2009 Bentley Continental GTC: What's New

Vehicle Overview
Bentley’s Continental GTC is the convertible version of the automaker’s Continental GT coupe. Powered by the same W-12 engine as the GT, the 2+2 GTC features a power fabric roof that can lower in 25 seconds, plus a glass rear window. For 2009, there’s a new performance model, called GTC Speed. Competitors include the Aston Martin DB9 convertible and Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

Its Continental GT sibling is covered as a separate model in Cars.com’s Research section.

Skip to details on the: Continental GTC Speed)

New for 2009
The Continental GTC lineup gets a new front grille, adaptive cruise control and retuned power steering for improved feedback.

Exterior
The GTC looks much like the GT in front of the windshield, but the GTC’s rear deck has a chrome strip around the passenger compartment. The GTC has pronounced rear fenders, as well as four round headlamps with chrome bezel surrounds. The GTC’s wire-mesh grille has been revised and is now more upright, with a larger lower air intake.

• Available 19- or 20-inch wheels
• Auto-dimming power, heated mirrors
• Bi-xenon headlamps with headlight washers
• Auto-leveling headlights
• Automatic rain-sensing wipers

Interior
The GTC can seat up to four people on front and rear bucket seats, though the rear seats would likely only be comfortable for children.

Luxury features include six natural, unbleached, laser-cut wood veneers and 17 different colors and styles for the leather-wrapped upholstered interior. A number of options, such as a four-spoke wood and leather steering wheel and lamb’s-wool rugs, are available from Bentley’s Mulliner organization.

• Available real wood or aluminum trim
• Diamond-quilted leather seating surfaces and door inserts
• Leather-wrapped gear selector and steering wheel
• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• Navigation system
• Available heated steering wheel

Under the Hood
The GTC comes with a standard twin-turbo W-12 engine, also found on the Continental Flying Spur.

Bentley says the convertible can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and reach a maximum speed of 195 mph when the roof is up (190 mph when lowered). The GTC is 243 pounds heavier than the coupe because of reinforcements added to compensate for the body rigidity that’s lost along with the metal roof.

• 552-horsepower, twin-turbo 6.0-liter W-12 with 479 pounds-feet of torque
• Six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode
• All-wheel drive
• Auto-leveling/adaptive air suspension
• Speed-sensitive hydraulic steering
• Optional ceramic brake discs
• Optional adaptive cruise control

Safety
Two pop-up roll bars behind the rear seats deploy in the event of a rollover.
Other safety features include:

• Front seat-mounted side airbags
• Antilock brakes with brake assist
• Electronic stability system with traction control
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Available front and rear parking cameras

Continental GTC Speed
The twin-turbo W-12 can go from zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and reach a maximum speed of 200 mph. Other distinguishing features include a dark-tinted front grille, 20-inch wheels and a lowered and upgraded suspension. The rear features unique, wide dual tailpipes and a rear lip spoiler.

• 600-hp, twin-turbo W-12 with 553 pounds-feet of torque
• Six-speed automatic transmission with Drive and Sport modes
• All-wheel drive
• 20-inch alloy wheels with Pirelli performance tires
• Available Burr Walnut, Dark Walnut and Piano Black trim
• Three-spoke sport steering wheel design
• Embroidered Bentley emblem on seating surfaces
• Available lamb’s-wool floormats

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