Bentley has revealed its new Grand Convertible ahead of a public appearance at the LA auto show. Essentially a drop-top version of the Mulsanne Speed super saloon, the Grand Convertible mixes an ultra-luxurious cabin with effortless straight-line performance.
Under that lengthy bonnet is Bentley’s familiar 6.7-litre (or, lift your upper lip and roll your tongue, six and three quarters) V8 engine, producing 530bhp and a staggering 811lb ft of torque.
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Though in-depth technical details and performance figures haven’t been confirmed, we can make a few educated assumptions: power will be sent through the same eight-speed ZF gearbox as the Mulsanne Speed, enabling the 2.6ish-ton convertible to surge from 0-60 in something like 5sec; not that those numbers really matter in the big Bentley.
What does matter is the amount of leather the interior is bathed in. 14 different types, is the answer, each naturally tanned and merged together with ‘progressive-diamond quilting.’
The wooden tonneau also matters a lot, apparently, because Bentley has gone through the effort of creating the largest piece of wood veneer to ever feature on one of its cars. Hand fashioned, the veneer is finished with lines of chromed steel to (most likely deliberately) resemble the woodwork found on a luxurious yacht.
Bentley has painted the car in Sequin Blue – a colour that owes its origins to a single sequin from a customer’s haute couture gown – with a silver ‘liquid metal’ bonnet and windscreen frame to contrast.
Chairman and CEO, Wolfgang Dürheimer, describes the drop-top as ‘embodying elegance beyond compare’. Reaction to the car in LA will be used to gauge whether it ever makes production, but given the demand for big, luxury British barges on the West Coast (just look at Dr. Dre’s music videos…), it at least looks likely.
If it does, production numbers will be tiny, ensuring the Bentley Grand Convertible will be a ‘highly exclusive, extremely limited collector's piece.’ The price? We don’t have a clue. But given that the comparably mass-produced Mulsanne sells for over £220,000, shall we start the guesses at £300,000?
