07 Mar 07
The Bentley Brooklands is an ultra-luxury coupe based on the Arnage but with a body tweaked and toned into a powerful and rakish grand touring style with classic British proportions designed to evoke the exploits of the Bentley Boys at the Brooklands race track in the 20s.
It's being built in a limited edition of just 550 over three years, which will bring joy to the hearts of elitist snobs and fans of exclusivity like Gordon Ramsay, who is said to have sold his Continental GT when Jordan pulled up alongside him in her pink version.
A low roof - 45mm lower than the Arnage's - long bonnet, short front overhang and pillarless doors all add up to a stunning-looking car that will be much sought-after when it goes on sale - to that very limited clientele - in 2008.
Inside, the brief was, in the words of chief designer Dirk van Braeckel, to 'create the perfect Bentley coupe: sumptuous, handcrafted luxury with a distinctly sporting character.' It's fair to say that from the one-piece, hide-trimmed roof lining down, the design team has fulfilled the brief. The four seats are covered with the usual array of luxurious leathers and there's also a wide choice of veneers, carpet tones and seatbelt colours (think of everything, don't they?). The rear seats have plenty of room for most adults.
Each car will be hand-built over 650 hours, employing the coachbuilding techniques developed over nearly 90 years and including sections that are, uniquely for the modern car industry, brazed together.
The Brooklands should also be able to back its sporting looks with suitably sporting performance, thanks to its 6.75-litre V8 engine that develops 530bhp and an astonishing 774lb-ft of torque.
And the cost of such luxury and exclusivity? Bentley can't confirm what the price will be at the moment, but we're told the ballpark figure is likely to be around the same as the Azure's price tag of £222,500.
It's certainly a ballpark we'd like to play in.
