The Bentley Continental GT Convertible Is Here With 626bhp And Tweed

As good as the Bentley Continental GT is at being a devastatingly fast yet comfortable grand tourer, question marks remain over the looks. It certainly has presence, but whether you can call it pretty… that’s debatable.

This new Continental GT convertible, however, has a more graceful air to it, don’t you think? It somehow just looks right as a drop-top. And pleasingly, the prettier body and the benefits of infinite headroom come at little cost to the performance.

You still get the same 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 up front (a V8 will no doubt be available eventually), which develops 626bhp and 664lb ft of torque. 0-62mph takes 3.8 seconds, a drop of just 0.1sec compared to the coupe. The top speed meanwhile is identical - it’ll still hit 207mph.

The tailored fabric roof can be raised or lowered in 19 seconds, and will happily operate when you’re travelling at anything up to 30mph. You can have it in seven different finishes, including tweed. Yes, tweed.

With the roof up, the GT Convertible is as quiet as the old coupe, Bentley says. So, you’ll have a more tranquil environment to best enjoy all the quilted leather and exquisite woodwork. On the subject of the latter, you’ll find 10 square metres of the stuff in each car.

The coupe’s fancy triple-sided rotating display is here too, allowing drivers to choose between a 12.3-inch touchscreen, a trio of beautiful analogue dials (a temperature gauge, a compass and a chronometer) or nothing but the owner’s chosen dashboard veneer.

The electric seats are 20-ways adjustable, and yes, you can have them in quilted leather. Integrated into each one is a new version of Bentley’s neckwarmer, which “is both warmer and quieter than in the previous generation model.”

There’s no word on pricing yet, but a small increase over the £156,200 is expected. It’ll make its public debut at the LA Auto Show this week.