Finally, a Brit worth considering

In 1961 I bought my first & so far only English car.......one of the very first XKE coupes that were shipped to the US. Lived in Chicago at the time and absolutely loved the car for a couple of thousand miles, but then winter set in. Every cliche about oil leaking, SU carbs, Lucas electrics, the non-synchro first gear, Smith instruments, 72 spoke wire wheels quickly turned my initial enthusiasm into deep, virulent hatred.

I've managed to keep British cars at arms length for the 50 years between then & now, but the Bentley Continental GT-based "shooting brake" shown here really has my attention. I think it's magnificent. I understand only 25 are planned to be produced, and most of those are destined to go to the Emirates.

JZG
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Pretty front, but an estate?

Not here, they call them "station-wagons".

 

Front looks the same as the rest.
Rear is absolutely hideous. What a vile, ghastly mess. Point out one coherent line there. They stuck a box on top and tried to make it work with some french curves. If you like this, what do you consider ugly?

What your wrote about the XKE was based on everything but looks. What you wrote about this car is based on, what? Are you saying you actually like the way the rear looks? What do you like about it? Have you seen the Pininfarina and Aston shooting brakes? They are a million times better looking.

The wheels are a bit busy too.

 

Agreed. Add to that, the 'older' CGT they got right. Sadly, the newly released redesigned CGT they 'carved' too many hard lines that makes the car look visually confusing and disjointed. Like the Euro version of the Ferrari 308, sometimes a manufacturer is best to leave things alone.

 

More German then British

 

Yes styled by a Belgian as best i recall. Basically, a VW Phaeton mechanically with some tweaks and then coachwork conducted by Bentley. So excellent mechanicals and reliability, classic styling and perhaps some of the industry's best luxury wood and leather craftsmanship. Have a feeling they used Derek Bell's input in the past year or two when they redid the fly-by-wire system as even the 'old' 2006 seems better than the 2009 Continental Flying Spur and the 2008 Flying Spur Speed versions i test drove for a day. By better i mean less turbo lag, better steering feel and angle at appropriate speeds, etc. Of course fly-by-wire can be so tweaked that it can make or break a car depending who is the one(s) who choose the final settings.

 

Is that a Dodge Ram with custom bed cap?

 

Is this the Bentley shooting brake by Carrozzeria Touring?

 

Bentley Panamera

 

yes with production to be held at 19

 

The new Brooklands is 10x better!