SPY PICS: Bentley Continental GT cabriolet seen

It might look as though it's been assembled from some sort of cardboard constructor's kit, but this doesn't hide the intrinsic elegance of the soft-top GTC cabriolet version of Bentley's next generation Continental GT.

Showing influences from the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Hybrid concept first seen at the 2015 Geneva motor show, the luxury soft-top is expected to go on sale in Europe in 2018 after the late-2017 launch of the Continental GT coupe version.

So much irrelevant panel work has been hung off the test mule photographed here that it's impossible to discuss anything but the basic shape of the cabrio. But there's a pretty good chance many of the elements seen in the EXP, such as the ovoid tail lights, will find their way into the final production car.

The canvas-roofed Continental GT has the Volkswagen group's widely-used (Bentley Bentayga, new-generation Porsche Panamera) MSB platform as its basic architecture and is not only expected to be lighter by around 100kg than its forebear, but will occupy a little less road space into the bargain.

Continuing with an AWD drivetrain as before, the new cabrio is tipped to adopt the new 4.0-litre twin (electric) turbo V8 that will be first seen in the Audi SQ7 and, ultimately, across a selection of vehicles in the Volkswagen group.

The mighty 6.0-litre W12 that partly defined the Continental GT has a question mark hanging over it related not so much to fuel consumption as exhaust emissions.

A hybrid version sharing its essential mechanicals with the next-generation Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid is tipped as a strong likelihood.