Bentley updates Continental GTC for North American debut

Bentley Motors’ Continental GTC is making its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year, adding updated styling and performance to the company’s sporty convertible.

The two-door drop-top gains the muscular refreshed front fascia of its sibling, the 2012 Continental GT coupe, and a upgrade in power over previous models with a 567-horsepower W-12 engine.

The GTC hits 60 miles per hour from standstill in just 4.5 seconds. Bentley says a new Quickshift transmission improves acceleration in the 5,115-pound vehicle while trimming shift times to 200 milliseconds.

Bentley also said that the GTC has the stiffest chassis of any convertible in the world. Aside from the power boost and slightly new exterior, the convertible maintains high-luxury accouterments such as a hand-crafted interior of wood and leather and neck warmers in the head rests of the rear seats.

There’s a bit of tech in the GTC’s interior as well, with an eight-inch touchscreen information and entertainment system, with GPS mapping in the dash and a 30-gigabyte hard drive paired with it.

But the technology found in the GTC’s interior pales in comparison with the interior found in the Mulsanne Executive Interior Concept.

The concept car, which is also making its North American debut at the L.A. Auto Show, is standard Mulsanne on the outside and in the engine bay.

On the inside, Bentley has taken its flagship sedan and outfitted it with two electric-powered wooden tables that fold down from the back of the front seats for use by those sitting in the rear. Each table is outfitted with an Apple iPad and Bluetooth keyboard.

A Wi-Fi connection is also built into the car, as is an Apple Mac Mini. Installed in the trunk of the concept, it plays DVDs to a 15.6-inch screen that drops down from the ceiling.

For now, the Mulsanne Executive Interior Concept is just that -- a concept and not for sale.

The new GTC, however, will hit U.S. dealers in late 2011 at a suggested retail price of $212,800. Also being shown at Bentley’s booth, on the concourse of the L.A. Convention Center, will be the 2012 Continental GT coupe.

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