A Coach And 626 Horses

Elegant, but burly like a bare-knuckle brawler, Bentley’s new Continental GT Cabriolet is both slick and rugged.

CONVERTIBLES don’t often do it for me. They’re heavy, because the chassis needs to be reinforced due to the absence of a hard roof, and the styling also suffers, because the roof it does have needs to fold away somewhere.

I understand the joy of driving alfresco, as the sounds, smells and fresh air are all sensations that make motoring infinitely more bearable. However, in England, these sensations don’t outweigh the inevitable pneumonia you’ll receive on the 360 days of the year when it rains.

However, I’m not in England and the 2019 Bentley Continental GT Cabriolet (GTC) isn’t a normal convertible. You fell into my trap, reader. You fell right in.

When I first see the GTC, at a drinks reception in the Marbella Club, the car is lurking by the pool. The child in me—inside all motoring journalists—is almost begging for a Keith Moon type to hop in and send it into the deep end. However, this is 2019 and there are rules about that kind of thing.

It looks good. It’s Bentley to its core, full of elegance and an effortless chivalry, but it’s muscular, too, like an East End bare-knuckle brawler who takes his grandmother to church and back every Sunday. It’s Daniel Craig in Casino Royale—it’ll smash your head through a bathroom sink if you’re rude to a waiter, but it’ll do it while wearing black tie.