New 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible: Official

The Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible, the drop top version of the GT Speed, has been officially revealed ahead of a Detroit Auto Show debut. Just as expected, Bentley has transplanted all the goodies from the latest version of the GT Speed in to the GTC Speed, which means a fulsome 616bhp and 590lb/ft of torque from the delicious 6.0 litre W12 and, despite gaining more than 200kg to keep the huge Bentley stiff without its roof, the GT Speed Convertible manages to hustle to 62mph in 4.1 seconds – just a tenth slower than the tin-top Speed. That extra lard does have more impact as you head towards 100mph with the convertible taking 0.7 seconds more, but there’s not exactly a paucity of power on offer.

European car sales crash

Renault saw its sales fall 23.7 per cent in February Car sales across Europe have fallen nearly 10 per cent in the economic gloom, with Renault, Peugeot Citroen, Fiat and Opel the big losers. There’s been a big decline in new car sales across Europe in February, with monthly sales down almost ten per cent compared to 2011, and it’s the mainstream car makers who are suffering the most. Sales for Renault are down by a massive 23.7 per cent to 86,402, Peugeot Citroen did almost as badly with a drop of 16.5 per cent to 118,381 and Fiat suffered the same percentage drop with sales of 66,249 (Alfa Romeo sales actually fell by 28.5 per cent).

Project Car Hell: BMW-powered Opel Olympia vs. Aston-equipped Singer Nine

Editor's note: When you can't fit your newly acquired basket-case Jeep FC150 in the garage because you have an Autocar Sussita and a 1928 Studebaker President chassis buried beneath crates of Subaru 360 parts, you're in Project Car Hell. Our friend Murilee Martin is here to oil up the gates to Automotive Hades, bringing the series back with a couple of you'd-hafta-be-outta-your-mind hypothetical engine-swap projects. And be sure to check back for fresh installments of Project Car Hell every week.