I was at the Venice launch of the Continental Flying Spur four-door variant that was also penned by Pires, as was the more recent soft-top GTC. The affable Brazilian has been at Bentley for almost a decade, during which time he has invoked massive positive change. The Continental GT has been a huge worldwide success, virtually quadrupling Bentley sales in several markets.

Pires studied the Bentley brand, not just the history, to gain an intimate feel for its cars. He eventually looked to the 1952 Continental R Type as a source of inspiration for the new-age Continental GT, launched internationally in 2003. His rationale was that this represented the last pure Bentley; everything that followed being Rolls-Royce derived. Until the new Bentley era.

Pires is adamant that he was not looking for retro solutions and indeed his Continental, in each of its derivations, is thoroughly contemporary. These post-millennium Bentleys have a muscular feel with ‘floating’ headlights and tail-lights, i.e. they’re not linked to shut-lines, as is the norm with most car design. In keeping with Bentley’s sporting heritage, Pires says the GTC’s lines are ‘wheel-orientated’.

First premiered in 2006, the GT Convertible obviously lost volume at the rear, compared with the fastback GT, so the designer says it was necessary to assuage this with the tension of the roofline. And this is not a folding steel roof à la BMW and Mercedes Benz.

January/February 2012 Issue

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