Ron picked the Dawn for presence alone, and he wasn’t wrong that it has more of it than either rival. He just picked the wrong road to prove that point on.
A peninsula road that rewards lightness over presence
The road onto the Cap-Ferrat peninsula — the same stretch that leads to the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat — winds through pine trees and past private gates in a way that’s genuinely different from the open coastal sweep of the Corniches. It’s tighter, slower, and has enough real corners that a “cruiser” test here isn’t just about how a car looks parked outside a hotel. It’s about which one is actually enjoyable to drive the last few kilometers in.
Three drivers, three very different ideas of what a Riviera cruiser should be. Juliana takes the Ferrari Roma Spider, arguing that even a grand tourer benefits from being genuinely light on a road with real corners. Ron claims the Rolls-Royce Dawn for outright presence — a car that announces itself before it’s even fully in frame. Whoever’s narrating takes the Bentley Continental GTC Speed, splitting the difference between the other two.
The numbers, for anyone who wants them before the story
| Rolls-Royce Dawn | Bentley Continental GTC Speed | Ferrari Roma Spider | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Horsepower | 563 hp | 659 hp | 620 hp |
| 0–100 km/h | 4.9 sec | 3.7 sec | 3.4 sec |
| Top speed | 250 km/h | 335 km/h | 320 km/h |
| Rental (per day) | ~€2,400 | ~€1,700 | ~€1,800 |
| Drivetrain | RWD | AWD | RWD |
All three figures come straight from this fleet’s own listing — no hedging required.
First stint: presence, undeniable but slower on the actual corners
Ron’s Dawn went first, and there’s no honest argument against its presence — a V12 drophead that commands attention the moment it appears, exactly as intended. But through the peninsula’s tighter sections, its size and RWD-without-urgency character showed up as real limitations rather than charm. “It’s still the most commanding car of the three,” Ron said afterward. “I’m just not going to pretend the road didn’t expose that commanding and agile aren’t the same thing.”
The Continental GTC Speed followed, and made the strongest all-round case: AWD grip through the same corners, 659 hp genuinely available when needed, without ever feeling like it was working hard to keep up. “This is the one that doesn’t force you to choose,” the narrator said.
Second stint: the Roma Spider closes it on lightness alone
Juliana’s Roma Spider came last, and the case that decided the test was simple: it’s the lightest of the three by a real margin, and on a road with actual corners rather than a straight cruise, that lightness translated directly into being the most fun to actually drive. “The Dawn is the one you want people to see you arrive in,” she said. “This is the one you actually want to be driving on the way there.”
A bit of context on each car
The Ferrari Roma Spider already appeared in the Top Down road test against the 911 Cabriolet and Portofino.
The Bentley Continental GTC Speed is the drop-top flagship of Bentley’s GT line — 659 hp and AWD grip in a genuinely usable four-seat convertible.
The Rolls-Royce Dawn remains unmatched on outright presence in this fleet’s convertible lineup, even where it lost this specific test.
Practical considerations
The Cap-Ferrat peninsula road has real corners and lower speed limits through private residential sections — not a road for outright pace regardless of which car you’re in. All three are confirmed available out of Monaco and the French Riviera.
Our call: the Ferrari Roma Spider. Juliana’s pick wins on lightness where the road actually has corners to reward it — the most genuinely fun to drive of the three, even against two rivals with more outright presence. Choose the Rolls-Royce Dawn if arrival presence matters more than the drive itself, or the Bentley Continental GTC Speed for the strongest all-round balance between the two.
All three are standalone rentals out of Monaco and the French Riviera. Get in touch and we’ll set one up.