Earlier this year Bentley released a totally redesigned Continental GT, which was the recipient of worldwide acclaim and fanfare. More recently – at the 2018 LA Auto Show taking place in late November – Bentley debuted the drop-top version of the aforementioned, formally known as the Continental GT Convertible.
Overall the Continental GT Convertible isn’t far off from it’s coupe counterpart, which isn’t a bad thing at all. The convertible shares the same 6.0L twin-turbocharged W12 engine which produces 626-horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque and is mated to an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, delivering power to its all-wheel-drive system. This allows the Convertible to achieve 0-60 mph in just 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 207 mph.
Due to the extra hardware required for the drop-top mechanism, the Convertible does end up weighing in at 5,322 pounds, which is about 375 pounds more than the metal-top. However, this is still an improvement over the previous iteration of the drop-top, coming in at about 250 pounds lighter and with a much more powerful engine to boot. Ultimately I doubt customers will find much, if any significance in the car’s performance relative to its weight, with such differences between the coupe and convertible being virtually negligible anyway.
Things remain identical with major chassis components as well, with the three-chamber air springs, 48-volt-controlled active anti-roll bars and enormous 10-piston and 4-piston calipers in the front and rear respectively. Yup, that’s 28-pistons to make sure your modern day Cinderella carriage stops like a thoroughbred race horse.
Moving on to what really makes the Convertible different; its drop-top, of course. In expectedly Bentley fashion, the materials for the roof as well as its folding mechanism are extraordinary in themselves – the canvas Z-fold roof will be available in seven colors, with one being a ‘contemporary interpretation of traditional British tweed’ and can be raised or stowed in just 19 seconds with the car moving (up to 30 mph).
Designer-in-chief Simon Blake describes it best, remarking that “We’re Bentley. It’s fair to say (the roof cost) ‘a lot.’ Not just a couple dollars”.
Inside, the car remains opulent as ever with a rich serving of wood panels and high-grade leathers. The Convertible comes standard with 12.3” rotating touchscreen display, and a 2,000 watt Naim stereo is available as an option. Still important – but almost forgettable thanks to plethora of offerings on hand – are the standard neck warmers, and heated seats, armrest and steering wheel for those nippier top-down moments. Customers may commission a bespoke configuration with Bentley’s Mulliner division, should the standard catalogue be deemed insufficient.
| BODYWORK | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| BODY TYPE | 2+2 seater convertible/cabriolet | ||
| NUMBER OF DOORS | 2 | ||
| DESIGNER | |||
| DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS | |||
| WHEELBASE | 2851mm | 112.2 inches | |
| TRACK/TREAD (FRONT) | 1672 mm | 65.8 inches | |
| TRACK/TREAD (REAR) | 1664 mm | 65.5 inches | |
| LENGTH | 4850mm | 190.9 inches | |
| WIDTH | 1954 mm | 76.9 inches | |
| HEIGHT | 1399 mm | 55.1 inches | |
| GROUND CLEARANCE | |||
| LENGTH:WHEELBASE RATIO | 1.7 | ||
| KERB WEIGHT | 2414 kg | 5322 lb | |
| WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION | 55% front | ||
| FUEL TANK CAPACITY | 90 litres | 19.8 [23.8] UK [US] gal. | |
| AERODYNAMICS | |||
| DRAG COEFFICIENT | 0.29 | ||
| FRONTAL AREA | |||
| CDA | |||
| POWERTRAIN | |||
| ENGINE TYPE | turbocharged petrol | ||
| ENGINE MANUFACTURER | Bentley | ||
| ENGINE CODE | |||
| CYLINDERS | W 12 | ||
| CAPACITY | 6 litre 5952 cc (363.213 cu in) | ||
| BORE × STROKE | 84 × 89.5 mm 3.31 × 3.52 in | ||
| BORE/STROKE RATIO | 0.94 | ||
| VALVE GEAR | double overhead camshaft (DOHC) 4 valves per cylinder 48 valves in total | ||
| MAXIMUM POWER OUTPUT | 635 PS (626 bhp) (467 kW) at 6000 rpm | ||
| MAXIMUM TORQUE | 900 Nm (664 ft·lb) (91.8 kgm) at 1350-4500 rpm | ||
| SPECIFIC OUTPUT | 78.4 kW/litre 106.6 ps/litre 105.2 bhp/litre 1.72 bhp/cu in | ||
| SPECIFIC TORQUE | 151.21 Nm/litre 1.83 ft·lb/cu3 | ||
| ENGINE CONSTRUCTION | |||
| SUMP | wet sumped | ||
| COMPRESSION RATIO | 10.5:1 | ||
| FUEL SYSTEM | direct petrol injection | ||
| BMEP (BRAKE MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURE) | 1900.2 kPa (275.6 psi) | ||
| MAXIMUM RPM | |||
| CRANKSHAFT BEARINGS | |||
| ENGINE COOLANT | Water | ||
| UNITARY CAPACITY | 496 cc | ||
| ASPIRATION | Turbo | ||
| COMPRESSOR | 2 parallel twin-scroll turbochargers | ||
| INTERCOOLER | Y | ||
| CATALYTIC CONVERTER | Y | ||
| PERFORMANCE | |||
| ACCELERATION 0-80KM/H (50MPH) | |||
| ACCELERATION 0-60MPH | 3.7 s | ||
| ACCELERATION 0-100KM/H | 3.8 s | ||
| ACCELERATION 0-160KM/H (100MPH) | 8.1 s | ||
| STANDING QUARTER-MILE | |||
| STANDING KILOMETRE | |||
| MAXIMUM SPEED | 333 km/h (207 mph) | ||
| POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO | Higher is better 262.93 PS/tonne (1000 kg) 0.26 PS/kg 193.38 kW/tonne (1000 kg) 0.19 kW/kg 259.32 bhp/tonne (1000 kg) 0.26 bhp/kg 0.12 bhp/lb | ||
| WEIGHT-TO-POWER RATIO | Lower is better 5.17 kg/kW 8.64 lb/bhp | ||
| FUEL CONSUMPTION | |||
| FUEL CONSUMPTION | 22.9/14.8/11.8 l/100km urban/extra-urban/combined WLTP cycle | ||
| UNIVERSAL FUEL CONSUMPTION (CALCULATED FROM THE ABOVE) | |||
| LITRES/100KM | 22.9/14.8/11.8 l/100km urban/extra-urban/combined | ||
| KM/LITRE | 4.4/6.8/8.5 km/l urban/extra-urban/combined | ||
| UK MPG | 12.3/19.1/23.9 UK MPG urban/extra-urban/combined | ||
| US MPG | 10.3/15.9/19.9 US MPG urban/extra-urban/combined | ||
| CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS | 317.0 g/km NEDC | ||
| CARFOLIO CALCULATED CO2? | |||
| VED BAND (UK) | M | ||
| CO2 EFFIZIENZ (DE) | G | ||
| CHASSIS | |||
| ENGINE POSITION | front | ||
| ENGINE LAYOUT | longitudinal | ||
| DRIVE WHEELS | all wheel drive | ||
| TORQUE SPLIT | |||
| STEERING | power assisted rack & pinion | ||
| TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK | |||
| TURNING CIRCLE | |||
| FRONT SUSPENSION | |||
| REAR SUSPENSION | |||
| WHEEL SIZE FRONT | |||
| WHEEL SIZE REAR | |||
| TYRES FRONT | Pirelli 265/40 ZR 21 105Y | ||
| TYRES REAR | Pirelli 305/35 ZR 21 109Y | ||
| BRAKES F/R | VeDi/VeDi-S-ABS | ||
| FRONT BRAKE DIAMETER | 420 mm | ||
| REAR BRAKE DIAMETER | 380 mm | ||
| BRAKED AREA | |||
| GEARBOX | 8 speed automatic | ||
