Top down at 190mph - the Bentley Continental GTC

Choice of 15 exterior paint colours.

Fabric hood with a choice of five colours.

Colour-keyed electronically adjusted door mirrors with heating, power-folding and memory function. Electrochromatically linked to internal rear-view mirror (a light-sensitive device to prevent glare when driving).

Chassis stiffening

There was one clear target when Bentley’s engineering team began work on the Continental GTC: to create a convertible that drives exactly like its coupé counterpart. By removing the roof – an integral part of the body structure that provides stiffness to the chassis – a convertible has a tendency to shake or vibrate when driven.

Consequently, the Continental GTC’s engineers were determined to rid the car of any such ‘scuttle shake’ and began an extensive development programme aimed at ensuring the Continental GTC’s steel body had a torsional stiffness in the region of 30Hz – an incredible figure for a convertible.

To hit that target the engineers added significant steel reinforcement to the sills as well as additional cross braces that run beneath the cabin. Strengthened steel tubing was also used in the A-pillars and windscreen surround. To remove unwanted resonance – as vital a task as ensuring stiffness – a great deal of time was also spent improving the mountings for the rear subframe. Despite the significant reinforcement to the car’s body, the weight of the car has risen by just 110kg over the Continental GT coupé, to 2495kg (5500lb). Vibration, too, was eradicated, resulting in exceptional levels of ride and refinement.

The convertible roof with rollover protection

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