Bentley is introducing a new 'entry-level' V8 for its Conti GT coupe
has got us thinking - and dreaming - about all sorts of Bentley Coupes - particularly the stately Arnage-based Brooklands.
The Brooklands Coupe really is everything a big Bentley ought to be. Firstly, it's outrageously large and heavy for a coupe (5.4m long and 2,725kg). Secondly, it's brash but somehow elegant, in an opulently imposing way. A bit like an automotive version of Blenheim Palace.
Thirdly, it's got fulsome (and then some) torque from that twin-turbo 6.75-litre V8 - 774lb ft of the stuff.
As big as a house and just as pricey
It's also outrageously expensive. Even after having dropped tens of thousands of pounds from its original price during its year or so and 13,645 miles of life, at £154,995
This Brooklands
is still up for more than the average price of a first-time buyer's home.
Having said that, the Brooklands Coupe will always be an exclusive beast, with only around 550 having been made, so you might find it holds onto its value better than might be expected.
And judging by the prices people are asking for the Continental coupes of the 1990s, it seems that a large two-door Benters is a fairly solid direction in which to point your money. We particularly like this 67k-mile Continental R, up for £43,500. Although that might be more for the fact that the current owner (and we quote) is an "ex wartime Spitfire pilot" who "has a collection of Bentleys & is thinning them out due to his advancing age". Apocryphal or not, it sounds pretty cool...
Tally ho, bandits at six'o'clock and all that
And if you can't find enough pennies in your wallet/down the back of the sofa for that, you could still achieve that Brooklands name badge on something more humble and saloon-shaped, such as
this 1994 car
, up for 50 quid less than £10k. But you'll have to like the colour green rather a lot.
Course, you might not want a Bentley at all, but still fancy a Brit bruiser. In which case, could we point sir in the direction of this twin-supercharged Aston Martin Vantage? It's only £89,950...
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