First Drive Review
Tour guide and former leather trimmer Nigel Lofkin admits that, before VW bought Bentley, the assembly plant in Crewe, England, was quite a bit messier. It is now spotless. Vacuums suck up all the leather bits and wood shavings that would otherwise litter the floor, and a ventilation system clears the air of the unpleasant odors from the processing. Lofkin reluctantly called the tidiness "Germanic."
We understand his frustration. Many of Bentley's interior craftsmen do the same job their parents or grandparents did and are rightfully proud of doing things the old way. But we doubt Bentley's chief of chiefs, former Porsche executive Wolfgang Dürheimer, has a problem with Lofkin's description of the shop floor.
Dürheimer has a reputation for shaking things up. His time at Porsche included the introduction of two controversial but hugely successful models: the Cayenne and the Panamera. The cash flowing in from sales of those two vehicles afforded the Stuttgart company the freedom to make 20-some derivatives of the 911 in the car's last generation and ushered the 918 supercar to the front of the development line.
Bentley is in a situation similar to Porsche's when Dürheimer arrived. Currently, the winged B has two model lines: the flagship Mulsanne and the Continental range. The Mulsanne is still hand-built from start to finish and costs, at bare minimum, $296,295. Dürheimer tells us he sees the Continental as Bentley's 911 and wants to see the range expanded beyond the existing GT coupe, Flying Spur sedan, and GTC—"C" for convertible. (It ultimately should expand to add more powerful Speed and even more powerful Supersports versions of all, as well as possible lightweight versions; you can read more about Bentley's plan here.) Rumor has it that Dürheimer wants to get an SUV into the portfolio as well. If and when that happens, expect the proliferation of the Continental line to really take off.
Familiar Looks, Fresh Feel
Although the new GTC rides on more or less an evolution of the Volkswagen Phaeton platform that underpinned the previous Continentals, it incorporates a few substantial changes. Its wheelbase is the same as the outgoing car's, but the body is longer, has a higher waistline, and, most significant, is 0.6 inch wider. Bentley designers wanted to give the car a more muscular appearance, and they felt the extra width was required to accomplish the task.
Bentley also knew it had a tank on its hands. The old car weighed 5580 pounds. The new GTC should weigh closer to 5500. Although the GTC still has a steel unibody, the trunklid is composite (allowing Bentley to hide various antennas on its underside), and the front fenders are aluminum. The latter are produced through a process Bentley calls superforming, in which a sheet of aluminum is heated to about 932 degrees Fahrenheit and then shaped in a pneumatic press. Air pressure is far less forceful than hydraulic and allows the fenders to take on a more complex shape. Additionally, Bentley pulled two pounds out of the exhaust and eight pounds out of the front axle by using lighter uprights.
A Bentley wouldn't be a Bentley without a striking interior. No fewer than 10 bullhides go into the interior. Seven different wood veneers are available to complement the leather, including oak, ash, and walnut. Tour guide Lofkin cringes at the cars that are ordered with a piano-black veneer, as there's a beautiful wood underneath that spends the same 30 days curing as do the patterned burls.
Cobra, Viper, and Continental GTC
The new seats are comfortable, supportive, and supple. Bentley says they are "cobra" style because the shoulder bolsters wrap occupants' shoulders like a pit viper's hood. (Must be a bug going around; Chevy says the automatic shifter in its new Sonic subcompact has a "cobra head" design.) A massage function for the seats is an $820 option, and a neck warmer that, like Mercedes-Benz's Airscarf, blows hot air on the nape of your neck, is another $960.
The Continental's top boasts three layers and takes 25 seconds to fold or rise. When up, it offers coupelike isolation. Bentley claims it is three decibels quieter than the Conti tintop while cruising. There is not a hint of fabric flutter at high speed, and the roof tucks beneath a hard leather-covered shelf. Because it is cloth and not a space-gobbling folding hardtop, there are nine cubic feet of trunk space with it up or down. The space looks larger, and there is plenty of room for a pair of suitcases.
Although the twin-turbo 6.0-liter W-12 is carried over, it now makes 16 more horses than before, for a total of 567. Torque is up as well, from 479 lb-ft to 516. The 12 makes glorious burbles when it's being hammered and a polite hum under lighter loads, and dropping the top makes these noises perfectly clear. A twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 developed in conjunction with Audi will debut as the base engine in the Continental range soon. It will carry a slightly lower price tag and make a little more than 500 hp.
Like the new GT, the 2012 GTC borrows its transmission programming and the all-wheel-drive system's 40/60 front-to-rear torque split from the previous-generation GT Supersports. Compared with the old GTC, the new car's shift times are cut in half, to about 0.2 second. Paddles on the steering column react to commands with haste, making two-lane passing child's play.
A Portly Projectile
With the extra horsepower, slightly less weight, and quicker shifts, the new GTC should reach 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, with the quarter-mile dropping in 12.9. Pulling away from stops in a more gentlemanly manner is recommended if you enjoy giving onlookers a longer glimpse of your Bentley in motion. Flat out, it'll go 195 mph with the top in place.
But how does a 5500-pound ragtop handle? Surprisingly light on its feet. Hydraulic-assisted steering does a fantastic job of transmitting feedback from the big 275/40-20 Pirelli P Zeros (21s are optional) and offers linear off-center resistance. Cowl shake is nonexistent; Bentley claims the GTC is the stiffest open-top car in the world, with a torsional stiffness of 16,595 ft-lb per degree.
To get behind the wheel of this most rigid of convertibles requires a minimum of $218,395. Options add up quickly, though, and most examples will reach a cool quarter-million. People seriously considering a GTC will have the scratch to arrange a visit to the factory in Crewe; we recommend it. Lofkin and crew know what material and color combinations highlight the best aesthetic features of the GTC and can help you outfit a Bentley that's as satisfying to look at as it is to drive.
