German Car Zone

That's exactly what I'm saying. There's gonna be people that like the RR over the Bentley. It's just not a FACT that the convertible is prettier to everyone... that's all.

All this discussion, most of us are only gonna see a handful of these in real life, haha

My point about design is that great design doesn't need a jillion explanations behind it. I don't need to be lectured as to how to understand how something looks or why it looks the way it does. These are Bentleys and Rolls Royce's not race cars that require more of the form follows function theory. Grafting a roof onto a convertible has resulted in a pretty truckish looking car IMO. No design class required. You can't explain to Raoul how a car looks and neither can I and neither can EnI.

M

The reason why some people mind find a Rolls to be more prestigious is because of size. The Phantom is a gigantic sedan and if you increased the size of the Arnage it would stand just as tall.

Apparently Autobild has compared them. Here are some interesting figures:

Technische Daten Bentley Brooklands RR Phantom Coupé
Motor/Hubraum V8 Twinturbo/6761 cm3 V12/6749 cm³
Leistung 395 kW (537 PS) 338 kW (460 PS)
Drehmoment bei U/min 1050 Nm/3200 720 Nm/3500
0–100 km/h 5,3 s 5,6 s
Höchstgeschwindigkeit 296 km/h 250 km/h
Verbrauch (Liter/100 km) 19,5 Liter Super plus 15,7 Liter Super plus
Länge/Breite/Höhe 5411/2080/1473 5609/1987/1592
Leergewicht 2655 kg 2590 kg
Preis ab 345.100 Euro ab 425.000 Euro*

I have just scanned quickly through this thread .....some interesting opinions.

All this talk about class and taste is very amusing to me ......is that not just buying into all the marketing hype from these manufacturers?

I like both these cars for their fine quality and expression of luxury ....but there is a big difference between them in my opinion.

The Bentley is definitely the more traditional vehicle .....it does have the character of previous Rolls-Royces and Bentleys -- while also being a vast improvement as far as technology goes. The Bentley is 100% genuine ....it is classic with a very English feel about it.

There is no doubt about it, BMW have done a fantastic job with Rolls-Royce. However, it must be said that the character has changed .....they no longer feel quite so connected with their heritage. It is difficult to explain because it really is all about aesthetics. The Phantom almost feels like a parody of itself -- they are wonderfully designed with a deliberate (and very self conscious) obsession with making a strong impression of luxury and prestige. This, for me, is the main difference between these two vehicles, The Brooklands is a natural progression of the Bentleys of the past, its style is familiar and characteristic of the marque. The Rolls is not trying to be traditional, it plays with traditional elements in a similar way to what Daimler is currently starting to do with Mercedes. The Phantom has been rigorously designed, every detail has been carefully considered and "styled". however, this does make the Rolls-Royce feel slightly contrived in some ways.

The Bentley designers do appear to have a more sincere respect for the traditions and culture of the marque. The Rolls-Royce designers were more committed to creating an ultra-luxury status symbol which loosely uses tradition and historical references like metaphors -- I'm not saying it is all style over substance ....but it certainly is not the same substance of the Rolls-Royces of the past. But this change of character was probably a complete necessity for Rolls-Royce to be relevant in the 21st century.

Great post Rob. I agree completely.

M

I prefer the rectangular shaped headlights/grille on a Rolls Royce more than a Bentley. I'd take the Phantom, but if it were compared to the Bentley GT Continental, I wouldn't think twice.