2009 Bentley Brooklands

Bentley is well known for building cars that are big, fast and very pricey. Not since the Continental T has the Bentley lineup included an extravagant 2-door that truly measures up to the brand’s larger-than-life reputation. Well all that changes with this new Brooklands. It’s the largest, rarest, most powerful Bentley Coupe you can buy. If you can find one.

While big Bentley Coupes have long been known for rarity and performance, the 2009 Brooklands takes that to a whole new level.  That’s because only 550 copies of this ultra-exclusive “Flying B” will be built, with a mere 150 scheduled to reach U.S. shores.

So why should an exceptionally well-heeled coupe fan care enough to go running to their nearest Bentley dealer with well over 300Gs in hand to secure one?

Well let’s start with the basics: the Brooklands is probably the most imposing 2-door on the road today. It’s absolutely huge, measuring almost 18-feet long, and riding on a 122.7-inch wheelbase. 

The pillarless styling is distinctively Bentley, with the aggressive monochrome look, chosen from a palette of 42 available colors, that distinguishes the Crewe-based company’s most high performance models, along with the big 20-inch alloy wheels and 255/40 tires that today’s style-conscious luxury car buyers demand.

To deliver on the promise of the Brooklands’ sporty styling, Bentley engineers developed the brand’s most powerful V8 engine ever. The 6.8-liter twin-turbocharger V8 delivers 530 horsepower and a stunning 774 pound-feet of torque.  The transmission is a 6-speed automatic with a sequential manual shift mode which drives the 5,853-pound rear-drive Brooklands to 60 in only 5.6-seconds. The quarter-mile takes just 13.9-seconds at 107 miles-per-hour.

High power electronic traction and stability systems reign in the engine’s massive grunt, allowing for smooth take offs. So smooth in fact, that the Brooklands rarely feels as quick as it is.  But there is big power on tap all through the rev band, only interrupted by a slow first to second shift in manual mode.

And yes, this ultra-upper crust coupe does have a hooligan side; just turn off the ESP, punch the throttle, and watch the fireworks.

And while Bentley buyers don’t sweat $4 per-gallon gas like the rest of us, government fuel economy ratings of 10 city and 14 highway are hardly green. We averaged only 12 miles-per-gallon in mixed driving on premium, of course. And as expected, the Brooklands earns a very politically incorrect energy impact score of 31.1 barrels of oil per year.

Big power and big cars are not always a perfect mix, since controlling that much punch is never easy, so Bentley built the Brooklands on a strengthened version of the Arnage chassis. It rides on a computer-controlled electro-hydraulic double wishbone suspension, with automatic ride height and load compensation. 

With both Normal and Sport modes, the suspension can deliver either a cushy luxo-boat ride with tons of both body roll and front push in the corners or surprisingly sharp turn-ins, with quick reaction to steering inputs and a much more neutral balance.

As in our acceleration test, electronics are critical to keeping the tires gripping without excessive wheelspin.  Our car’s brakes were the optional carbon-ceramic discs, which stopped almost 3-tons of Bentley from 60 in an impressive average of 128 feet. The pedal is initially a bit soft, but firms up nicely. Chassis stability is rock solid with just the slightest pull to the right.

Road ride varies from the smooth floating ride of Normal mode, to the tight but never harsh ride of Sport.  Of course riding in any Bentley is a lesson in luxury; and as with all its Crewe-built kin the Brooklands cabin is wall to wall in small-grain leather, fine wood, and stainless steel. Buyers can choose from a choice of 25 different leathers and three different woods, and of course there are plenty of features from automatic climate controls, to navigation and back up cameras, to a high end Alpine sound system.

Rear seat room is expanded over that of previous Bentley Coupes, and the seats boast new power adjustments. Luggage space is 14.2 cubic feet, so you can take your full set of Louis Vuitton on your next trip.

A trip that starts with a base price of $343,585. Add on the gas guzzler tax, and options like our test car’s $29,270 ceramic brakes, and the final tally is $391,465.

The 2009 Bentley Brooklands is the ultimate Bentley Coupe. They don’t come any bigger, faster, or more exclusive than this. And if you don’t already have one on order, it’s a safe bet that you never will.