Bentley Bullish, Ramps-Up Rollout Of Continental, Flying Spur

Paris Hilton

Enlarge Photo

Good news for Bentley fans: the British automaker is so jazzed about the economy that it's rolling out a new model of the Continental GT Coupe in 2010, not 2011 as previously announced. Also coming in 2010: replacements for the Flying Spur sedan and Continental GTC convertible. Also: no, we're not kidding.

The news was sparked by Stuart McCullough, Bentley's board member for sales and marketing, who feels very "in touch" with his target demographic and wants to strike while the iron is hot:

"We know that coming out of the dip is when new models will pay off," he said. "We have done enough work with our customers to understand what they are thinking and when they are likely to be back in the market."

Bentley saw sales plummet last calendar year, and the company has scaled back production for 2009, but the automaker clearly sees something blowing in the wind. To be fair, that "something" may not be fluttering here in the U.S., but in China, Russia, and the Middle East--where the company focuses much of its energy these days--Bentley feels that things are looking up.

Could this be a sign that the global economy is turning around? Is it time to crack open that bottle of Boone's Farm we've been saving? Maybe. All we know for sure is that we still won't be able to afford anything on the Bentley lot.

[source: Autonews, sub req'd]