Sloatsburg, New York — The latest Bentley Continental makes more sense with the roof down. Roof raised, it still looks handsome and feels properly substantial. Lower it and the car’s character comes into focus.
The engine note seems more immediate, the landscape becomes part of the cabin and the entire exercise feels less like a technical demonstration and more like a very expensive way to improve an afternoon.
That may be the strongest argument for choosing the convertible over the coupe. The 2027 Bentley Continental GT S is the more resolved performance car, but the GTC S is the more memorable Bentley.
Hybrid Power, With the V8 Still in Charge
Both now use the brand’s High Performance Hybrid system, pairing a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 with an electric motor and 25.9-kWh battery. Total output is 671 horsepower and 686 lb-ft of torque, enough to send the convertible to 100 km/h in a claimed 3.7 seconds.
“The convertible changes the nature of the trip. It brings the sound closer, opens the view and makes even an ordinary road feel like part of the occasion.”
The figures are suitably excessive, but the delivery is what distinguishes the car. The electric motor fills the first gap in response, then the V8 arrives with more force and considerably more personality. The GTC S builds speed in one long, muscular sweep.
It’s quick enough to be shocking, though shock is not really the point. Plenty of modern cars can deliver a violent launch. The Bentley is more persuasive when the road opens up: passing other cars with ease, carrying speed without strain and making long distances seem shorter.
Related – 2013 Bentley Continental GT V8 First Drive Review
With the roof down, the V8 also resonates on an emotional level. The exhaust rises and falls with the throttle rather than droning in the background. In an era of synthetic sound and anonymous electric thrust, that mechanical voice counts for something.
The GTC S weighs 2,636 kilograms, so describing it as agile would be inaccurate. This is a broad, heavy machine and it never pretends otherwise. But what it does remarkably well is manage that mass.
All-wheel steering helps in tighter corners, while the active anti-roll system and air suspension keep body movement under control. The steering is deliberate, the brakes are easy to judge and the chassis remains calm when the pace rises.
There is real precision here, but no attempt to turn the Continental into an oversized sports car. It enters a corner with authority, takes a set and powers out with enormous traction. The experience is less about dancing at the limit than covering ground with confidence.
Some battered pavement along the Hudson Valley route gave the suspension a harder workout than expected. The ride remained composed, although the 22-inch wheels and low-profile tires could not erase every sharp impact. Worth noting, but not the defining impression.
Related – First Drive: 2011 Bentley Continental GT Review
When the Car Becomes the Occasion
The cabin avoids the stripped-back aesthetic now common in expensive cars. Technology is present without dominating the space. The dashboard has shape, the materials have depth and the controls feel deliberate. The driving position and wind management also make the GTC S comfortable with the roof stowed.
The S treatment gives the car a darker edge without turning it into kabuki theatre. The exterior trim is less formal, the stance more assertive and the whole thing carries a little more menace than the standard GTC.
Starting at US$325,150 in the United States and C$371,600 before destination and options in Canada, none of this is remotely rational. The US$296,150 GT S Bentley coupe is lighter, less expensive and dynamically cleaner. It is probably the one to choose if the goal is to extract the most from the chassis.
But the convertible changes the nature of the trip. It brings the sound closer, opens the view and makes even an ordinary road feel like part of the occasion. The GTC S is not the sharper Bentley Continental, but it is the more memorable one.
