The Bentley Speed GT is Ultra-Fast, But Not Recession-Proof

I was stunned recently to be offered the loan of a Bentley Continental GT Speed. It was like winning the lottery. The car as tested costs $227,205. I didn't think they lent them to mere mortals.

With this Bentley Continental, virtually everything is oversized, not just the price. It has 600 horsepower from a twin-turbo Volkswagen-derived 12-cylinder engine and can reach 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds. It weighs more than 5,000 pounds, gets only 10 mpg in the city, and pays $3,700 in gas-guzzler tax.

Yes, it is simply incredible to drive. The big engine whirrs like a turbine. If you're traveling along at 80 mph, you can actually pin yourself to the "premium hide" seat accelerating into the stratosphere. The car is capable of well over 200 mph, the outer limits of which I will never be in a position to test. It feels stable at very high speeds.

The premium audio system alone is $6,900 and the valet parking key $310. Clearly, these high-performance Bentleys appeal to a uniquely well-financed customer to whom these prices are no object. There were many of those buyers in 2007, when Bentley had its best year ever, selling 10,014.

But then a little thing called the recession happened. According to spokesman Dave Reuter, sales were down 33 percent in 2008 to 7,604 (2,864 in North America). Bentley cut staff pay 10 percent and made 220 jobs redundant. The plant in Crewe, England will be shut down most of April and May, Reuter said. When it comes back on line, it will be producing 2010 cars. "Essentially, we're shortening the model year," he said.

For the first two months of 2009, Bentley sold 162 cars in the U.S. The company expects sales to be down for the full year, but Reuter said it's too early to predict more precisely.

The two-door Continental was launched in 1961, and the name has been attached to some pretty exclusive machinery. The GT Speed carries a $25,000 premium over the standard Continental GT (which muddles by with 48 horsepower less) but it is 65 percent of Continental GT sales.

One is tempted to think of cars like the Bentley as being recession-proof, but that doesn't appear to be the case. The U.S. is Bentley's largest market, at 37 percent, followed by Europe (20 percent) and the UK (18 percent). The growth markets are in Asia. The Middle East is 11 percent of sales, and enjoyed a 12 percent increase to approximately 600 units last year. China is coming on strong, and could exceed even U.S. numbers in a few years. Last year, almost 500 were sold there.

Here's a Bentley Continental Speed GT slide show, to the music of Coldplay: