Fancy A Bentley Mulsanne With Less Roof? Try On The Grand Convertible Concept For Size

When it comes to very large, vastly opulent convertibles, the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead is in a league of its own. But that might not be the case for much longer, as ahead of the LA Motor Show, Bentley has unveiled this: the Grand Convertible concept. As you’ve probably gathered from the way it looks, it’s essentially a Mulsanne with two doors missing and the roof lopped off.

In place of the metal roof is a retractable fabric item that folds away underneath that gorgeous burr walnut veneer tonneau cover. The cover is apparently “the largest piece of wood veneer ever applied to a Bentley.” Inside, it’s all swanky Bentley business as usual, with no less than 14 naturally tanned leather hides, lots of quilting, and more lashings of wood veneer.

Under the bonnet, the Grand Convertible uses the same 6.75-litre V8 as the Mulsanne Speed, meaning 530bhp and a slightly absurd 811lb ft of torque. Even with the innevitably beefy weight figure, that should be enough to waft you around at a decent pace.

So, will this thing get made? Bentley chairman and CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer, said: “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.” In other words, quite probably. And after all, Bentley does have previous in this rather large luxury convertible niche with the Arnage-based Azure, which was discontinued in 2009.

The Grand Convertible will be on display in Los Angeles from tomorrow.