Bentley Brooklands Review

With only 550 cars slated for lifetime production and its entire first-year allocation already sold, time is running out for your purchase of a new Bentley Brooklands. Named after the famous Brooklands racetrack of the 1920s, this stately Bentley coupe is essentially a hardtop version of the Azure convertible. It has the same nose, doors and basic shape, but features an entirely new roof structure (obviously) that lends a subsequent increase in body rigidity. Firmer dampers and an adjustable suspension lend a more sporting character than its convertible sibling, but the Brooklands loses none of that "wafting upon a cloud of woven silk" driving experience one expects from Britain's second-most-posh automotive brand.

As if the classic radiator grille, quad round headlights and flying B hood ornament don't say "old-school motor car" enough, the car underneath certainly will. The car's underpinnings date back to the 1990s, while the 6.76-liter twin-turbo V8 is a throwback from the 1950s. Yes, that's 50s, as in I Like Ike and "I Love Lucy." Although heavily modified over the years -- most recently by Bentley parent Volkswagen -- this grandfatherly mill still features cog-driven pushrods and a diesel-like redline of 4,600 rpm. However, with 530 horsepower and 774 pound-feet of torque, the old guy's got plenty of life in him. In fact, only the Bugatti Veyron boasts more torque.

Indeed, the Bentley Brooklands is a car from another era, for a specific type of car buyer who wants their engine torque plentiful and interior veneer to match. If that describes you, just make sure to place your order quickly.

Current Bentley Brooklands

The Bentley Brooklands is a hardtop ultraluxury coupe introduced for 2009. It seats four people in decadent comfort. Standard specification includes 20-inch 16-spoke wheels, sport suspension, parking assist, copious amounts of premium veneer, leather-trimmed everything, 27 available hide colors, driver memory functions, heated and massaging front seats, twin electrically adjustable rear seats with heat and lumbar, two trunk-mounted umbrellas, Bluetooth and a pop-up navigation system. Options are limited to customization items like a stainless steel grille, match-to-anything paint and leather colors, 20-inch wheels, diamond quilted leather upholstery and different interior trim. Carbon ceramic brakes (with the biggest discs available on a road-going car in the world) are also optional.

Bentley buyers expect prodigious amounts of power and the Brooklands certainly delivers, dashing from zero to 60 mph in a scant 5 seconds. Considering it weighs slightly less than the H.M.S. Bedford, that's incredibly impressive. What Bentley buyers really expect, however, is an interior fit for the queen. If a surface isn't swathed in supple hides, it is decorated with chrome or adorned in one of the many rich veneers available. If wood doesn't meet your fancy, carbon fiber, engine-turned aluminum and something called "Dark Stained Vavona veneer with Dark Stained Burr Walnut substrate" are available. Craftsmanship is also exemplary, although one would hope so at this Herculean price point.

The overall interior design is -- like the exterior -- classic to a T. The dash is upright and features very few modern cues. For instance, both the audio controls and navigation controls are hidden behind panels. Elsewhere in the sumptuous cabin, rear passengers are treated to space unparalleled in a two-door car. The Brooklands features as much backseat legroom as the Arnage sedan, while 6-footers will find plenty of noggin room. Exiting the aft quarters is made easier by a secondary door latch handle in each door.

If a stately British ultraluxury coupe is what you're hankering for, there's not much to recommend other than the Bentley Brooklands and the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe. The Roller is a newer model in every sense of the term and its epic size lends a presence that can't be matched. Those reverse-opening doors are pretty nifty, too. But the Bentley Brooklands is unique in its own way, with a genuine old-school approach, from its gorgeous interior to the ancient engine. So if you've got $340,000 to spend, go for it.