2008 Bentley Brooklands

This eye-wideningly beautiful example of the breed is one of those original 97 UK specified and supplied cars. It was presented to its first owner by Bentley Norwich in the middle of May 2008 making it likely one of the earliest customer deliveries of the Brooklands Coupé. The first and second owners appear to have enjoyed the Bentley for around a year each. The third owner retained in for a full 10 years or so. The current owner acquired this sublime coupe in March 2021 to become the fifth keeper to date.

What seems to connect these five keepers, other than exquisite automotive tastes, is their light use of the Bentley and their diligence in terms of maintenance. On the day of our photo shoot the Brooklands Coupé’s odometer was registering a mere 17,179 miles. Despite this miniscule mileage, the accompanying service book exhibits eight Bentley dealer service stamps covering mileages from 840 to 10,953 miles. In addition to this an invoice supplied details another specialist service in September 2024 at 17,047 miles – just 132 miles ago.

The Brooklands Coupé is the absolute epitome of the iron fist in a velvet glove analogy.

Whilst the “face” of the Brooklands is almost identical to that of the Arnage, the rear slopes off extravagantly like the red run at St Moritz – somewhere this Coupé would look very much at home. Other Brooklands Coupé cues include Le Mans style wing vents, sporty matrix radiator grill inserts and enlarged elliptical exhaust tail pipes. It’s a genuinely beguiling sight.

This example is presented in a gleaming Silver Tempest livery which only adds to the allure of this big GT, making this 5.4 meter long behemoth look surprisingly lithe.

Our very forensic operations team have noted only very few imperfections. These amount to a handful of minor stone chips and some minimal chipping on the door edges. A condition that very much underscores this example’s minimal mileage to date.

The Brooklands Coupé came exclusively with 20-inch, split rimmed alloy wheels. The “standard” fitment was sixteen spoke items, but this example rests on the optional five spoke items. Still split rims, these alloys boast an eye-catching and highly exclusive design. These are generally in fine condition with just a modicum of deterioration noted to one front wheel. These are shod with the factory specified, high quality Pirelli P-Zero tyres.

Make no mistake, the Brooklands is a proper four seater GT car par excellence. That mighty Arnage platform comes with the benefit of plenty real estate to fill with occupants and their bespoke accoutrements.

The individual rear seats are set 100mm further back than in the Azure and 25mm lower giving a level of headroom that’s just 24mm less than in the Arnage.

The 16 hides used to upholster the Brooklands Coupé’s interior are finished in a Burgundy hue which contrasts delightfully with the exterior livery. The seats feature the new at this time “sandwich” piping and off white single stitching. The front seats feature bi-level electric lumbar adjustment, a massage function, and tilting and extending front cushions. Of course, memory functions are included. Even the individual rear seats are electronically reclining, two stage heated and separated by a deeply varnished veneer storage cubby with a retractable lid.

The rest of the of the fittings, fixtures and features in here are, of course, no less high-end or well presented as the beautifully crafted seats. The deep woollen carpets and full leather headlining are in complementary hues and seem in a condition fully in keeping with this car’s 17,179 miles to date. Although the supple, stitched leather adorns most surfaces there is just enough optional Dark Stained Vavona veneer present to break things up a little.

Mulliner aluminium foot pedals and left-foot rest are present, and the Coupé’s peerless sporting credentials are underscored by a bank of supplemental gauges... and even a tachometer.

Even the Coupé’s commodious boot is better appointed than some living rooms with more of that luxury carpeting adorning every surface. A pair of Bentley branded full-size umbrellas are affixed to the boot’s bulkhead. Beneath the boot floor is a veritable workshop’s worth of tools, spares and even manicure preserving cotton gloves.

The venerable L-series had a significant make over for the Brooklands Coupé giving it power, and particularly torque, that eclipsed all Bentleys (and most other marques and models) that came before.

With twin-turbos now in place power was up to 537 bhp and torque was a physics defying 774 Ib-ft. Despite this being far from a lightweight car, this would endow the coupe with a 0-60 mph time of little over 5 seconds and a 180 mph plus top speed. Perhaps a better barometer of this car’s real-world grunt, however, was its 30-50 mph time – 1.7 seconds. This prodigious power is fed to the rear wheels via a six-speed ZF automatic transmission.

The theatre of this Bentley doesn’t diminish one bit when you lift the bonnet. Hailing from a time still before intrusive engine covers, the sinuous intake tract somewhat apes the abdominals of a gym instructor. Twin alloy headers pitch off at each side, both bearing distinct Bentley script. Front and centre sit a pair of plaques. The bigger of the two declares “6 ¾ Litres Brooklands,” and the smaller of the two bears the signature of the Crewe engine builder responsible for this power plant.

It’s not only an impressive sight but a highly original and eminently clean and tidy one, too. The underside is predominantly hidden behind acoustic covers. What can be seen here is entirely commensurate with this car’s light use and low mileage.

The Brooklands Coupé comes with a well-rounded paperwork archive.

The current V5 is on hand and the current MoT is present in hardcopy showing validity until February 2026. Numerous earlier hard copy MoTs are also on hand charting the snail-like progression of the car’s mileage.

The original book pack is present together with a hard backed, perfect bound sales brochure. The former includes the original service book featuring the PDI stamp and full specification and option build codes. This is accompanied by eight Bentley Dealer service stamps despite the low mileage of the coupe.

A number of high value invoices providing the detail behind these stamps are also on hand. The most recent of these details a service by an independent specialist at a cost of well over £2,000 undertaken in September 2024 a little more than 100 miles ago.

Volkswagen had already proven how seriously they were taking the stewardship of one of the world’s best known automotive brands. They had put their money where their mouth was over and over again. In many ways the flagship Brooklands Coupé was a totem for the respect, care and attention that Wolfsburg were lavishing on the flying “B.”

With just 426 iterations ever made this was an instantly collectable Bentley, especially if it is one of just 97 in UK, right hand drive specification.

This beautiful Bentley is, of course, one of those 97 and is further differentiated by an incredibly modest mileage covered of just over 17,000 miles to date. Every aspect of this uber-GT seems to fall in line with that lightest of light use and very diligent maintenance history. Given all that combined with its innate scarcity this is surely one of the most desirable Volkswagen era Bentley's to come to market in some time.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £90,000 - £100,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.