If your hard-top GT isn't letting you feel the wind in your hair, a solution may be around the corner. Bentley's has unveiled its new Grand Convertible, which it hopes will redefine the luxury of open air driving. The car is currently a concept, but will go into production if there is sufficient demand.
Bentley calls the Grand Convertible the most sophisticated open-top car it has ever created, a typically grandiose claim for a company that works in superlatives. Last year it claimed that its upcoming SUV would be the most powerful on the market, whilst this September it made what was already the world’s fastest ultra-luxury saloon, the Mulsanne, even faster.
"With this car we combine the opulent Mulsanne experience with the full sensory indulgence of open-air touring, continuing to unite luxury and performance in new ways," says Bentley chairman and CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer of the Grand Continental. "We are eagerly awaiting the response of our customers to this car. We will ensure that this car, if it reaches the roads, will be a highly exclusive, extremely limited collector’s piece."
The Grand Convertible produces 537 PS (530 bhp / 395 kW) and 1,100 Nm (811 lb.ft) of torque from Bentley's 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, which also powers the Mulsanne.
There's room for a driver and three passengers, who will not be short of space, and the car is finished in "sequin blue," that Bentley says was inspired by a sequin on a customer’s haute couture gown. The hood and windshield frame, meanwhile, are finished in silver liquid metal.
Inside the car, Bentley says it has used 14 naturally tanned leather hides merged together to create the quilted seat and door coverings, with bright blue thread used to highlight the stitching. A darker Beluga leather is used around the top of the doors and the rear tonneau.
The tonneau itself, the wooden paneling at the rear of the car, is dark-stained Burr Walnut and is claimed to feature the largest piece of wood veneer ever applied to a Bentley. It's finished with lines of chromed steel.
The Grand Convertible concept will be on display at the LA Auto Show from November 19.
Source: Bentley
