The Bentley Continental GT is the first of the hugely successful modern Bentley line-up, first launched in 2003 following VW group’s acquisition of the acclaimed British luxury marque. The Continental was also the first ‘mass-production line’ Bentley – though the vehicle is still handmade and true to decades of British automotive craftsmanship.

Named literally for its Grand Tourer capabilities, the Continental GT is a car designed to waft across the continent and employs W12 and V8 powertrains to do so. After an enormously successful first generation, in which swathes of Hollywood names brought Bentley’s name into prominence, the second generation came in 2011. The GTC moniker is given to the Continental’s cabriolet variant, a 4-seater luxury soft-top which unsurprisingly became popular in the south of France, California and Florida, but plenty were sold in the UK too.

With VW and Audi underpinnings, the Bentley Continental pairs German engineering to an unparalleled level of luxury, with beautiful interiors which are designed to stand the test of decades of ageing. 2018 saw the third-generation Bentley Continental GT, with the convertible GTC following – arguably the biggest changes were found here since the original in 2003. The new Continental GT is based on the Porsche Panamera’s platform, with a considerable reduction in the car’s weight and new driving technology giving the car more sporty capabilities. In a nod to the lasting nature of these amazing vehicles, the new Continental’s dashboard features an innovative rotating head unit – with a wood fascia that rotates to reveal analogue clocks on one side, and a beautiful TFT sat nav/media display on another – the idea being that in 20 years’ time when the car itself has outlasted the technological innovation since, its dashboard is saved from humiliation!