealer would let us take the dog for a test drive (ha)

 

Always glad to help and that 20" i mentioned was if you have the front seats all the way back and reclined quite a bit (more than most ever would). Less far back and less angled/reclined can easily add quite a few inches of course.

Less shedding (and less Newfie slobbering) is a good thing!

As for the rear center, you may be able to custom order the car without the center. As for comfort, there is nothing sharp or protruding and dogs lay down on hard surfaces, gravel, etc all the time so don't think it would be much of an issue either way. As best i can tell, there is nothing really under the rear center console where a special 'delete' option should be do-able.

As a wildcard, and don't have one here to measure, the GT Speed version (i think that is the model) eliminated the rear seat entirely and intead has a large flat surface for storing luggage, etc. Have been looking online for photos yet have not been able to find one. Your dealer should be able to help.

 

FOUND photo, looks like LESS room sans rear seats with the Speed version. See photo below. So the CGT with normal rear seats seems to offer more space for the dog... plus if we want to get technical/geeky, the rear seats CGT version has a suspension setup to allow for proper balance when there is weight in the seats. Bentley changed the suspension setup on the SuperSport to be balanced as is due to not expecting any 2-human weight to be in that section of the car.

 

Steven,

Good to know. I think you're right as long as there's nothing sharp protruding the center console shouldn't be a big deal. Appreciate your tracking down the pic.

Re: spec'ing it new... I am a cheap bastard and I would probably look for an '05 ;-) ... it's amazing to me the early ones have settled down at a price where I could probably nearly trade for one even for my 997.2S PDK (or I might have to throw down 5 or 10k, but still)

The more I look at the specs (and my dog's crate, which is 30" wide and 48" long) the more I think it might be possible. Yes, it would be a little tight, but she's in her crate for 4 hours at a time so why not a backseat?

Now my 911 backseat, OTOH, would physically be impossible to fit her (or any animal or human weighing more than 30 pounds) in there!

 

Do you not like the CFS?

 

I do like it a lot, actually.

My two concerns about it, though, are:

1) It will barely fit in my garage (I live near downtown Chicago, have a 1.5 car garage with a home gym inside it!)... the CGT is only 14" longer than my 911 (doable) but the CFS is nearly 3 feet longer (might be doable but man it would be annoying)

2) The CGT looks just a hair sexier

You're right though I might look at both and see the backseats and decide the sexy factor isn't worth making my dog potentially more uncomfortable....

 

The back seat is big enough, The center console would probably be the first things scratched so that would need to be covered pretty well.

I think the biggest problem would be getting the little guy in and out, without scratching everything.

I would take a pic of my dog back there for scale, but my dog weighs 14 pounds.

Maybe I can borrow one of my neighbors pits.

 

Yeah I hear you my brother had the GTC when it first came out, than had kids and bought a CFS. He is currently looking for another GTC and going to get an SUV for the kids. However in the CFS the dog can lay on the floor on either side or across the bench fairly easily. You can also buy parking blocks to put on the floor to make it easier or make the front wall padded where the car parks.

 

You need to be careful with the rear. The problem is every surface of the interior is covered in soft, scratch-prone leather. Scratch one of the rear panels and it's over $2k to replace. I'd suggest finding a way to safely cover the back before putting the dog in.

 

Agreed, though you can GREATLY enhance the scratch resistance of the leather by treating it with Leatherique. When the 06 CGT first got here it was nicely conditioned (probably with the Bentley or some other leather care product). Problem was, the leather did indeed tend to scratch a bit more easily than other car leathers (Ferrari, Aston Martin, etc). Decided before winter to do the usual Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil and then Pristine Clean and now the leather is more supple yet also far less scratch prone. i think the scratch situation pre-Leatherique has to do with the 'classic' way Bentely stains/treats their leather for that look and scent.

 

Awesome addition. .... Time for a volvo.

My dog Max was an english Mastiff. Incredible buddy. He loved driving in my brothers volvo, sitting on the back seat like a person with his left forearm on the window sill and his head filling the window. They really need a deep seat. He was 186 lbs, his father had been 235 and on the cover of Dog World. He once put his head thru the passenger window of my truck when someone came to close even though he was very well behaved.

Never had to stop abruptly when he was in the car but that has to be a consideration. They are very clean short haired dogs, But they will leave no doubt that the car was owned by a dog owner. Max did not slobber, but that is a dog by dog thing. Seriously, you need a dog hauler/weekend car, not an expensive one unless money is no concern.

post a pic of the passenger

 

here's a pic of the passenger (I'm the OP, btw, I just changed my username here)



She is a brindle :-)

We do have a Tahoe which is more practical and an awesome truck, it just isn't much fun to drive.

Living near downtown Chicago I literally drive once per month. So the choice now is either 'take the dog' or 'take the fun car' and I want to have my cake and eat it too :-D Financially speaking anything I could trade my 997.2S for and end up even would be a financial wash for me.