​No wonder Phil Vaughan was smiling . . . we’d just asked him to road-test the new Bentley Continental GTC Speed . . !

The Bentley Continental GTC Speed’s 6-litre engine is capable of 200mph. Put the roof away, and the limit drops to a mere 195mph

Cross a hippo with a ballerina, and you’d probably come up with something that has attributes akin to those of the Bentley Continental GTC Speed.

This mighty two-and-a-half-tonne machine is impossibly light on its feet, blending awesome power with an Olde Worlde grace and elegance.

The success of Bentley’s fastest-ever cabriolet isn’t simply down to under-bonnet punch. As ever, the timeless, highly-individual charm of the hand-built interior has a strong say in things.

Continental owners will tell you that the GTC Speed’s £153,400 price tag might sound a lot, but you’re only really buying a working base template. You also need to browse through, and buy, from Bentley’s extensive options and colour-choice lists to turn GTC ownership into a truly personal, intimate, experience.

That’s the beauty of having something put together by hand, and not robot – the permutations are nigh-on endless.

The blue crystal metallic-paint finish of the 6.0-litre, 12-cylinder GTC that I tested gave it a certain majesty. The leather interior was a portland colour, with minor leather trim in imperial blue for tasteful contrast.

No extra cost so far, but then we get to the milled aluminium finish on the fascia and console – £4,560. More aluminium to the door interiors and cabin rear added £1,630 to the bill, and that’s before we get to the Naim sound system – another £4,840.

The reversing camera, £780, and powered boot, £620, seem almost small change by comparison, and what would be the point of having all that interior metal without topping it off with the alloy fuel filler cap, a mere £170?

You get the picture – no off-the-shelf specification here, each of the ragtop GTCs will be unique to its well-heeled owner. And the cabriolet’s prime helping of punch turns the wind-in-the-hair experience to more of a hurricane.

Top speed, for starters, is 200mph – and it doesn’t hang about getting there. It is difficult at times to detect changes in the fluid six-speed automatic transmission, and you simply don’t have time to when it hurtles to 60mph from standstill in 4.5 seconds.

Put the roof away, and you have to limit top speed to a mere 195mph.

The 600 brake horsepower has tow-your-house torque, and while the acceleration is terrific, the big two-door car always feels safe to drive and throw around, underpinned by the permanent four-wheel-drive system – and those huge 9.5J tyres never relax their road grip.

So the ownership pleasure is an all-round experience – inside, underside, and, with the cloth roof folded down in just 25 seconds, topside too.

And with the money to spend on such superb wheels, the Continental GTC’s 17mpg overall thirst won’t put owners off their stride.