Bentley has lopped the top off the Mulsanne in this shapely decapitation called the Bentley Grand Convertible. It’s Crewe’s big news at the 2014 Los Angeles motor show, starting this week.
And if you’re wondering if this looks suspiciously production-ready, we’d agree with you. Although Bentley will only say, for now, that it’s ‘developed to signify Bentley’s intentions for the future.’
We’ll take that as a production certainty, then.
Click here for a Bentley Mulsanne review.
Bentley Grand Convertible: it’s a Mulsanne cabrio!
The Brits are calling this ‘the most sophisticated open-top car ever created by Bentley’. There are no oicky folding hard tops at play here, just a very thick, very expensive canvas folding hood.
It folds flat beneath a stunning burr walnut tonneau cover – said to be the largest single-piece veneer ever applied to a Bentley. It’s mirror-finished, dark-stained and steel-tipped for that lovingly hand-crafted Bentley look. Although it’s suspiciously similar to Rolls’ decking on their upmarket cabrios…
Wolfgang Durheimer, Bentley’s former-and-now-back-in-the-hot-seat chairman and CEO, said: ‘This concept demonstrates Bentley’s ability to create a pinnacle convertible Grand Tourer, while embodying elegance beyond compare. 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.
‘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 spec of Bentley’s new Grand Convertible
No surprises under the bonnet. There’s a 530bhp 6.8-litre twin-turbo V8, mustering a more-than-adequate 811lb ft of torque. No performance figures have been issued yet.
Note also the Sequin blue paint job (originally created to match a customer’s dressing gown!) and contrasting liquid metal finish to the bonnet and windscreen frame. Remind you of anything? Yes, it’s a Xerox job on Rolls-Royce’s twin-tone Phantom and Ghost to these eyes.
Still darn desirable though…