Maintenance costs on a used Continental GT, am I kidding myself?

[jacintocollier]

I've wanted a Continental GT for years and I'm finally in a position to buy one, but I keep getting cold feet over the running costs. Everyone tells me the purchase price is only half the story and that maintenance can be brutal if you buy the wrong car. I've been trying to do my homework on what to look for, and I saw a few people mention getting a specialist inspection first. I want to find out more about what that involves before I commit to anything, because I'd rather know now if a particular car is going to bleed me dry. Has anyone here owned one long term and can give me a realistic idea of what the annual upkeep looks like? I'm not expecting it to be cheap, I just want to avoid a nasty surprise six months in.