hundredsthatpunctuate
everydriveinthe
ContinentalConvertible.
(andthatmakeitson-
papercompromises
palatable,notablya
170-kgweightpenalty
overtheCoupé,a boot
tragicallyalmosthalfas
useful— 235 litres
versus 358 intheCoupé—anda £16,790,thatis,rs 15.1lakh,
premium).with nothingaboveyourheadbutthesky,inpours
theworld:thesun’swarmthasit breaksthroughtheclouds,the
smellbeforerain,thechillasyoucrossfromdrytarmactowet.
butjustasit re-worksphysicsinyourfavour,sothebentley
onlyletsintheworld’sgoodbits.thereisnobuffeting,
conversation is easybeyondthelegalspeedlimitand,in
concert,theairscarf,heatedseats,andheatedsteeringwheel
areabletorobevenaeuropeanfebruaryofitschill.
and when you’re leftwithnooptionbuttoraisetheroof,the
50 km/hcut-offmeansyoucanoftendoit withoutstopping,
evenif the 19 secondstheZ-foldrooftakestodeployfeelslike
anage.once up, though,thecarisnolesscomelyinsideand,
perhaps,evencosierthanthehardtop,muchasa stormwatched
froma tentfeelsmorespecialthanonewatchedfroma window.
we’ve one last cascadingrunofcurvesahead,theroad
weaving like a lost riverbetweenhillsidesleftskeletaland
blackened by wildfire.the third-gen Conti’s more capable
chassishasalreadyproveditselfintheCoupéandthe
Convertibleisanequallygiantleapoveritsforebear.the
bodyisfivepercentstifferanda full 20 percentlighterthan
beforeandthelongerwheelbasebenefitsbothdriving
dynamicsandtheelegantproportionsofdesigndirector
stefansielaff’squietlybeautifulform.thecaralsodeploys
everythinginbentley’sdynamicarsenal:a torque-splitting
centrediffandall-wheeldrive,torquevectoringbybrake,air
suspension,48-voltanti-rollcontrol,andthebiggestironbrakes
currentlyonsale.
ridequalityissublime.theairsuspension’sbigger
chambers,togetherwiththeforgivingdampingratestheactive
anti-rollallowstheContitorun,meanevenroughroadsare
smotheredineverymodebarsport,withonlythemostbrutalof
irregularitiesshakingthestructureandpromptinga tell-tale
wobbleofthehead-updisplay.at thesametime,thebentleyis
morethanhappytogeta moveon,itskeennose,fluidand
unflappableresponses,andsurreallygoodbodycontroladding
uptoseriouscornerspeedwithouta shredofuncertaintyor
risk.theset-upissofriendlyandtheoddssostackedinyour
favouryou’dhavetodoanawfullotwrongtogetintotrouble.
sure,aporsche 911 willstop,turn,andgowithmorealacrity
andasa resultofa morehonest,morenuanced,andultimately
moresatisfyingconversationbetweenyouandthecar,butthat’s
hardlythepoint.
thepointisthebentley doesn’t endure such roads but
savours them, while remaining a long-distance machine of
almost peerless ability and extraordinary charm.THeLonGerwHeeLbasebenefiTs
boTHdrivinGdynamiCs andTHe
eLeGanTproporTions ofsTefan
sieLaff’s quieTLy beauTifuL form
W12 not as instantly
lovable as a V8, but
there is magic herehttp://www.carindia.in May 2019 car india 45