A limo with attitude

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

The international launch of the new Bentley Continental GT began in April with a tour of the A-list addresses in Europe and the United States. There was a party in London for Britain's "100 most invited guests", hosted by Bentley and Tatler magazine, at the swish Belvedere.

Author Salman Rushdie was there, so was designer Jasper Conran, who already owns a 1963 S Continental, labelled a "car for the stars" in the swinging 60s.

"I was brought up with a Bentley," he said. "My grandmother owned one. We'd drive between Portsmouth and London listening to The Archers." Conran's association with Bentley has continued: "I love craftsmanship and its application. Bentley is one of the foremost marques in terms of craftsmanship. Driving to work you want time to think, and on the way back you want to relax. Well, you do if you've worked in my office."

Tempestuous chef Gordon Ramsay wasn't at the Belvedere - but he has ordered his Continental GT. Same with footballer David Beckham and actor Ben Affleck. So, too, Alexander Baggli, Switzerland's most exclusive wine merchant and Bentley enthusiast. That's four of more than 4000 orders worldwide.

Baggli's GT will be parked alongside his 1956 S1 H.J. Mulliner drophead coupe for Sunday picnics and 1954 R-Type Continental for touring. The S1 is one of only 13 built.

Baggli, 37, inherited his father's wine company, Cave BB, in Zurich. The BBs stand for Bordeaux and Burgundy. Cave BB stocks 100,000 wines and has an adjoining 45-seat restaurant, called Riesbachli.

Baggli's father began collecting wines back when it was seen as an exotic hobby. Today it's a serious business. Likewise classic cars. "In the 1970s," he says, "a Bentley 8-litre was considered an old-fashioned used car. I've just sold mine for a sum I couldn't refuse."

Someone said that every wine you've ever fantasised about is in Baggli's cellar. He has 30 vintages of Mouton Rothschild in magnums and larger bottles and 45 vintages in standard bottles. He has just bought a rare 4.5-litre bottle of the 1942.

There was no such cellar around when Bentley unveiled the Continental GT in Auckland the other day. Some finger food, bottles of water, coffee or tea. The big numbers belonged to the car, all $349,000 of it.

Around 40 New Zealanders have ordered the Continental GT. The first will arrive early next year. The 40th is about two years away. More than 130 Australians will get theirs over the same period.

The Continental GT started life some years ago as the Java concept. The Sultan of Brunei liked the prototype so much he paid Bentley owners Volkswagen much money to build a road-going version.

The coupe is built at Crewe, Bentley's long-time British headquarters. It is based on a shorter chassis of the VW Phaeton saloon - due in New Zealand next year - and uses the four-wheel-drive system from the Audi A8. Its twin-turbocharged 6-litre W12 engine comes from the VW group, too. So does its six-speed automatic transmission, with its manual mode paddles on the steering wheel.

But the two-door design was conceived only for Bentley. It has no other role within VW. Nor has the interior design, a modern and traditional British mix of wood and leather and polished metal.

The power-operated driver and passenger seats are exquisite, arguably the best in the business. So is the driving position. The rear seats are nice, too, but they are only for hobbits or handbags. Adults must steer clear of them for anything but a brief trip.

The Continental GT is a heavy 2.3 tonnes but remains largely light on its feet, agile with precise steering and plenty of traction. There are four electronic damping settings from a carpet-ride Comfort to a firmer Sport. Leave it in Normal and the electronics sort out the ride quicker than you can blink.

The car uses the biggest brakes in the business, 405mm ventilated discs up front and 335mm in the rear. It needs such whopper stoppers to bring the heavy car down safely and to dissipate a build-up of brake heat.

Bentley has done much to channel the flow of air under and around the car, to cool the brakes and to lessen turbulence. It says the best aerodynamic aid in the coupe is a diffuser which draws air away from the rear to counter lift.

The weight distribution is 58 per cent rear, 42 per cent front. Bentley says such a split is pretty much spot on for an all-wheel-drive car with the engine in the front. A rear-drive/front-engine car is best at 50:50; a mid-engined car at 43:57.

The W12 engine emits a bark upon start-up and settles into a soft growl on the road. It develops 410kW at 6100rpm and 650Nm of torque from 1600rpm. Everything about it is effortless. Top speed, says Bentley, is around 320km/h, or 198mph.

But speed is secondary in such a car. A Bentley is as much a state of mind as transport, say owners. A mix of luxury limousine with the DNA of a racer. A blend of 1920s handmade tradition and high technology -like the Breitling analogue clock on the dashboard, or the leather-bound steering wheel, which takes eight hours to double-stitch by hand.

A British Concorde pilot said his supersonic charge was just like any other plane, only more so. So it is with the Bentley Continental GT.