Wealthy South Africans can now add a Bentley to their shopping lists. The brand belongs to Volkswagen, but will be marketed in this country by Pearl Automotive — the umbrella company of MG Rover SA and Pearl Pre-Owned Cars — and will be sold from its MG/Rover showrooms.
Initially, the Bentley model line-up here will consist of the Arnage T and Arnage R four-door saloons, powered by twin-turbocharged 6,75-litre all-aluminium V8 engines. The Arnage R will be on display at Auto Africa in October, and pricing for both models will be announced at that time. The Continental GT, which was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show on September 26, will be imported by Bentley SA after it goes on sale overseas.
Pearl head honcho Piet Rademeyer says they already have a handful of orders. Pricing will be, well, steep. The Arnage T is expected to deplete your savings to the tune of more than R3-million, with the R version probably setting you back about R500 000 more. The Continental GT, at about R1,5-million, suddenly sounds like a cheapie.
Bentley’s South African association goes back a long way — Woolf Barnato, son of diamond magnate Barney, won the Le Mans 24-hour race three times in the 1920s in their cars, and ended up as chairperson of the company. Former Port Elizabeth lad Brian Gush currently heads up the company’s engineering department in the United Kingdom.