Interesting that in the literature for the new Bentley Brooklands, a limited-edition, even-more-upscale version of the Arnage, there’s little mention of the last Bentley Brooklands, a sedan sold from 1992 to 1997 that replaced the Mulsanne as the marque’s flagship.
Of course, this was a moderately dark period at Bentley, before the Volkswagen takeover in 1998, when, from a distance, the Great Unwashed couldn’t tell much difference between a Bentley Brooklands and a Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph.
This time around, the Bentley Brooklands is a coupe, a “stylish, four-seat, grand touring coupe,” says the company, that is debuting at the Geneva auto show. The Brooklands is, Bentley insists, more than an Azure hardtop. This would probably be a good time to get your order in for a Brooklands, as 550 will be hand-assembled. Not 551, no matter how much you beg, Bentley says. Expect yours in about a year. Price is likely to be about $400,000.
Decidedly old-school—at least compared with the undeniably new-school Continental Flying Spur, GT, and GTC, which are powered by a 552-hp twin-turbocharged W-12—there’s a 6.8-liter V-8 (412 cubic inches, if you’re really old school) under the hood of the Bentley Brooklands, also twin-turbocharged, pumping out a sobering 523 horsepower, and a “prodigious” (Bentley’s word, and who are we to argue?) 774 pound-feet of torque. It is the most powerful V-8 Bentley has produced. Big oval, chrome-tipped dual-exhaust outlets leave no doubt as to what just passed your Mini Moke.