Class on wheels

What can be described as “a muscular and rakish grand touring coupe with classic British proportions, in the finest Bentley tradition”? Maybe a 530 horsepower, 1050 Nm vehicle, which has its production limited to only 550 units? The only vehicle that goes well with this description is the new Bentley Brooklands, a four-seat grand touring coupe.

Everybody at Bentley is proud about the new addition of the Bentley brand, including Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen: “Bentley’s proud sporting pedigree, forged by the exploits of the immortal ‘Bentley Boys’ on the famous Brooklands racetrack in the 1920s, was the inspiration for our new coupé, capturing all the style, power and splendour of that era.”

This car is indeed the most powerful V8 model ever produced by Bentley. As mentioned earlier, Brooklands has a 530 horsepower, twin-turbocharged 6.75 liter engine, which develops a maximum torque of 1050 NM. As always, Bentley wants to be a very exclusive brand, and they will start delivering all the 550 units starting with the first half of 2008.

Let us hope that this car doesn't turn into a fashion statement and that the likes of brainless Hollywood actors or wannabe popstars don't get a hold of one. Maybe they will like the fact that every model will be assembled by hand, or they will find interesting the six speed transmission with strengthened casing which also has a semi-automatic function.

Maybe the best description of the Bentley Brooklands is the one given by Dr Ulrich Eichhorn, member of the board at Bentley: “Exhilarating, effortless, accessible performance for those truly passionate about their driving was our prime objective.”