Bentley to go convertible

After the launch of super luxury car Continental Flying Spur in Delhi and Mumbai, Bentley is gearing up to introduce two more cars "" Convertible Continental GT Coupe and Convertible Arnage (CA) "" in the Indian market. The new models will be launched early next year.

The Convertible CGT and Arnage are the 'open top' versions of the regular Continental GT and Arnage, launched last year in India.

The convertible models are expected to be priced at a higher premium compared with the prices of their regular versions. The regular Continental GT Coupe and Arnage are priced at Rs 1.8 crore and Rs 3 crore, respectively.

"India looks lucrative. In the last 18 months, Bentley has sold 14 cars (six Continental GTs and eight Arnages). In the first week of the launch of Continental Flying Spur itself, we received 10 bookings, which is equivalent to the total allocation to India for the whole of 2005, said Ian Gorsuch, regional director, Middle East, Asia and Africa.

According to him, only the elite class who can afford will be the Bentley customers. "We are not going to reduce car prices on our own as our car is not over-priced. However, if the government reduces import duty on cars, we will pass on the benefit to customers," added Gorsuch. Delhi and Mumbai have been to major markets for the company so far, he said.

After 18 months of its presence in India, Bentley will open its second dealer office-cum-showroom in Mumbai. It will be run and managed by Exclusive Motors Pvt Ltd, the exclusive India dealer of Bentley.

Bentley launched its Super luxury car Bentley Continental Flying Spur in Mumbai on Sunday. The car, priced at over Rs 1 crore, was launched a week ago in Delhi.

The car is the fastest four-door sedan in the world with a top speed of 312 kmph. It has a six-litre 552 bhp engine. This is the third car launch by Bentley during the previous 18 months.