Bentley planning new coupe
The Sunday Times reports that Bentley is developing a "sporty coupe" model to replace the Continental T (pictured) last produced in 2002. The paper quotes sources at Bentley as saying the four-seater hardtop will sell in the neighborhood of $365,000, starting in 2007.
The coupe will be based on the Arnage sedan, and continue that model's use of a name evocative of the Le Mans 24-hour race that Bentley won five times early in the company's history. A 500 hp V8 is rumored to be in the offing for the big coupe.
[Source: The Sunday Times]
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg "2011 Audi A8: Live from Miami")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JZeke 7:09AM (6/13/2006)
Make sense, with a new Arnage-based Azure being delivered and Rolls Royce about to introduce a coupe version of its new Corniche (is that what its called? IDK) a new big coupe is inevitable.
Maybach is supposedly readying a coupe too... but how big is the market for $350,000+ coupes anyway? I guess it must be all those people who've scared themselves behind the wheel of their Enzos, SLRs and Carrera GTs... and were too fat to fit into them anyway.
Reply
sanjay 9:29AM (6/13/2006)
and here returns the Mulsanne...
It'd always been used as more of a luxury terminology rather than high performance in the spirit of the Continental T. Being based on the Arnage its at least going to be a real Bentley and not a glorified Phaeton for the nouveau rich.
Reply
Stoneman 9:51AM (6/13/2006)
Bah... I have no love for this car. I recently saw a 2006 M5 and I thought...wow... 500 bhp for 114 CDN? But then again, a Corvette will put out a tad more, with only 2 doors. Anyone who buys these cars are just looking for status symbols. Get a good Porsche 911 and save your money.
Stoneman
http://www.stonemanautoreview.com
Reply
Corey W. 10:12AM (6/13/2006)
I guess this means Chrysler will soon have a two door version of the 300.... Sweet!!
Reply
PJ 11:50AM (6/13/2006)
Stoneman, I agree. Maybe there's something I'm missing, but the Bentleys I've seen in passing (Continental GT and new Silver Spur aside) seem to have changed remarkably little since the mid-'80s.
In my experience, the amount of fun to be derived purely from the driving experience seems to cap at around $50K-$60K. Spending more than $100K seems to me like a foolish "investment" in short-lived status and prestige.
Reply
Coleman 4:01PM (6/13/2006)
A friend of mine had a 99 Bentley Continental SC(Sedanca Coupe) which is a two door version with removable roof panels(t tops for you red necks out there). There were only 18 of these made and they are really unique and fast(420hp). I welcome this new model because there are too many Continental GT's on the road and you won't see this model very often, like the Azure, because most people can't drop 300 grand on an automobile. My uncle has a 99 black Azure and that car gets more thumbs up from people than I have ever seen and its a car show down there in south Florida. too.
Reply
Tom Design 12:16AM (6/14/2006)
All that power and performance through a 4-Speed Automatic w/Overdrive?
Reply