Roofless Streak

There are few more convivial, charming or stylish ways of taking a drive than with the top down. With that sentiment in mind, Jon Wall selects four of today’s most desirable luxury convertibles.

- Jon Wall

BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT CONVERTIBLE

If Rolls-Royces are for kings or cads (two supposed opposites that, of course, sometimes turn out to be one and the same), Bentleys are for gentlemen – or, at least, that’s the saying. And if any motor car could be said to uphold the values of the English gent today – stylish, well mannered and just a little bit raffish – then surely it’s the Bentley Continental. Reintroduced into the British carmaker’s line-up some 18 years ago, the Continental also played a big part in reestablishing the marque’s sporting credentials – and the current Conti, though large, rather heavy and extremely luxurious, is the most sporty of the lot. Crucially, it’s built on a platform initially deployed on Porsche’s impeccably handling Panamera and, just like the Pana, one of its two engine options is a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 (though if 540-odd horses are insufficient there’s also a 626bhp, 6-litre W12), so it certainly walks the walk. There’s all-wheel drive and active suspension, so the thing grips like a sports car should and wafts like a limo too. And then there’s the stunning interior, all put together by hand and fashioned from the finest materials. Order the Continental GT in soft-top form and as well as being capable of annihilating autobahns it’s also the perfectly relaxed boulevardier, so once you’ve arrived at your destination after gobbling up much of Europe, you can dawdle to your dinner date in the highest style, all eyes on you. True, there isn’t quite as much room in the back for two passengers as in Rolls’ more spacious Dawn, but in ultraposh Mulliner spec like the Continental shown here it puts the “grand” in GT like few other cars we can think of.