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Bentley Grand Convertible Shows Up at the Los Angeles Auto Show

Ever since the Arnage took its last breath back in 2009, the most luxurious model in Bentley's lineup was replaced by the Mulsanne. Baptized after the famous corner of the Le Mans circuit, the new Mulsanne differentiates itself greatly from the 1992 Mulsanne S and Arnage through unparalleled luxury.
Bentley Grand Convertible / Mulsanne Convertible 8 photos
Photo: Bentley
Bentley Grand Convertible / Mulsanne ConvertibleBentley Grand Convertible / Mulsanne ConvertibleBentley Grand Convertible / Mulsanne ConvertibleBentley Grand Convertible / Mulsanne ConvertibleBentley Grand Convertible / Mulsanne ConvertibleBentley Grand Convertible / Mulsanne ConvertibleBentley Grand Convertible / Mulsanne Convertible
This four-door ultra luxurious sedan from the United Kingdom is a €357,500 car, but that huge amount of cash can be easily felt by various details of the vehicle. We’ve spent a few days with one such land yacht and we awarded it 91 points out of 100. Of course, the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V8 engine is as imposing as the Victorian era, while the eight-speed automatic gearbox from ZF swaps cogs silky smooth.

But c’mon now, does anyone buy a Bentley for its performance? Maybe the Continental GT Speed, which is sort of a footballer’s and trophy wife’s ride. However, the Mulsanne is a waft along, chauffeur driven type of luxury machine, one that was specially developed to be as comfy and as quiet as possible for the oil sheik, natural gas magnate or other high-key businessman accommodated in the rear quarters.

With Bentley owned by Volkswagen these days, the Germanized British marque may rethink what the Mulsanne is all about and come up with a convertible in the nearest of futures. It’s needless to say that a drop-top Mulsanne would need to be driven by your own two hands, not by your chauffeur, but that’s not a bad way of going places, innit? So what’s the deal with this Bentley Grand Convertible after all?

Bentley says that it’s “the most sophisticated open-top car ever created” by them. CEO Wolfgang Durheimer also declared that “we are eagerly awaiting the response of our customers to this car. We will ensure that this car - if it reaches the roads - will be a highly exclusive, extremely limited collector’s piece.” That’s why we expect it to enter production next year, with a Mulsanne Speed-like 537 PS and 1,100 Nm (811 lb-ft) of torque.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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