The 2004 to 2011 Bentley Continental has aged far better than its entertainment system did. Everything else about the car still feels current; the screen in the middle of the dashboard does not.
It is the most common complaint we hear about these cars, and it is a solvable one. The original head unit can be replaced with a modern double DIN unit using a custom trim kit made for the car, which keeps the dashboard looking as it should rather than looking modified.
Which cars this applies to
The retrofit suits the 2004–2011 Continental GT, the GTC convertible and the Flying Spur. These shared a generation of infotainment that was competitive when the cars were new and is now the single most dated thing about owning one.
What is actually wrong with the original system
Nothing mechanical, usually. The hardware tends to keep working — the problem is that it was designed around how people used a car in 2005:
- navigation on a disc, with maps that stopped being updated years ago;
- no useful way to get audio off a phone, or a Bluetooth implementation that predates streaming;
- a small, low-resolution screen;
- no reversing camera input on a car that is wide, long and has poor rear visibility;
- media formats nobody carries any more.
Replacing it is not about making the car louder. It is about the three things owners actually miss: a phone that connects properly, navigation that knows about roads built this decade, and a camera when reversing.
Why the trim kit is the important part
A double DIN head unit is a standard size, so the electronics side of this is well-trodden. What separates a good Bentley retrofit from a bad one is the surround.
Drop a generic unit into a dashboard like this and it looks exactly like what it is: an aftermarket stereo in a luxury car, with panel gaps and the wrong finish round the edges. A custom trim kit made for the Continental's centre console lets the new unit sit flush, with the correct profile and a finish that belongs with the rest of the interior. On a car of this quality that is the difference between an upgrade and a downgrade.
What the job involves
- Establishing what is in the car now. Specification varied across the production run, and what the car left the factory with determines what the new unit has to talk to.
- Removing the original unit without marking the surrounding trim — the part that takes care rather than time.
- Wiring in the replacement, using an adaptor loom rather than cutting the car's original harness. This matters: it keeps the change reversible, which protects the car's value.
- Fitting the trim kit so the new screen sits correctly in the console.
- Retaining what should be retained. Steering wheel controls and the existing speakers and amplification can usually be kept working with the right interface.
- Testing everything before the car goes back, including anything that shares the same wiring.
Questions worth asking before you book this anywhere
- Is the original harness being cut, or is an adaptor loom being used? Only one of those answers is acceptable on a car you intend to keep.
- Is the trim kit made for the Continental, or is it a generic fascia?
- Will the steering wheel controls still work?
- Is the original unit kept and returned to you? For a car heading towards classic status, originality has value.
- If the car has a factory amplifier and speaker set, how is the new unit interfacing with it?
Does it affect the car's value?
Honestly, it depends on the buyer. A reversible installation with the original parts retained is the safe position: an owner who wants standard can put it back. An installation that has cut the loom and modified the console cannot be undone, and on a car like this that will come up at sale.
Our view is to treat the car as something that should still be original underneath the upgrade, which is why the adaptor loom is not a corner worth cutting to save an hour.
Mitsiland fits modern double DIN units into the 2004–2011 Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur using custom trim kits — see Bentley entertainment system upgrades. We also service these cars, which is covered in our Bentley Continental GT servicing guide. To talk it through, call 0161 320 7788.
