2008 Bentley Brooklands
Posted on 10.31.07 6:28PM under Bentley
Interesting that in the literature for the new Bentley Brooklands, a limited-edition, even-more-upscale version of the Arnage, there??™s little mention of the last Bentley Brooklands, a sedan sold from 1992 to 1997 that replaced the Mulsanne as the marque??™s flagship.
Of course, this was a moderately dark period at Bentley, before the Volkswagen takeover in 1998, when, from a distance, the Great Unwashed couldn??™t tell much difference between a Bentley Brooklands and a Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph.
This time around, the Bentley Brooklands is a coupe, a ???stylish, four-seat, grand touring coupe,??? says the company, that is debuting at the Geneva auto show. The Brooklands is, Bentley insists, more than an Azure hardtop. This would probably be a good time to get your order in for a Brooklands, as 550 will be hand-assembled. Not 551, no matter how much you beg, Bentley says. Expect yours in about a year. Price is likely to be about $400,000.
Decidedly old-school??”at least compared with the undeniably new-school Continental Flying Spur, GT, and GTC, which are powered by a 552-hp twin-turbocharged W-12??”there??™s a 6.8-liter V-8 (412 cubic inches, if you??™re really old school) under the hood of the Bentley Brooklands, also twin-turbocharged, pumping out a sobering 523 horsepower, and a ???prodigious??? (Bentley??™s word, and who are we to argue?) 774 pound-feet of torque. It is the most powerful V-8 Bentley has produced. Big oval, chrome-tipped dual-exhaust outlets leave no doubt as to what just passed your Mini Moke.
It??™s the latest version of the Crewe-built V-8, which began life in 1959 under the hood??”or bonnet, sorry??”of the Bentley S2. It was 6.2 liters then, an advanced all-aluminum engine with a five-bearing crankshaft, overbuilt in that delightful British tradition but still good for almost 200 horsepower. In 1969, the engine grew to its present size of 6.8 liters, but it wasn??™t until 13 years later that it grew a turbocharger. The result was the almost 300-hp Mulsanne Turbo, a car that helped put Bentley back into the vocabulary of performance enthusiasts. The engine got a second turbo in 2002, and Crewe V-8s since then have gained power more through tuning than dramatic updates.
As in the Arnage, the Brooklands has a six-speed automatic transmission that has been beefed up for the extra ponies. There??™s a provision for manual gear selection if you so desire.
The wheels are chrome-plated 20-inchers, which should be fine until 50 Cent can replace them with his own. The pedals and the driver??™s footrest are aluminum. Customers can choose from a variety of carpets, woods, and leather hides. There??™s a new rear center console, and back-seat passengers have power-sliding cushions.
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