| First Drive | Crewe, England | Bentley Continental GTC Speed |

It has taken Bentley a while to get around to adding a Speed edition to the open-topped Continental GTC, but it's been worth waiting for. Small but effective enhancements over the standard GTC increase the pace, the poise and the price, transforming the car from a fast, capable open GT, to a faster and far more capable machine. It'll do 200mph too, which is reason enough for us to like it.

In the Metal

Bentley's GTC is a handsome car - roof up or down. It's arguably better proportioned than its beetle-backed coupé relative, the edgier, lower lines of the folding fabric roof looking better - to our eyes at least. Eschewing the trend for folding hardtops, the Continental GTC's fabric roof is something of a multi-layered masterpiece and it's the only folding roofed car to feature a proper interior light in the headlining. Being fabric, it can fold flatter than metal roofs, so the GTC looks even more sensational roof down.

Changes over the standard GTC include aerodynamic tweaks to the front and rear, a mesh front grille and larger 20-inch alloys. That's about it, but then Bentleys are all about being understated - even when they're packing 600bhp.

What you get for your Money

The Speed tweaks to the GTC are identical to that of its coupé relative. That means a bigger output version of the 6.0-litre W12, 600bhp and 553lb.ft making light work of the GTC's healthy bulk. At a few quid short of £150,000 you get pretty much everything you'd want, but being a Bentley you can figure on spending a good deal more on those personal touches. The Crewe factory's craftsmen and women can accommodate pretty much anything you'd like into your GTC; special leathers or wood veneers are just the starting point. We'd probably drop the extra £12,000 or so Bentley asks for its carbon ceramic brakes, not merely for their additional stopping power, but for the pub bragging fact that they're the biggest brakes available on a production car.

Driving it

The increases in power for the GTC Speed might only result in relatively modest drops in the 0-62mph time over the standard GTC, but the Speed lives up to its name regardless. Sixty-two mph arrives in just 4.8 seconds and it'll reach 200mph if your drive is long enough. What's more noticeable though is its additional muscle in the mid-range. The GTC is bulky, but the W12 gives this prop-forward of a car wily pace-changing ability worthy of a quick winger. The extra pace isn't borne out purely from added muscle either, as the GTC Speed feels lighter, more alert and pointier than its standard relative.

That's due to recalibrated steering and the front sub-frame being solidly mounted: the result is a far more incisive turn-in, the GTC Speed disguising its bulk remarkably well. There's not much in the way of feedback from the steering, but it's well weighted and the GTC Speed's nose goes where you want it to even at the sort of insane pace it so easily gains. Traction is phenomenal, while grip too is sensational. The W12 engine never feels anything but punchy and the gearshift smooth - if a little slow to react to driver input when driven via the beautifully positioned paddles. The suspension has been recalibrated too, the sportiest setting being a little bit too firm for our roads, the middling setting bringing a fine balance between ride comfort and body control.

Even the super-thick layered hood cannot insulate the cabin from the glorious rumble and burbling overrun from the big 6.0-litre unit under the bonnet, the vocal performance from the GTC's 12-cylinders and massive exhaust pipes brilliant hood up or down. The weakest link in the driving experience is the GTC Speed's standard brakes, which feel like they'll wilt quickly if all the W12's power is exercised between the bends. Bentley offers a solution with its optional carbon ceramic discs, these adding a massive chunk to the list price, but dropping 23kg off the unsprung weight. They're a must.

Worth Noting

Bentley takes the styling and packaging of the GTC so seriously that it had to completely redesign the rear suspension of the GTC to allow that hood to fit in neatly. The attention to detail doesn't stop there either, as the GTC is one of only a few cars to offer rear seatbelt pretensioners - though you'd have to be pretty cruel to put anything but luggage on the back seat as there's zero legroom.

Economy isn't a strong point here, the GTC Speed only managing 17mpg on the official combined cycle. Plant some trees on your land too as it's not brilliant on CO₂ emissions, either.

Summary

The Bentley Continental GTC Speed is a stunning looking car that's now got the pace and poise to seriously challenge the sports cars in its price bracket. It's always been heavy, but the Speed's alterations make this GTC far lighter on its 20-inch rims, without overly compromising its excellent day-to-day usability. An enormously well-rounded car that's sumptuously appointed and quite incredibly rapid the GTC Speed is well worth the premium it costs over the standard GTC.