London - Arabstoday
All eyes will, however, be on the new Continental GTC. The Breeze-colored drophead GTC debuting at the LA Auto Show features a custom, coach-built appearance and crisper lines, thanks to aluminium superformed front wings, and, in the rear, the double-horseshoe design first seen on Bentley’s flagship Mulsanne. Below the surface, the GTC rockets from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds thanks to a hand-built 567hp powerplant that boasts 516 lb-ft of torque, and a Quickshift transmission that improves acceleration response times and cuts shift times to only 200 milliseconds. The GTC’s chassis, the stiffest of any convertible in the world, provides a firm foundation for suspension control, minimising scuttle shake and contributing to the GTC’s refined handling. The GTC interior features luxurious wood and leather craftsmanship, for which Bentley is renowned, alongside class-leading technology, such as eight-inch touch-screen infotainment system, and zip-code entry navigation, all supported by a 30-gigabyte hard drive. To ensure drivers and passengers alike enjoy an extended top-down driving season, the GTC now features neck warmers in the rear headrests of its cobra-head designed slim-line seats. With the top up, acoustics have improved thanks to the addition of acoustically-sensitive undersheet, wheel liners, front and side glass and a three-layer roof with a rubber-film middle layer. The new Bentley GTC convertible will enter the US market in late 2011, with an MSRP of $212,800. Bentley Mulsanne Executive Interior Concept The LA show will also show, for the first time outside Europe, Bentley’s cutting edge Mulsanne Executive Interior Concept. This multimedia connectivity concept offers an impressive array of bespoke business, comfort and entertainment features – designed to allow customers to conduct business on the move or just unwind between meetings – all beautifully integrated into the sumptuous and comfortable cabin which takes more than 170 hours to create. Mulsanne rear passengers receive individual Apple iPad workstations with full internet access (integrated into retractable picnic tables) whilst a large, drop-down LED screen ensures that a wide selection of movies as well as television can also be enjoyed. Renowned for its painstaking attention to detail, Bentley has added a range of finishing touches including a Tibaldi fountain pen from its specially commissioned Collection which is designed to mirror the Mulsanne’s knurled-metal rotary switchgear and which is discretely stowed in the center armrest. The car also features – for the first time on a Bentley – a distinctive Yachting-style veneer, which blends light and dark contrasting tones, throughout the cabin.