Bend It Like Bentley.(Column)(Column)

Byline: Rich Ceppos

The big red car eased down the side street, glinting in the sun like a giant, polished ruby. People on the sidewalk turned and stared as if they'd just seen their first automobile. They leaned off the curb for a better look. They nudged each other and nodded in the direction of the car. A police officer sitting in his cruiser turned all the way around in his seat and hung his head out of the window.

Invariably, that initial "Wow'' was followed by a look that asked, "Whatizzit?'' They didn't know its name, but they were sure it was expensive. Very, very expensive.

Such is life behind the wheel of Bentley's new Continental GT. I had one for a few days last week and it was wonderful. Not because it's a perfect car. No such thing exists. But because it conveyed not only our bodies but also our souls through what can only be described as the quintessential Bentley experience. For driving a Bentley needs to be about much more than just ride or handling or acceleration. It needs to be something celebratory, something of an event. Kind of like a dream you can ride in.

How do you build that into a car? You start with a brilliant design-styling, as we used to call it in crasser times. A great design conveys a car's brand unmistakably and instantaneously-then makes you do that little involuntary whistle. And that would be Bentley's first problem: What, exactly, does a Bentley look like?

No one knows, at least until now, because the GT is the first Bentley in about seven decades designed independently of Rolls-Royce. Since the 1930s Bentleys have been largely based on Rolls mechanicals and, more recently, Rolls' well-known sheetmetal. Some years, the only differences between the two were grilles and badges.

Not ...