Please plan a trip! We have many Harley enthusiasts here and shops for your every need PLUS I can show you the back roads... and nearly 30 miles of countryside/farming off-roads Wife and I have off-road bicycles and you can enjoy mile after mile of authentic New England scenic pleasure.

 

Here she is. First driving impressions. The suspension is softer than the GT, seems to me especially at the front end there is a bit more chassis shake that 'aids' in dampening/suspension. Turn in is good, though does not feel as eager as the GT. Definitely a softer feel all in all. Steering MIGHT be slightly more numb, but not sure yet. Acceleration seems a small bit muted, but that could be because the car needs time to get accustom to being a daily driver. The Ferrari was far better when used daily versus weekly or worse.

Don't get me wrong, I mean we are comparing a Bentley GT with a GTC. So the mark is very high as a STARTING point

All in all, it is indeed a Bentley.

PS: With the top up there is very, very little road noise. Most impressive!
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ADDED Feb 18, 2014: Last week she went in for service and the slow acceleration was probably due to false air getting into the GTC engine due to a cracked air hose, thus causing MAF mis-readings. Some other bits also needed replacing. After the service she FINALLY feels like, to perhaps better than, the previous 2006 GT. Am leaving the remainder of my posts during this thread as originally posted yet wanted to post THIS UPDATE in case someone finds this thread via search engine, etc.

 

I was drooling at Newport Beach Bentley. Life is so hard with too many damm choices!

 

Nice, Steven! Too, I like the looks of the GTC with the roof up. For some reason it gives it a glamorous appearance. There are not many larger cars that look that good, maybe the Mercedes CLS.

Is this your first drive of a GTC, or simply of the year? Your impressions so far are very interesting. How does your wife like it?

 

FIRST, the comments above about the handling are with the GT and GTC both in 'Normal' handling mode.

This is my first ragtop (can't count the Formula car) and first drives in the 2007 GTC. Last night we went for another drive and I changed the GTC suspension setting up a notch to Sport, which is #3 out of of 4 whereas previously the car was set to #2 which is down/softer 'Normal' mode.

With the GTC suspension in Sport mode the car feels more taunt and responsive, more eager to turn in. Acceleration also feels very good, like that of the 2006 GT in Normal mode (which I liked a lot for daily driving). The GTC in Sport more feels far more connected to the road yet without being too stiff/aggressive. Remember, we have frost heaves and pot holes and all sorts of non-straight, non-flat roads here in New England, especially as the snow melts and the roadways literally change for the worse. So Sport mode in the GTC allowed me to feel the road, yet big bumps were never 'rude' or too abrupt.

So...

GT = Normal mode = BENCHMARK

2007 GTC on Normal mode means soft suspension, nearly that of a Big Caddy or ALMOST like a Roller. Nice and floaty, if you like that sort of thing. Feels good and smoooooth, but too floaty for me. The GTC in SPORTS mode is far, far better.... and in some ways like it better than the Normal mode in the GT for daily cruising. GTC on Sport mode really tunes the fly-by-wire system into something I very much like for handling. Imagine if Bentley allowed us owners to really tune the variables of the suspension/throttle response to our own parameters Then again I'd be happy with a 7 band EQ for the audio system instead of the 3 band they have now.


Oh, that brings us to the audio system. It does indeed sound different, yet still very good. Why? In the GT you have leather on the headliner and the sound would bounce a bit more, thus adding to reflection points which, in turn, tend to time smear the audio/sound. The GTC sounds more 'studio-like' due to the sound absorbing properties of the headliner material. Think of the GT like a small, short reflective hall with medium-fast ambient decay time and tonality centered around 120 Hz. The GTC is more studio dead with only a very small amount of reflections. Sounds to me like a small monitoring room with 300Hz tonality signature. With the roof off, the bass is still very good and she really sounds impressive... and I don't impress easily. Can only imagine what my neighbors were thinking as they saw us driving top down last night with 25F temps jamming loudly to

So the GTC has better, cleaner sound, yet what blows my mind is the sound with the top down. You see, most ragtops lose the tonal balance when you lower the top. Somehow the wizards at Bentley made the GTC sound really, really good with the top down. Wife and I kinda agreed, it sound a touch BETTER with the top down. Am still tweaking the audio system, yet most impressive!

Well, those are my early impressions. More driving later today.

Oh, as for if the wife likes the car, last night we went out for a nice steak dinner and then on the drive home I put the top down (even though it was around 25F) and we DROVE home. She was giggling (not laughing, but that little girl giggling) with joy and happiness. She loves the GTC with top up or down, yet down seems preferred. Hearing her giggle last night with the top down GTC made all this hassle of car changeover worth it. Yeah, my wife has this great giggle.....

That's all I'm saying, nothing more to see here for now. Move along. Move along.


PS: One last teaser, I have the official Bentley iPod/iTouch controller in the GTC... CD changer still works and so does the iTouch. So yes, can leave the iTouch in the glove box and change tracks from the steering wheel

PPS: Coming soon (I hope), updated 2013 DVD Nav discs... for $40 a set. Am testing new DVD Nav discs to find one that works. Did not test the phone system in the 2007 GTC, I assume it still is extremely limited to outdated rSAP like in the 2006 GT.

 

Ok, more driving impressions. Here are the conditions:

Between 40F and 38F so the 'Snow' indicator in the car was going on and off and on, and off, and on.... Mountain roadways, plenty of on-camber tight turns, some nice sweepers, only a few almost-longish straights, and yes a few off-camber VERY tight turns. Side wind gusts of 50mph. Oh, and a staggering amount of frost heaves, the really bad type combined with small sections of road bits that could use a repave at some point soon. So any chassis problems, oh yeah, this will work. And for the record, the GTC top did have some wind noise, yet keep in mind these were wind GUSTS at ~50mph so am frankly impressed how well the GTC's top dampens noise and is very tight/sealed.

Ok, the rear suspension is of course different in the 06 GT than the 07 GTC and you can feel it. This is in SPORT mode and so... The GTC feels more planted and brings more power/mechanical grip to the 50/50 split AWD system. Due to this better rear grip, it really feels more 'rear wheel drivable'. The weight shift to the rear of the car can be felt, too, in the GTC. With the GT I could always tell there was a lot of weight up front, whereas the GTC feels more balanced... ...balancing a 5,500 lbs curb weight(!).

During incredibly bad frost heaves I switched the suspension to NORMAL mode to soften things and the car easily handled some seriously bumpy points. She stayed composed, and here is really where I could feel the difference of the 06 GT's rear suspension versus the 07 GTC. The GTC stayed more planted to the road whilst also being compliant during the bumpy bits.

Let's see, what else. Oh yeah, the lowest ?SOFT? suspension mode is horrible. HATED IT. Couch on wheels. Have not tried the top/firmest level yet, need to wait for warmer tarmac and the Pirelli P Zero tires.

The engine has 'woken up' from her slumber, she feels like, you know, a Bentley

Ok, we're off this morning to this small New England farm restaurant for breakfast in the GTC. Homemade pancakes, waffles, bacon from the pigs raised out at their farm, butter from their cows... Nice small place in their converted old barn right near the border of Vermont. Oh yeah, they make their own Maple syrup and it is season right now

 

One more breakfast pic.

 

Yummy. I have a lobster tail and some New York cuts. Think I will make some breakfast for my better half.

 

Congrats on the new ride...lovely isnt she!

Enjoy her in good health.

 

I figured with your background that some of your review would encompass the audio!

My wife loves the top down in the SL too - what is it about these women? It's costing me a fortune in hairspray (for me - not her!)

I like the way you've opened up the driving of the GTC to a higher level than anything I've read. It's nice to know all the effort that was put into these cars by the makers have been recognized by some of us.

 

Well that ride does sound interesting. Not pleasant but interesting.

 

DrD, had to drive that road to go somewhere and it was perfect per se for what I wanted to do. Just making sure everything works in the car and all that (seriously). Just want to be sure she is sorted for the Fun Countryside Driving Season with top down of course.... coming soon

As I have said before...
www.idiotsavant.com/ftp/sounds/life.wav

 

Roger dat!

 

So sexy!

 

My last post was made before I read all yours so I will expound.

You are in lust!(with the car) possibly with new lovely wifey also, moving along........ 25degrees with top down???????????? your lady is still in heavy lust with you also thereby putting up with that frozen head ride. Ain't nothin better than a giggling hottie. With all respect my friend.

My wife does not like top down but the daughter and i do so we leave her at the house to act like teenagers and of course that stereo is booming.

I like couch on cushions for some roads and rides, I just pretend I'm in a RR and my name is P Diddy. Mac daddy super cod out on a pimp ride. I just need to get those jumping up and down shocks that the Mexicans have.

I likey you car. Nice colors all way around but am surprised to see so much difference from the GT to the C?