On paper, the Bentley Continental GTC Speed really is a jack of all trades, but probably master of none. It’s a 616bhp open-top luxury cruiser with a touch of sportiness brought on by the Speed treatment. To thoroughly test this car’s ability, Autocar took out on an epic 1000-mile American road trip from San Fransisco to Las Vegas, and along the way put it through all kinds of tests.

Here’s the verdict:

The Bentley Continental GT Speed convertible shares its powertrain specification with its Bentley stablemate the GT Speed coupé. The 625 PS (616 bhp) twin-turbocharged, 48-valve, W12 engine powers the new convertible to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.4 s.) and onto a top speed of 202 mph (325 km/h). Nought to 100 mph (160 km/h) is despatched in only 9.7 seconds. Peak torque – an impressive 800 Nm (590 lb.ft) – is reached at just 2000 revs/min and maintains that level through to 5000 revs/min for effortless, refined performance at all times.