New Bentley Supersports Convertible Will Carry On A Silly Yet Awesome Legacy

I think that one of the coolest cars of the 2000s is the first-generation Bentley Continental Supersports. The British automaker took its big GT coupe and made it as rowdy as possible, packing in some surprising lightweighting measures and incredible Piëch-era engineering changes. There was an Supersports version of the second-generation Continental as well, and both models were offered in convertible guise, a silly and incongruous but fully awesome proposition.

Bentley removed the rear seats for the Supersports coupes, but the convertibles kept in the small back seat — especially fun on the first-gen car, which was available with the carbon-fiber bucket seats from the Bugatti Veyron up front. Going for the convertible lessened the Supersports' weight savings (and was a bit less sporty in general due to the nature of droptops), and it took a certain kind of buyer to find it appealing.

Now we know Bentley will be continuing on this ridiculous and amazing tradition with the new Supersports, and it'll be the wildest one yet. The fourth-generation Supersports coupe is Bentley's lightest car in 85 years and the first rear-wheel-drive Conti since the '90s, and by far its sportiest offering ever. If you want a big luxurious convertible that's also dynamically inclined and exciting to drive, the new Bentley Supersports convertible will be your only real option.

There's not really a lot to say here. It looks like a convertible version of the Supersports. It's got the same wild carbon-fiber bodykit and prominent rear spoiler, which actually have aerodynamic and performance benefits. We can see the quad exhaust tips that will make a great noise, and a boring Y-spoke wheel design. Sadly the new Supersports doesn't have Bugatti seats, but its carbon-backed front seats are quite nice, and present on this prototype; though the area is all covered up, there's definitely a pair of back seats there, too.

The Supersports coupe is more than 300 pounds lighter than the old V8-powered Continental GT and around 1,100 pounds lighter than a current plug-in-hybrid Conti GT, and those figures will probably hold pretty close for the convertible. That means the droptop Supersports should come in around 4,700 pounds, or about 1,400 pounds heavier than the Porsche 911 GT3 S/C, the kinda-closest equivalent to it. Bentley is only making 500 of the Supersports coupe and they all sold out within a couple months of the car being shown, so I bet the convertible will match that number.