Words and photos by Mark Elias.

Cruising through a midsize Canadian metropolis in a Bentley Continental GT can be disconcerting enough, but when the model is the Continental GTC with Mulliner Driving Specification package, with the roof down, no less, it becomes an event. This isn’t Beverly Hills, after all.

We recently had a chance to get reacquainted with the GTC during our weekend at the Fleetwood Country Cruize-In near London, Ontario, Canada, and remembered what an event the vehicle becomes.

What Is It?

Defying any one logical categorization, the Continental GTC is the drop-top version of Bentley’s Continental GT 2+2 sport coupe. It is a monument to precision engineering and sheer will, especially when you consider the motive power needed to get the GTC underway. The Continental GTC was introduced at the New York Auto Show in 2006, and went on sale as a 2007 model.

What’s It Up Against?

Rivals to the big Bentley drop top include several cars that are both more and less expensive. They include the Ferrari California (estimated at $199,000), the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe (from $407,000), and the GTC’s own sibling the Bentley Azure (checking in at $329,990). Another possibility includes the as yet-to-be-introduced Maserati GranTurismo convertible, which could start around $135,000.

Any Big Breakthroughs?

Just the fact that a motor is able to power this behemoth with any conviction should be breakthrough enough, but to be able to achieve a 0-60 time of 4.8-seconds is utterly amazing!

It’s a general mixture of new-school Teutonic tech joined with old school British know-how and mixed in with plenty of old-world craftsmen touches. The results manage to pull both sides off with great success.

How Does It Look?

With the roof up it looks like a sinister dry-lake hot rod. You remember the type that also doubled as chopped-top boulevard cruisers back when you still could cruise. Drop the sound-deadened, three-layer cloth fabric roof with heated rear window, and the world suddenly becomes your playground. If you are an old guy, it’s better than a large, economy-sized bottle of Viagra!

Sculpted sides that we grew to love in the coupe version of the Continental remain with a few mods necessary to accommodate the fold up roof. The actual finished look of the GTC is dare we say more satisfying to the eye than the coupe as well. While the coupe has a certain squattiness about it, the Continental GTC proportions just simply appear correct. Familiar cues remain, including the sporting grille, and individually mounted headlamps

The long rear deck blends in nicely with the retracted roof, and the leather cover hides everything in a very elegant way without intruding into the trunk space, unlike other contemporary convertibles.

Sometimes, we have found that when an automaker turns an already respected car into a convertible, there’s a backlash from the peanut gallery of self-proclaimed automotive purists. But to us, the Continental convertible makes perfect sense. It’s why Bentley has designated the GTC as a model unto itself, rather than a Continental with its roof cut off.

It’s one of the few large grand touring convertibles on the market, and it fills a niche that we think has been neglected in recent history.

And Inside?

Buttah, pure buttah. And burled walnut, too. The GTC is covered in northern European hides because, according to Bentley, insects that tend to damage leather, don’t like the cooler temperatures that exist in the north. Available in 17 different shades, they combine with the other elements to truly give a feeling of “living-room furniture,” rather than a car seat.

Brightwork in the form of polished and satin metals combine with laser-cut burled walnut to really provide a showcase for the Crewe, England-based craftsmen to display their talents, which will continue to amaze on a daily basis.

The 2+2 interior will transport a party of four but just for a short while. With a passenger in the left rear, drivers with long legs will be made to suffer, even for a quick jaunt. Support from the driver’s seat is excellent, and non-fatiguing over long periods of driving time, and controls are pretty well sorted in all the places you would expect, except for one: The stalk-style paddle shifters. They tend to get in the way of the turn-indicators when you are going for a quick little downshift.

The DVD Navigation system combined with the 10-speaker audio system with six-cd changer is a great sounding unit, but we can’t help but wonder why the screen has gone to a more user-friendly touch screen format. And curiously, the system cannot support iPod connectivity, despite living in a time where cars that sell for a fraction of the Continental GTC’s price are coming with this feature as standard equipment

But Does It Go?

Like stink, it does! The twin-turbocharged W12, which is similar to that found in the Continental GT and Flying Spur, is truly a work of art. The six-liter powerplant with twin spools and a top speed of 195 mph with roof up or 190 mph with it peeled back, manages to pump out 552 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque virtually through the entire power band starting at 1600 rpm and going to the 6000 rpm redline. Thus the feeling of turbo-lag is almost eliminated. EPA mileage estimates call for 10 mpg in the city and 17-mpg on the highway, for a combined average of 13.5 miles per gallon. Our testing resulted in roughly 12 mpg combined.

The power is transferred to the pavement by way of a six-speed ZF automatic transmission coupled to a Torsen center differential with continuous all-wheel-drive. Think Audi Quattro. The gearbox can also be used as a clutchless manual with either the gearshift lever or the paddleshifters. Braking is the equivalent of tossing the anchor from the Queen Mary II off the rear. The Bentley sports the largest disc brakes on a current production car: 16-inch discs in front, and 13-inch in the rear.

The ride is so smooth and sure-footed that it’s easy to lose track of one’s speed, but at the same time driving fast just doesn’t feel like a priority, despite the immense power underhood.

The one thing that comes to mind while cruising the back roads of suburbia is that the GTC is an incredible piece of engineering that belies the sheer mass that it possesses. Speaking of Suburban, with a curb weight of 5478 pounds, the GTC checks in at nearly the same weight as a Chevrolet Suburban. To be able to drive this beautiful beast at high speed and quietly at that (noticing the silence and lack of flex or vibration) truly makes things seem right with the world… at least as far as my right foot is concerned.

We’d like to see a 600 hp ‘Speed’ variant of the GTC. With that type of power, we think the GTC would go from being a quick car to a fast one.

Speaking of the right foot, there’s an annoying — albeit very faint — grinding sensation that transmits through the brake and gas pedals. Quattro cars are known for this characteristic, but we think it’s unacceptable for a car that costs nearly as much as the average American home.

Why You Would Buy It?

If you truly appreciate art in motion, this is your car. If, to you, the as-tested price of $218,235 is absolutely chump change, and you have an oil well in your back yard, this might also be your ride.

Why You Wouldn’t

You have a deposit on the upcoming Ferrari California at your local dealer. Or, you’re price conscious, and you’d rather save $50,000 opting for the forthcoming Maserati GranTurismo S Convertible.