NEW: Bentley Continental GTC Speed photo stream on Flickr March 25, 2009
Posted by richard in : Uncategorized , 2commentsWant to see what I’ve been up to on my latest launch event? Well, check out my Bentley Continental GTC Speed photo stream on Flickr.
And be sure to come back here over the next few days. As ever, I’ll be charging through all my notes and feeding back to you.
Check out the images for a feel of what was what in Crewe!
Pre-launch impressions: Bentley Continental GTC Speed March 24, 2009
Posted by richard in : Uncategorized , add a commentWhat do I expect from the Bentley Continental GTC Speed? Something very, very fast, that’s what.
Last year, I drove both the standard Continental GT Coupe, and the livened-up Speed variant. Both worked together, to turn me from a Conti skeptic into a convert.
First thing I did when I got back home was check out Auto Trader, to see how much early-gen ones went for. (£40k and no I can’t, to pre-empt any questions).
The Speed line, which brings more power, sportier handling and subtly enhanced looks, has already instantly won the majority of GT Coupe sales, and is doing similarly good business for the Flying Spur saloon. Now, it’s the turn of the GTC Convertible.
Coupled with a mild facelift for the 2010 model year, Bentley’s given us the full fat 600bhp Speed drop-top 2+2, creating its fastest-ever convertible in the process. 200mph do ya?
The overriding impression I took from the GT Coupe was one of completeness. This really was a car that tuned into my psyche – it wasn’t particularly overtly sporting, or dramatic, or intense. It was just ‘nice’. Accurate, agile way (way way way) beyond its size and weight, and generally pretty lush.
I blow hot and cold with convertibles. Currently, I’m on a downer with them – preferred the BMW Z4 when it was imitating a Coupe rather than being a Roadster. How will I get on with the Bentley, then? Well, by now, I’ll already know. And will be letting you know in due course…
Just how loyal are the super-rich? March 23, 2009
Posted by richard in : What I learned today , add a commentBentley customers are, sometimes, a loyal bunch. 82 per cent of those who bought, back in 2006, an original GTC still own the car.
Why the ‘sometimes’ proviso? Because that’s for the GTC range, Bentley Board member Stuart McCullough revealed. If you’re looking at the Flying Spur, of course, the loyalty rates are even higher. Customers hold onto their cars for years.
The coupe, however, is different. Such is the fast turnover trend in the market, Bentley Continental GT buyers, on average, keep their car for just 11 months. Less than a year!
That’s the luxury car market for you. In certain sectors, it really is less about the car, and more about what’s ‘new’.
Could part of Bentley’s current troubles run deeper than the credit crunch, then? Be down to the fact its Continental GT is getting on a bit nowadays?
Judging by all the activity at the Crewe HQ, I’d wager the maker realises this, and has been working on the solution for years now… ‘new product is always crucial, a spokesman told me.
‘We’re going to be moving the Bentley story on in due course…’
Watch, he implored, this space. OK…
