Bentley Continental GTC

	But given the Bentley's size, it's surprisingly agile through bends, and always feels sure-footed thanks to four-wheel drive. The extensive chassis strengthening also means that scuttle shake is minimal

Yet until now, dropping the top has cost serious money; the list price of the firm's original convertible, the Arnage-based Azure, starts from more than £230,000. But change is blowing in at company HQ in Crewe, Cheshire, and with the Continental range it's set to double the number of cabrios on offer with the arrival of this - the GTC. The newcomer isn't cheap, but at £130,000 it's around half the price of the Azure.

Joining the GT and the Flying Spur saloon, and boasting the same trademark four circular headlights and vast mesh grille as the rest of the Con-tinental range, the GTC isn't short of visual drama. And with a beautifully finished fabric hood which blends in seamlessly with the car's lines, plus a neat boot spoiler and 19-inch alloys, it keeps the GT coupé's sportiness intact.

You can thank Bentley's engineers for that. Underneath the skin, the GTC has a redesigned subframe that does away with rubber bushes to improve the handling, plus new multi-link rear suspension. Together with the compact hood, it allows more styling freedom than a folding metal roof design.

However, the top does take up some space, dropping boot capacity by 145 litres to 235 litres. And even though the seats, which are 25mm lower, have scal-loped backs to boost rear legroom, adult passengers won't be too comfortable.

To ensure it's as structurally stiff as the coupé, the engineers have strengthened the chassis, adding extra crossmembers. The penalty is 110kg more bulk and a hefty total kerbweight of 2,495kg.

Mind you, with the same 552bhp 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine as the rest of the range, this doesn't affect performance much. The 0-60mph time rises by only a tenth-of-a-second over the coupé's, to 4.8 seconds, while top speed falls 3mph to 195mph with the roof up, and 190mph with it folded.

Indeed, on the move, the GTC is a rocketship. With the top down, the W12 sounds fantastic. It has no trouble propelling this giant car, and the six-speed auto always changes gears smoothly.

Yet despite its steering wheel-mounted paddles, this is not an involving supercar in the same vein as Aston Martin's DB9. As with the GT coupé, the GTC puts refinement and effortless cruising ahead of ultimate road-holding.

But given the Bentley's size, it's surprisingly agile through bends, and always feels sure-footed thanks to four-wheel drive. The extensive chassis strengthening also means that scuttle shake is minimal. As a result of the variable air-suspension, the ride is soothing, too.

With the roof down, there's very little buffeting, and when it's in place the hood suppresses road and wind noise brilliantly. Inside, it's a highly impressive place to be, with plenty of sumptuous leather, wood and chrome - even if some of the switches on the dash are obviously sourced from owner VW's parts bin. When it comes to a sense of occasion, though, the only other car to get close is Bentley's own Azure - but as that costs in the region of a quarter of a million pounds, it makes the GTC look something of a bargain!