[Manuuj]

But i digress..back to the Bentleys and our predicament. We decided to wait for my brother to come down to Delhi before we made any firm commitment and see all three cars for himself.

On Monday 19th September he drove down and after a nice lunch at Amici in Khan Market we went to the showroom. At the restaurant we barely ate and discussed all the cars at length.

At this point all 3 were in the fray with the Brooklands the clear leader owing to its fantastic presence, comfort and exclusivity (only 530 ever made and only 3 in India. This is one of those three.)

An interesting anecdote in that respect is, that only 530 of these beauties were ever made as this is also the power in bhp of the Brooklands.

Upon arriving at the showroom we saw the Brooklands parked right in front with its dark bluish grey paint gleaming in the mid day sun and the tires polished like a Brigadiers shoes.

He looked at it and then at me.. and just smiled.

A thorough inspection was done and we went for a test drive on Shanti Path where the American embassy is located. Its a dead straight road with sparse traffic and superb road quality. Once we were on it my brother floored it.

I was pushed back in the seat as though some one had punched me in my stomach. The exceptionally quiet and stately car transformed into a roaring animal in a pitched battle for supremacy over its territory.

Grrrrrrrrr..Grrrrrrrr ROOOOOARRRR ROAAAAAR ROOAAARRRRRRR as the car changed gears.

A sleeping policeman on picket duty ducked for cover. Birds flew from trees and i found out why a Bentley Brooklands is a Bentley Brooklands.

The round about neared and the squealing sales executive wet his pants.

My brother stepped on the brakes and the vehicle slowed down immediately though not as convincingly as i would have liked. It lacked brake bite and the brakes seemed very hard. Maybe because the car had only done 1600 kms in the last 3 years and had just been taken out of storage.

To be fair it had recently been serviced in June and i expected a better response from the brakes.

We drove back and immediately drove the Supersports on the same stretch. I lost a filling in my tooth. That was one hard ride. 600 bhp is all well and good but one needs some comfort also. The seats were very hard and we were a tight fit.

Should this be our first ever Bentley or maybe something we can get a few years down the line when the mid-life crisis truly kicks in?

As we drove back my brother shook his head and said that the Supersports was out of the race.

Also it did not have some of the toys of the 2011 GT which was brand spanking new with 35 kms on the clock. So it was final the Supersports was out.

Sorry to disappoint you guys. But it was a big decision and we had too consider everyone's needs. My brother felt he would definitely buy the Supersports IF he already had a comfortable Bentley in the stables.

As we drove up something caught my eye. The door of the Brooklands had a minor dink in it. Very minor. but now every time i looked at it, its all i saw.

We sat inside once more and wanted to check the quality of the Sound System in this multi crore car.

When we pressed the Bentley logo in the centre what we saw made us almost swear in horror. It was an Alpine HU.

The same Alpine HU that our Octavia had come with when it was launched.

We put a CD in ..it got stuck. Disgusted.

Thats a dealbreaker.

It will have to be the GT then.

But as we made our way to the GT we saw this:

[dkaile]

Total drool maal Mannuj.

May I have the audacity to errr... ask you the price!!

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

Sorry to disappoint you guys. But it was a big decision and we had too consider everyone's needs. My brother felt he would definitely buy the Supersports IF he already had a comfortable Bentley in the stables.

On come on Manuuj! It's your hard-earned money and there is no use in buying something that's not going to be practical in Indian roads. We aren't living in a place surrounded by Autobahns, isn't it.

Originally Posted by Manuuj

But as we made our way to the GT we saw this:

Ah, again! Just when I thought that it's going to be the Continental GT, you bring this in. Is that the Continental Flying Spur? The Flying Spur is one of my most favorite luxury sedans in the world and the one for which I would do anything just to sit inside and drive.

[traveloholic]

Manuuj, this is unfolding like a movie script. Real tight and gripping. I am still at awe, oogling at the beauties in this thread. Each post of your's gets us closer to climax, which I guess should be somewhere near. As this story slowly unfolds, I shall treat my eyes some more by staring at these beauties and dreaming about them.

[_raVan_]

Originally Posted by arvi86

On come on Manuuj! It's your hard-earned money and there is no use in buying something that's not going to be practical in Indian roads. We aren't living in a place surrounded by Autobahns, isn't it.

Ah, again! Just when I thought that it's going to be the Continental GT, you bring this in. Is that the Continental Flying Spur? The Flying Spur is one of my most favorite luxury sedans in the world and the one for which I would do anything just to sit inside and drive.

Yup its the continental flying spur! Manuuj, awesome write up till now and still going! Rating it 5*s!

[SilkDrive]

Now that you have made it clear that your last name is not Ambani or Zuckerberg, may i ask you if your last name is Bhagat? And first name Chetan? ;-)

I mean what an amazing narration.

The superb narration, the awesome pics and the immensely respectful addressal to others and each one of their comments got me absolutely hooked to this heck of a thread.

[Vtecguy7166]

*Drools*

Wow. What beauties.
My heart just skipped a beat or two.
Super sport looks lout of this world.

No wonder I am subscribed.

Congrats

[Swanand Inamdar]

Oh, so the Supersport goes out of the list and a we see a new entrant? Continental Flying Spur?

You certainly dont need to be sorry for our dissapointment. It is your hard earned money. If a multi crore car is'nt comfortable, even I aint going near it. 600 bhp or not!

So now, please dont digress any further and tell us the buy already

[parsh]

Dear Mannuj sir you seem to have every intention to totally and devastatingly destroy our day and nights. Now why did FS had to spring up in the middle of nowhere like the 3 were not enough. Somebody is sure going to die here man.

[theragingbull]

WoW what an amazing thread Manuuj!! Though the Supersports seemed to be the most exciting and wildest of the lot but I agree it's not the most comfortable GT around. While the Brooklands would be the one if you want to have a very exclusive car but those small niggles did spoil the party. So it'd have been a difficult final decision now! Travelling around with family in one of the fastest luxury sedans in the world or sacrificing that rear space for some more fun behind the wheel

Now I'm getting curious!

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by parsh

Waw, 2 more killer machines. These Lambys seem to make a different statement. Is that your TFort standing out? They seem to say, Hey TF who are you and what are you? we are ready to vrooooom Thanks man, this has been an amazing treat.

That is my TFort glaring at the Bentleys buddy. I think he took a liking to the Italian beauties

Originally Posted by vidyabhushan

Wish my GF came with that 'custom satin paint job'...
Doesnt Bentley make some cosmetics (say Satin Foundation) for Girl Friends of PetrolHeads??

Hahahaha! that is the funniest thing I've heard in a long while my friend.

Originally Posted by arvi86

Oh my dear God! What a pretty good confusion to have man! First of all, hearty congrats on getting a Bentley in your family. You really are living what most of us dream. Wishing you miles and miles of sheer motoring bliss in your new Bentley.

All the pictures are to die for, more so those of the Continental Super Sports. The graphite paint finish look terrific, the back and red interiors are lovely and those awesome subtly-smoked taillights oozes class and aggression at the same time. I am not able to stop looking at it even in pictures and something in me says that it is either this Super Sports or the Continental GT that has entered your family. Now, don't keep us guessing for so long, break the suspense Manuuj!

Just a little more buddy ..as you will see suddenly there is a new entrant in the fray, a dark horse..The Continental Flying Spur Speed

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Manuuj,
A super 5* thread no doubt for more reasons than one !

Consider these as questions and observations from a phlistine and a barbarian:

1. Kitna deti hai ?

2. Kitne ki hai ? Model-wise.

3. Are the diesel versions coming ?

4. Do they have anti cardiac arrest pills in the first aid kit. For times when you are driving any one of these in the busy cities of Mumbai/ Delhi etc and competing with autos and taxis (kaali-peeli only pliss !)?

And do think of the number of Toyota-Fortuners you could have bought with just one of these and the high end TFT Service you could have started. Yeah - Toyota Fortuner Taxi Service !


Congratulations !

I do see your white Toyota Fortuner through the large glass pane in the tail view snap of the yellow Lamborghini. So the moral of the story - to get any of these fancy cars - you'll first need to earn a Toyota Fortuner to gain respect/respectability !

Genereal Saáb!!' Welcome to the thread. I must say here that i have honed my writing skills by reading your superb thread on the TOGO channel.

To answer you Q's..

1. Yeh deti nahin Leti hai. (Mods please excuse the crassness this one time)

2. Lets the only figures we discuss be BHP/ wheel Sizes/ torque/ 0-100 figures etc. Lets just say all the 4 cars were between 2 to 3.

The Brooklands is for over 4 originally. But as this was a used (1600 km?) model it had depreciated significantly and was within striking range. Also it would be worth about 5 in about 8-10 years and will only go up in value once the next Brooklands is launched 14 years from now.

3. No diesels but i did ask if i could retrofit a CNG kit.. (kidding)

4. NO worries with traffic so far. It seems to part for the beauty.

5. Fortuners as Taxis?? Sacrilegious!!.

..and you are right that is my Fortuner outside.

Originally Posted by dkaile

Total drool maal Mannuj.

May I have the audacity to errr... ask you the price!!

Yes Dkaile you are right about the drool factor and every other factor that denotes a heightened state of emotion.

The Price as i said is between 2-3 OTR for all the cars above.

Originally Posted by arvi86

On come on Manuuj! It's your hard-earned money and there is no use in buying something that's not going to be practical in Indian roads. We aren't living in a place surrounded by Autobahns, isn't it.

Ah, again! Just when I thought that it's going to be the Continental GT, you bring this in. Is that the Continental Flying Spur? The Flying Spur is one of my most favorite luxury sedans in the world and the one for which I would do anything just to sit inside and drive.

Not just any Continental Flying Spur my friend..Continental Flying Spur Speed which means its lighter and faster than a regular Flying Spur.

Originally Posted by traveloholic

Manuuj, this is unfolding like a movie script. Real tight and gripping. I am still at awe, oogling at the beauties in this thread. Each post of your's gets us closer to climax, which I guess should be somewhere near. As this story slowly unfolds, I shall treat my eyes some more by staring at these beauties and dreaming about them.

Thank you Traveloholic for the praise. Even i thought we were close to the climax but in reality we were in a right fix yet again. Another night would pass before we would finally make that final choice.

Now it was between 4 door or 2 door..

Both cars were very powerful and very good looking. Both were refined and comfortable..though the Flying Spur was more practical with acres of leg room and the convenience of 4 doors.

A test drive was taken and the reappearance of ducking policemen and nervous sales executives confirmed my worst fears. We were stuck again.

Even the color was the same..so no hiding behind that as a reason for rejecting it.

All the women of the family were for the Continental Flying Spur now..

To be continued...

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

1. Genereal Saáb!!' Welcome to the thread. I must say here that i have honed my writing skills by reading your superb thread on the TOGO channel.

2. To answer you Q's..




3. All the women of the family were for the Continental Flying Spur now..

To be continued...

Hi Manuuj,
1. Thanks for the compliments.

2. Thanks for all the info. The one that caught my eye is that you may be able to 'CNGfy' it someday ! Ha ha ! For all you know the way things are going on the fuel front - Buying a Bentley may not be luxury, but topping it with fuel may be !

3. And yet you went and got the Continental GT - right ? (Don't I sound like that typical spoilsport who gives the plot away of a Hitchcockian tale ! Especially when the narrator is begining to warm up !)

[noopster]

Voted 5 stars. THis thread keeps getting better and better. Am supposed to leave to meet up with some folks in a bit, please complete it by then or you will leave me hanging
And just to clarify: that NL comment was just flip on my part. Thoroughly impressed by your response- no offence intended, please don't take any!

Have a feeling you went with the 4-door FlyingSpur Speed. I know how it is when the women speak up in such cases!

Edit: Herr General- a CNG kit to keep running costs low on a 2-3 cr car! I haven't giggled this hard in a while!

[naturaldisaster]

hi there.

thanks for the great and interesting write up. the Brooklands a beaut!

please do keep the posts and pics coming...

cheers.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Fantastic write-up,you really have me hooked.
Just 1 question though (pardon me incase you have already explained before ,have scrolled through real quick)
You TDed the Brooklands, the Supersport has been left out.
So before you get to the FS speed, the verdict over the facelift model of the Continental GT still remains right ? Or has that been omitted already ?
Keep going amigo..