My coupe runneth over

By Alastair Sloane

There is a story doing the rounds about a wealthy New Zealander heading off to Sydney on Friday in search of two trophies: a rugby league grand final win for the Warriors and a $375,000 Bentley Continental GT for himself.

The man, so the story goes, told friends he would buy the new Bentley if the Warriors win. What if they lose? "I'll probably buy it anyway."

We can't confirm the story. It's one of many in a week of unprecedented rugby league hype. Paul Shorter can't confirm it either. But the Bentley sales manager reckons he is sure to meet the man in question if the story is true.

"Interest in the Continental GT in New Zealand is increasing day by day," Shorter says. It will go on sale in New Zealand late next year. He already has a list of prospective buyers.

The Continental GT, Bentley's first all-wheel-drive model and the first to be built under Volkswagen's ownership (see chronology), will be unveiled at the Sydney Motor Show in two weeks.

It is, says Bentley, the "result of of a deep-seated emotional desire that has existed within Bentley for over 20 years to create a new compact coupe."

The $1.6 billion that VW pumped into development helped to bring the dream to reality. It is the platform for a family of new Bentleys to be built at Crewe.

In short, the Continental GT is:

* The fastest genuine four-seat coupe in the world with a top speed of about 290km/h (180mph) and a 0-100km/h time of under five seconds.

* Powered by a VW-derived but Bentley-designed 6-litre, twin-turbocharged, W12 engine developing more than 367kW (500bhp) and 850Nm of torque.

* Driven by all four wheels, a first for a Bentley. So is the paddle-operated, six-speed sequential automatic ZF gearbox. The suspension consists of a multi-link rear axle, double wishbones at the front and the latest in electronic damping.

* Styled in-house at Bentley's design studios in Crewe to incorporate traditional Bentley design genes into a contemporary shape. Packaged to seat a family of four in comfort.

* Designed to include pillarless cabin, minimal front overhang, pronounced haunches, distinctive face featuring large inner headlamps and a flush-mounted rear spoiler that rises at speed.

The business case for such a car hinges on what Bentley believes to be a gap in the upper luxury coupe market. It says about 75 per cent of buyers will not be existing customers.

The profile of the typical Continental GT buyer will also be different to those who buy from Bentley's existing ranges.

GT buyers will tend to be younger than the traditional plus-50 Bentley buyer. Men will still buy many more than women, says Bentley, but their majority will decrease from the overwhelming 96 to 99 per cent of present customers, to 85 to 90 per cent.

The Continental GT was styled in August 1999. By Christmas it had been approved for production. Its most distinctive feature is the matrix grille.

"The key to honouring Bentley's design past without creating an inappropriately retro car was to understand the design philosophy of the marque and use it in an entirely contemporary context," said the company.

The leather and wood cabin of the Continental GT also reflects Bentley history, with the centre console rising up and curving left and right in front of the passenger and driver in a shape of the Bentley wings.

Rear passengers sit in an environment created with the same care and attention as the front.

"Bentley is returning to its heartland values, as defined by (founder) W.O. Bentley," says the company.

"His proposition was to combine cutting-edge design with outrageous performance and superlative craftsmanship. These are the qualities the Continental GT has been engineered to provide. The result, we believe, is a car of which W.O. Bentley would be proud."