Bentley Continental GTC

Crewe firm aims for greater driver appeal at a lower price point for its convertible GT

Convertibles are proving a perennial source of income for the world's best-known purveyors of top-level luxury cars.

To understand why, all you need do is drive one. There is little to match the pure 'wow' factor of a desirable drop-top exotic that can so effortlessly make almost any open-air journey feel special.

As Bentley has long understood, the most intoxicating luxury convertibles are rarely the most exciting, but rather those that deliver effortless grand touring qualities into a lavish, sheltered, inviting cabin. Cars that give you a motoring experience engaging enough to savour but also preserve your appetite for open-top miles with their good cruising manners.

In pursuit of that just-so compromise, Bentley has just augmented its line-up of Continental GTC derivatives with a familiar new member. Crewe first introduced V8 S Continental GT and GTC models a little under a decade ago, as part of the last-generation Continental line. Taking the lighter and more responsive V8 model as their basis, and adding extra notes of handling and performance dynamism and driver focus, these models were among Autocar's highest-rated modern Bentleys. They combined performance, luxury, driver focus and, yes, even relative value for money to more convincing effect than any other Continental.

Today's question is: do they still?

DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

As of the 2023 model year, you can order your Continental GT coupé or GTC convertible in a broader range of derivative styles. The W12-engined GT and GTC Speed performance versions launched in 2021 survive, but they have been joined by comfort-biased Azure and ultimate-coachbuilt, luxuryflavoured Mulliner variants.