At the risk of repeating myself, I’ve never bought into the big, fast convertible way of thinking, and this new Bentley Continental GTC illustrates the reason why. I’m actually a big fan of the coupé Conti because it’s just the kind of raffish car I think Bentley should be making.

But the convertible? Well, it’s not quite as attractive, not quite as fast, quite a lot heavier and while its roof is sufficiently well insulated for Bentley to be able to claim it’s as quiet as the coupé, I’m still always aware there is fabric and not metal covering my head. Yes, the car is structurally stiff for a convertible sitting on quite a long wheelbase, but it’s still nothing like as stiff as the coupé and on certain poor surfaces when you’re driving it hard, it shows. It costs £16,000 more and you lose a third of your boot space.

And for what? The ability to drive a 207mph car with the roof down. Of course you can always make a case for it, because riding along on the vast wave of torque provided by that mighty 6-litre twin-turbo 12-cylinder motor with the wind ruffling what remains of your hair is a never less than thoroughly pleasant way of passing the time. But for me not only does the GTC lose a shallow but broad swathe of the outstanding GT’s abilities, but a chunk of its charm too.

Andrew Frankel

Bentley Continental GTC

Price £176,000
Engine 6.0 litres, 12 cylinders, turbo
Power 626bhp@5000rpm
Weight 2414kg
Power to weight 260bhp per tonne
Transmission eight-speed double clutch, four-wheel drive
0-60mph 3.8sec
Top speed 207mph
Economy 20.2mpg
CO₂ 317g/km
Verdict Coupé all day, every day