Rent Bentley Continental GT 2022 in Dubai

Drop the roof on a January evening and the Bentley Continental GTC 2022 turns an ordinary drive along the coast into the reason you booked the car. We rent this convertible grand tourer in Dubai with doorstep delivery in one to two hours, so it can be on your driveway the same afternoon. This is the open-top version of Bentley's hand-built GT, with the 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 under the bonnet and a folding fabric roof that changes the whole character of the thing. The decision this page helps you make is simple: is the convertible worth picking over the fixed-roof coupe for the week you have in mind, given Dubai's weather and your plans.

The roof, and when to actually use it

This is the one question that decides whether you should rent the GTC over the coupe. From roughly November to March, evenings and early mornings are glorious with the top down, and a cruise along Jumeirah or out toward the desert at dusk is exactly what this car was built for. From May through September it's a different story. Mid-afternoon in July, roof down at 45 degrees, is a mistake no amount of climate control fixes. Keep it up, run the AC hard, and you've effectively got the coupe with a softer top.

The roof itself folds and stows in about 19 seconds and can operate at low speed, so you're not pulling over to swap modes. Down, it tucks away cleanly and the lines stay elegant. Up, the cabin is quieter than you'd expect from a convertible, well sealed against wind and the worst of the heat.

Spec at a glance

What the W12 feels like on Dubai roads

The 6.0-litre W12 makes 659 hp and gets this heavy car to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds, but the figures aren't really the point. What you notice is the way the torque arrives early and never seems to run out, so an overtake on the E11 needs no run-up and no downshift you can feel. The all-wheel drive puts all of it down cleanly, even on a hot, polished road surface, and the air suspension keeps the body flat and calm at a fast cruise. Sheikh Zayed Road and the long run to Abu Dhabi are where it relaxes into its stride.

Around town it's softer than you'd think, until you ask for pace. The eight-speed dual-clutch box swaps gears smoothly in traffic, then snaps when you want it to. It's a luxury cruiser first and a fast car second, and that balance is the whole appeal.

Living with the width and the low nose

Be honest about the size before you book. At 2187 mm across the mirrors this is a wide car, and Dubai's tighter multi-storey bays and older Marina ramps will make you work. Pick end spaces where you can and lean on the parking sensors and camera. With the roof down, over-the-shoulder visibility actually improves, which helps in a packed mall car park.

The nose sits low, so steep ramps and aggressive speed bumps are the real watch-outs. The air suspension lets you raise the ride height before a ramp or a sharp hump, and you should use that rather than scraping the front lip. Take the bumps slowly and at an angle and you'll clear most of what the city throws at you.

Boot, back seats and luggage

A convertible always gives up some boot to the folding roof mechanism, and the GTC is no exception. There's room for a couple of soft bags and a cabin case, enough for two people on a weekend away or a light airport collection at DXB or DWC. Plan a full family holiday's worth of hard cases and it won't go. This is a two-person car for luggage purposes.

The rear seats are the 2+2 kind. Fine for a short hop across town with someone dressed for an event, or for extra bags, but no adult wants the back row from the airport. Four grown adults with luggage is the wrong brief for this car, and a luxury SUV is the better call.

Heat, cooling and fuel

With the roof up, the cabin is well sealed and the climate system pulls the temperature down steadily, with proper vents for the rear seats. Like any large dark interior baking in a 45-degree car park, the leather radiates heat for the first minute or two before it catches up. We'd suggest letting it run on delivery so it's already cold when you climb in. Roof down in cooler months, the system keeps the cabin comfortable even with warm air moving over you.

On fuel, the W12 is thirsty and never pretended otherwise. The 90-litre tank gives a useful cruising range when you're gentle on the highway, but city traffic and spirited driving will have you at the premium pump more than once on a busy week. Budget for it. Salik tolls run to your account, and any RTA fine during the rental passes to you, so watch the limits a car this fast makes easy to exceed.

Who should rent it, and who shouldn't

Rent the GTC 2022 if you want the open-top drama and you're visiting in the cooler months, or you simply want the most glamorous way to arrive at a wedding, a dinner, or a hotel forecourt. Two people, a coastal cruise at dusk, the roof down: that's the car at its best, and nothing in the fleet does it with this much polish.

Pick the fixed-roof coupe instead if you're here in peak summer and the roof will stay up all week anyway, since you'll gain a little boot space and lose nothing you'd use. And if you need four adult seats and a holiday's worth of luggage, this is the wrong shape entirely; size up to a luxury SUV. Note that a car at this level usually carries stricter security terms, so confirm those at booking.