Crewe's Bruiser; Bentley showcases Brooklands supercoupe at its namesake track.

Byline: Kevin A. Wilson

If you wait for a press review of the upcoming Bentley Brooklands coupe before you place your order, you'll be too late. Within 90 days of the car's unveiling at the Geneva show in March, more than half the total production run had been spoken for, with some buyers dropping off the waiting list for $169,900 Continental GTs and shifting over to the bigger coupe, even though the price is nearly twice as high.

In other words, they're going fast, and not just because Bentley claims 0-to-60-mph acceleration in 5.0 seconds, 50 to 70 mph in an eye-blink 2.4 seconds and a 184-mph top speed.

We've been up close with the single concept but weren't allowed to drive it. Each of the limited 550 copies to be delivered starting in early 2008 (the first year's order book is full) will be built to the customer's own specifications. Construction involves much more handcrafting than even the meticulously assembled standard range of Bentleys. The joint of the rear roof pillar (it's a true hardtop, with no center post) to the quarter-panel and rear deck requires hand-welding, for instance, and the entire interior is leather-swathed, including the headliner, and trimmed in stainless steel and your choice of wood veneers.

Bentley named the car after England's legendary pre-World War II Brooklands racing circuit, where the marque had major triumphs. To highlight the connection, the Brooklands concept car was taken to the historic track for the occasion of its 100th anniversary and posed on the Members Banking with five of the most fabled Bentleys of the 1920s. These cars had won at Le Mans and at Brooklands and were running side by side for the first time in more than 70 years.

What's left of the ...