Bentley will sell 1 Brooklands in India from 550 it produces

New Delhi, Oct 12 (UNI) Its exclusive- Bentley Motors Ltd today said it will sell one Brooklands coupe in India from the 550 it manufactures for the global market.

''We will sell one Brookland in India but cannot reveal the name of the customer and has been priced at about Rs 3.80 crore,'' said company's Regional Director (West Asia, Africa and India) Ian Gorsuch.

British luxury carmaker Bentley has described Brooklands coupe as 'the world's most exclusive coupe' featuring the most powerful engine Bentley has ever produced.

The company draws inspiration from the 'Bentley Boys' on the famous Brooklands racetrack in the 1920s, for the new coupe.

The new Bentley Brooklands possesses the most powerful V8 the company has ever produced-a 530bhp, twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre unit that also produces 1,050Nm (775 pound-feet) of torque.

As with the latest Arnage, the V8 engine is mated to a six-speed transmission.

Lifetime production will be strictly limited to just 550 cars, with deliveries expected to start in the first half of 2008.

Mr Gorsuch said Bentley expects to sell 30 cars this year in the Indian market and has already sold 20 cars this year but can double sales if the demand for the cars exist.

''The demand for the car has far exceeded our expectations when we came into the Indian market,'' Mr Gorsuch said.

We look at India because its also a case of spreading risk across countries in case sales drop in some market, he added.

After Mumbai, the car maker today unveiled its two new convertible models, Azure and Continental GTC for Indian market priced at Rs 3.80 crore and Rs 2.10 crore respectively.

Bentley cars, which radiate wealth as few cars can, is not perturbed by competition from the likes of Rolls Royce and Maybach.

''Competition is good and we welcome it in the niche market which stimulates growth,'' Mr Gorsuch said.

Bentley debuted in India in October, 2003 and has one outlet, in Delhi and has sold close to 50 cars till now.

The company has already reached its manufacturing capacity of 10,000 cars a year and Mr Gorsuch said the company has no plans of making the car outside UK.

Mr Gorsuch said that a revision of the high duty and tax structure can see a growth in demand but added that even under the current tax regime the market is expected to grow.

''China and even the well established markets like the US and Gulf countries are important for our sales,'' Mr Gorsuch said.

Bentley sells about 100-200 cars a year in China.

Bentley sold only 993 cars in 1993, but worldwide sales rose to 9,386 in 2006 cars because of alluring models and growing affluence in nations such as China and India.

Sales in America through August this year totalled 2,809 cars, up from 2,445 in the last year.

UNI