Monumental Continental
Bentley’s smallest and least-expensive car goes topless and looks better for it.
by Jim Gorzelany and Matthew de Paula
The topless profile of the new Bentley Continental GTC convertible is drastically more attractive than that of the pudgy Continental GT coupe upon which it’s based.
Lacking the elegant look of classic Bentleys, with their expansive hoods that seem to stretch for blocks, the Continental GT and GTC have modern, economy-car proportions: a short hood, bluff nose and rounded rump. The innovative and compact 552-hp twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 engine these baby Bentleys share (basically two V6 engines attached side by side) preempts the kind of long hood required by older Bentleys to accommodate the massive V8 and V12 engines of their day.
Find Bentley Continental GTC specs
Chopping the roof off of the Continental GT coupe somehow improves the aesthetic, making the GTC look longer and more elegant than its hardtop twin, even though it’s the same length and width as the coupe.
Other than the multilayer, powered convertible fabric top, the Bentley Continental GTC is pretty much identical to the Continental GT, which is to say it should offer supercar performance with limousine-like comfort when it goes on sale late this year. It will have the same six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission with manual-shift capability via paddles behind the steering wheel and will also feature all-wheel drive like the Continental GT.