It’s tweedy, it’s topless and it’s going to be my ride around the Grand Canyon tomorrow. It’s the Bentley Continental GT V8 Convertible. What would you like to know about it?
Bentley went Full British with some of its options for the convertible. The color of the car I’ll be driving is called Cricket Ball, for crying out loud. Unfortunately, my tester doesn’t have the tweed roof, so it’s not quite as hardcore as it could be—if that were the case I feel I’d be serving warm beer and debating the merits of a Hard Brexit within mere hours.
The engine is a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine with 542 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque, instead of the regular GT’s 6.0-litre W12. Not a bad thing, since we’re going on a mini road trip around the southern rim of the Grand Canyon, and a W12 is anything but economical on gas. Bentley still promises a spirited performance from the “smaller” engine.
And making a fancy car that can really schlep great distances is what GTs are all about. The most interesting fact so far is that there are two forms of leather —camel and beluga—in the luxurious interior.
Bentley says this is the ultimate Grand Tourer, but I’m fresh off driving the McLaren GT, and that thing had a solid V8 as well. They even start at almost the same price. So if you’re one of the rare, lucky individuals who actually get to cross shop the two, along with S-Class Coupes and Ferrari Lussos, it’ll be an interesting comparison.
Not sure what the exact price on this is, but it generally starts around $220,000. As you do.
So, besides how many animals had to die to make this exquisite machine, what do you want to know?