Bentley's next big unveiling, the Brooklands, will go on sale in early 2008, and Crewe has today released further details on the low-volume two-door, as well as some beautiful photographs.We've collected all 28 of the shots in our gallery, and have also added two of the most stunning as wallpapers to pore over. If you like what you seen, you'll also want to pore over the specification of this new Brit-built supercoupe, so allow Autocar to run through a few of the car's highlights.
Powertrain
Starting with the important stuff, the Brooklands will be powered by the most powerful V8 that Crewe has ever produced. With 530bhp and 774 lb ft of torque, the company claims that the 6.75-litre twin-turbo V8 has the highest torque output of any V8 automotive engine in the world. America's Shelby Supercars, with its 1094 lb ft V8-powered Ultimate Aero, might contest that claim, but few others could, as far as we can work out.With all that thrust to call on, the 2655kg Brooklands will tear to 60mph in just 5.0sec, hit 100mph in 11.6sec, demolish the 50-70mph kickdown dash in just 2.4sec, and go on to exceed 180mph.Through the application of a freer-flowing induction system, a sports exhaust and faster acting twin turbos, Bentley says it has improved the engine's headline outputs while at the same time reducing turbo lag and improving throttle response as low engine speeds. The Brooklands also gets the six speed, ZF automatic gearbox introduced to the Arnage and Azure ranges last year, which responds much more quickly to driver inputs, shaves significant seconds off the car's benchmark acceleration times, and improves fuel economy too.
Chassis
Bentley's aim for the Brooklands is to attain the handling of the Arnage T saloon with the ride comfort of the softer, more laid back Arnage R. It has adapted some of the body strengthening used in the Azure convertible, such as strengthened steel in the A-pillars, door sills, rear-three quarter sections and cant-rails and, as a result, the Brooklands' body is exceptionally stiff.That, in turn, has allowed Bentley's chassis engineers to use lower spring rates in the Brooklands' independent double-wishbone suspension without sacrificing body control, and thereby improving ride comfort. The Brooklands' suspension features electro-hydraulic adaptive dampers, automatic ride height control and automatic load compensation, all of which act to control the car's considerable mass at speed, and, we suspect, to give it surprising agility for such a heavy car.At each corner, the Brooklands will also run with specially developed 20in alloy wheels, Pirelli P-Zero tyres and, if you option them, Bentley's awesome carbon silicon carbide brakes. First seen on the Continental GT Diamond Series in 2006, these magnificent stoppers extend to 420mm at the front and 356mm at the rear. They're the largest carbon-ceramic brakes fitted to any production car anywhere in the world, they reduce unsprung mass by 8kg at each corner, and they should give the Brooklands excellent, fade-free stopping power.
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