Test of the 2019 Bentley Continental GT Convertible: The ideal model for a great 500-mph touring?



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The 2019 Bentley Continental GT Convertible, in numbers

  • Base price (price tested): $ 236,100 ($ 299,515)
  • Powertrain: W-12 twin-turbo 6.0-liter, 626 horsepower, 664 pound-feet of torque; automatic eight-speed dual clutch; all-wheel drive
  • 0-60 MPH: 3.7 seconds (manufacturer's claim)
  • Top speed: 207 miles per hour
  • EPA fuel economy: To be determined, but the previous version was ranked 12 mpg in town, 20 mpg in highway
  • Lean estimate of fuel consumption in Europe NEDC: City 16.1 mpg, highway 29.7 mpg
  • Americans can buy it: in the second half of this year, like the coupe

You can travel 200 miles in the new Bentley Continental GT Convertible 2019 without realizing that the roof is lowered.

I know it because I can testify personally, because I have spent most of the day crisscrossing the south of Spain in this convertible. The new Z-folding roof collapsed and stowed in the compartment behind the second row of symbolic seats. only consciously thinking of the lack of coverage between the scalp and the sky. For the record, it was for my part that I realized towards the end of the day that my clear skin, closer than ever to Saltine White after several months of autumn and winter of the Northeast, held the tingling dry and revealing a start of sunburn. Otherwise, this thought never crossed my mind: do not listen to music with the 1500-watt Bang & Olufsen stereo; not by conversing with my driving partner, The reader contributor and extraordinary photographer Eric Adams; and not even when you tore the Spanish countryside at 100 km / h.

The Bentley Continental GT Convertible 2019: no wonder, many times

According to Bentley, it is also possible to drive 207 km / h in this car of 626 horses. Gran Turismo, either with the up or the down. (To switch between the two modes, however, you will need to slow down to 30 mph or less, but you will only need to do it for 19 seconds before shooting again for the double century.) Unfortunately, this assertion does not help. was not valid. This is one that I could check on my own, because of what I would call 95% opportunity and 5% absence of a ball. But the Bentley feels capable of training at this speed, solid and stable on the highway, regardless of its depth, regardless of the depth of the accelerator. It's one of those cars that, like the Cadillac CTS-V, feels happiest driving at speeds faster than almost any speed limit on the highway imposed by the planet Earth.

All the extraordinary development work of the international group of engineers who developed the car, which is based on a version of the same MSB architecture of the VW group as the second-generation Porsche Panamera, certainly deserves credit. Despite the reduced proportions of the Conti, all the luxury inherent in a Bentley imposes a penalty: the cabriolet has a curb weight of 5,322 pounds, or 924 pounds more than a Panamera Turbo. But as Porsche (and Lamborghini, Bugatti and Audi) have proven time and time again, it's not hard to lose weight with enough power and grip. The seemingly limitless supply of thrust from the twin-cylinder 12-cylinder, coupled with the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and the all-wheel drive system that propels the fury towards glycerous rubber plates at the four corners, allows this car – which, again, weighs about three tons with two adult men and a chest full of hand luggage, as it was when I was driving it – to jump forward from a stop, a road ride at 80mph, or anything in between with a raging fury that will leave you from time to time doubting the intelligence of Isaac Newton.

Even so, even the power of GAW can not completely defeat physics. Point the wide Conti bow in a series of tight, wavy turns – the kind of road that would elevate a Ferrari 488 Pista driver or Porsche 911 GT3 driver to a transcendent state – and you can not help but slow down the car. . An angry Miata pilot can reach the same speed on the same road. He does not feel floating or uncomfortable; it just feels happier to take a slow-fast approach, using massive brakes – at 16.5 inches at the front and 15.0 inches at the rear, these are the largest units in the world. iron never attached to a production car – to gently slow down the mass, then pour power into the rear-biased all-wheel drive system with brake-based torque vectoring to push it into the bend.

But on wider and faster roads, the GT Conti shines. Active 48-volt electric roll control technology and three-mode air suspension combine to deliver seamless handling, even when cornering at recommended speeds of 40 miles to the hour, almost double. The car shines on the types of highways that united western nations before interstate highways and autobahnen and highway Long, transformed journeys, from big tournaments to high-speed slogs, roads with curves that bypass obstacles rather than being large rivers of asphalt running through everything in their path.

The Bentley Continental GT Convertible 2019: You may just want to move in

As with any car coming out of Crewe, the interior of the new Continental GT convertible features premium features and materials that 99% of people can not dream of seeing at home, let alone their cars. Although to be fair, even the rich might think that their homes are unworthy after taking a look at the type of fabrics and finishes available. Of course, there are a myriad of exquisite leather colors – all from bulls, of course, because cowhide can have stretch marks – and beautiful wood varieties, from sustainable sources and extending over 108 square feet of the cabin. But there are also features such as diamond knurling on some metal trim that adds texture to the touch points, such as door handles, or the Côtes de Genève finish inspired by the watchmaking available for the console Central. This is enough to make you feel like a boss, even if you are only sitting in the boss's car.

One thing you will not find in another Bentley than the new Conti GT coupe: the three-mode Bentley Rotating Display, which can switch between the standard 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment display (including size and layout the menu, moreover, will probably be terribly familiar to second-generation Panamera pilots); a trio of analog gauges displaying the outside temperature, the direction of travel and the seconds elapsed in stopwatch; or a blank slate of double veneer corresponding to the rest of the dashboard. At $ 6,270, this is not cheap, but if you consider that this represents only 2.7% of the base price of the car, it is proportionately more affordable than the sunroof of a BMW X2 and much more likely to impress each time you press the modes button.

If the sumptuous booth encourages you to pursue your dream of selling your home and become a social media influencer living its #bestlife # life on an optimized Bentley, be aware that: you will not have much room for society . . The front seats, which are among the most comfortable of the modern autodom – you can choose refreshing ventilation, several massage programs, not just heating pads, but a warm air stream on the nape of the neck – do not offer as the legs is good for the driver, but larger passengers will find their feet firmly leaning against the carpet-covered firewall. And forget the rear seats, which literally offer zero legroom, the front seats being designed for tall adults. Better to consider them as additional storage space; the aforementioned hand luggage of two adult types was sufficient to fill the trunk thoroughly, so any couple who needs more than three days of clothing would be better off throwing clothes in the two more rear seats.

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