An elegant performance

 

If you are a collector of exclusive things then Bentley Brooklands coupé is the car for you, as only 550 of these beauties will ever be made.

With a base price of Dh1.7 million, the Bentley Brooklands is a stunning new model that justifies the company’s claims that it is the most exclusive coupé in the world.

Janice Hinson, Marketing and Public Relation Manager for Middle East, Africa and India at Bentley Motors, told Emirates Business: “We call it the world’s most exclusive coupé as production is limited to just 550 cars and it has the most powerful V8 engine Bentley has ever produced.

“It is the ultimate Bentley: a stylish, four-seat, grand touring coupé with classic British proportions and muscular performance. The Bentley Brooklands marks the company’s return to the luxury coupé market and reaffirms its reputation as creator of the world’s most exclusive coupés. To ensure exclusivity, lifetime production will be strictly limited to just 550 cars. Each Brooklands coupé will be hand-assembled, employing traditional coach-building techniques and the craftsmanship skills in wood veneer and leather hide for which Bentley is renowned.”

The inspiration behind the new coupé was Bentley’s proud sporting pedigree, forged by the exploits of the immortal “Bentley Boys” on the famous Brooklands racetrack in the 1920s. It captures all the style, power and splendour of that era.

“Its sporting design cues are matched by the phenomenal engineering of Bentley’s legendary Crewe-built V8 engine. The Bentley Brooklands’ V8 engine is a 530bhp, twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre unit that also produces 1050Nm of torque,” Hinson said.

While the new Brooklands is influenced by Bentley’s coupé lineage, its design and engineering are thoroughly contemporary.

The proportions of long bonnet, short front overhang and long rear overhang achieve the design objective perfectly, while the low roofline, steeply raked screens and pillar-less side glass convey both power and movement.

Hinson said: “As the Brooklands will be built in very limited volume, the designers were able to introduce special features that necessitate specialist coach-building techniques. The ‘floating’ rear screen, for example, is a contemporary take on traditional coach-built Bentleys. The lower edge of the screen sits well above the upper edge of the boot lid to provide a flowing, flawless line to the back of the car. This can only be achieved by individually hand-welding the rear wings to the C-pillars.

“The fitment of 20-inch diameter wheels as standard, signalling the surefooted, robust and dynamic character of the new model, reaffirms the powerful stance of the new Bentley coupé.”

The powerful engine and sporty exterior are complemented by the hand-crafted luxurious interiors. Peerless craftsmanship is enhanced by the warmth and richness of the finest natural materials used and customers can choose from an extensive palette of hides, veneers, carpet tones and seat belt colours.

Its four-seat architecture and deeply bolstered seats lend the Brooklands’ interior a distinctly sporting atmosphere, complemented by design accents such as aluminium foot pedals and footrest.

A new, single-piece, hide-trimmed roof lining flows uninterrupted from the front windscreen all the way to the rear of the car, mirroring the long, sleek profile of the exterior.

The Brooklands’ cabin is wider at both front and rear than the previous Bentley Continental R coupé – the rear by 10 per cent – and it easily exceeds the interior leg, knee and headroom of any luxury coupe on sale today, according to Bentley.

This allows four adults to be accommodated in comfort. Individual rear seats with electrically operated sliding cushions are separated by a centre console, incorporating both storage and cup holders.

Speaking about its features, Hinson said: “It has a new free-flowing air induction system and sports exhaust. Recalibrated valve timing and engine management systems. Very stiff platform and special engineered chassis with specially developed 20-inch wheels and tyres.

“It comes with optional carbon or silicon carbide brakes and has the largest diameter discs of any production passenger car on sale today. These discs last the lifetime of the car and pad life is doubled, under normal driving conditions.

“The car has a top speed of 296kmph and reaches from 0 to 100kmph in 5.3 seconds and 80 to 120kmph in 3.1 seconds. You are getting supercar performance from a luxury four-seater coupe.”