15 Sep 06
Here's another advantage of the rigid body/subframe idea. The GTC has the best ride of any Continental to date, even with the suspension in firm mode. It also stays controlled and tidy even in its soft setting, although most of the time the middle point is the best compromise. The GTC I drove was running on 19" wheels, which engineering director Ulrich Eichhorn says is essential for a Continental to ride properly. (In a past life he was a key player in getting Ford's first Focus to drive so class-leadingly well, so he knows what he's talking about.) Now I know why the Flying Spur I drove a couple of weeks ago felt so knobbly: it was on 20" wheels. If you're rich enough to be in the market for a Conti, specify the 19s. Please.
So the GTC works as a driving machine. Its performance is predictably huge, with 60mph arriving 4.8 seconds after a wheelspin-free lunge. Roof-up it will reach 195mph, given the chance. Even more improbably, it will do 190mph with the roof down, at which point it's no longer draughty either in the front or the back.
'Above 150mph the vortex of the turbulence moves behind the cabin,' says Dr Eichhorn. There's a satin-metal windbreak which fits across the rear seats if needed.
The hood, engineered by Karmann in Germany, is a work of art. The several layers that cover its seven crossbows culminate, inside, with a kind of microfibre mock-suede lining. All mechanisms are hidden and, roof-up, it's just like being in a solid-roof coupe with rather small rear windows. There's even a reading light set in the roof for rear passengers. Top-down to top-up takes 25 seconds - to have made it faster would have destroyed the grace of the movement, says Dr Eichhorn - and you can deploy it while moving at up to 20mph.
The lack of wind rush or outside interference, such as noise from a passing truck, is extraordinary. And it sits low and snug under its rear cover when folded, so there's no ugly bulge. This meant redesigning the rear suspension to move the air-spring units much lower, by 210mm. Just over half of the body structure is new compared with the GT coupe.
Inevitably, accommodating the hood has eaten into passenger space. The rear seat's backrest is quite upright and curves round at its edges, so you feel turned inwards towards the GTC's centre. Legroom isn't great either, but bearable for average adults. Against that, the boot is roomier than an average convertible's and stays the same size whether the roof is up or down.
