Bentley Brooklands or Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe?

[Centurion]

Let me say this only once.
BMW fans will vote for Rolls-Royce. MB fans will vote for Bentley becuase RR is owned by BMW and we know what audi fans are voting for. Of course there will be a few exceptions but thats is marginal.

Come on Andreas, how can you say something like that. I don't think that there is anyone here who doesn't love both RR and Bentley. Very few are biased in this question and I guess you're not one of them...........right?

 

[GTA45E]

Just_me, I don`t think that is a fair statement!

I have great respect for Roll Royce, great respect! I was so excited about seeing this Rolls today. This car has so much presence the BMW fan (design) thingy never entered my mind this afternoon till you mensioned it!

 

[Zafiro]

Both cars are ugly and ridicolus big. I wouldnt allow my parents buy a Bentley or RR. Pointless cars and just for those who want to show they have money but lack taste.

 

[sunnyman12]

touch call...the brooklands could have been so much more i think the sketches are unreal...the interior in the roller is phenom...its seems better thant the phantom

 

[GTA45E]

Both cars are ugly and ridicolus big. I wouldnt allow my parents buy a Bentley or RR. Pointless cars and just for those who want to show they have money but lack taste.

In your defence, thats simply not the case...

Perhaps I came on a little too strong, .. I`m sorry!

 

[Merc1]

To extent some of what Just_Me said is true. Some of the posts for Rolls are clearly BMW-lead no matter what, must vote for the BMW product type stuff. Too bad because the Brooklands is easier the better looking car, especially exterior wise. The Rolls side profile is a mess and almost truck like. Interior it is a much closer call, which do you prefer is the question there; old-school or old-school trying to be modern. Brooklands for me no doubt, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

M

 

[coolraoul]

^^couldn't agree more.

 

[EnI]

Seeing a good optician recommended to most of you ...

Brooklands is hardly a majestic design. C'mon.
The RR / Bentley design of 80's & 90's are worthless design-wise. And Brooklands is just a derivate of that 90s design. Trashy design not worthy of Bentley name.

True RR designs were always opulent & in-your-face. Bentley ones even more - since they were sporty alter-ego of RR.

RR by BMW follows the RR design philosophy more than Bentley / VAG does ... VAG went with too vanilla & too mainstream design for the Bentley brand. But that's their new policy for the brand - making it more affordable & mainstream, and not very exclusive (like RR is). Therefore the design follows that policy ...

There is a big difference between Bentley & RR today. Bentley is only a superb luxury car, while RR is also a ... STATEMENT! And that's the factor Bentley completely lacks today.

 

[Merc1]

Spin, spin, spin ENI. People's eyes don't lie to them. All the design talk in the world won't change what people see. Rolls is a BMW owned company and I wouldn't expect anything less than for you to champion any and everything Rolls does no matter how ugly it is.

Now Bentley doesn't make a statement? Are you serious? You're letting your BMW ties run amok. Utterly ridiculous to think Bentley doesn't make a statement.

VW may have made a mistake with the purists concerning the Continental group of cars (though the sales say they're a hit with "somebody"), but the Arnage family of cars are the real article.

M

 

[EnI]

^

Marcus, you are obsessed with the idea everything I say is a spin. Not good for your mental health.


And again: no, Bentley does not make a statement similar to the one RR does make.
Arnage is just a rebadged Silver Seraph (more or less; in its roots), and as I said RR / Bentley cars (incl designs) from 80s & 90s are far from being a true luxury statement & worthy of RR / Bentley badges.

Arnage (and its variants) are just (not very important) relics from 90s.

While Continental family is unfortunately repositioned to be more mainstream & less exclusive ... But that's I guess better for business. Until eg. other brands in VAG portfolio (eg. Porsche & Audi) will come too close with their models (eg. Panamera Turbo S, possible Audi RS7 or A9 or even the next. gen S8).

 

[Merc1]

To say Bentley isn't relevant or doesn't make a statement is just pure BMW-induced BS. Say the Brooklands/Arnage/Azure are ugly, too old fashioned, etc, etc, but to say that they don't make a statement is just plum ridiculous.

In case you hadn't noticed the thread isn't about the Arnage, which is far from being just a rebadged Silver Seraph. The Arnage has had umpteen facelifts since those days and has progressed a good deal since those days of being a Seraph twin.

This thread however is about the Brooklands, which isn't a rebadge of anything. You can down Bentley all you want, but the majority here think the Brooklands is superior, for whatever reason.

No offense but you're incapable of NOT championing any and everything BMW does. And you can't label me as a Rolls/BMW hater either because I'm clearly on the record as thinking the Phantom DHC is a stunner, easily my favorite car of the 2007 Detroit auto show. I would take it over the Azure too.

This coupe however looks a mess. Like DHC coupe with a hardtop and side profile is a mess. I find it really funny that now we're down to what makes a statement and not what is most beautiful. Rolls Royces were always pretty and and beautiful cars, yet now that goes out the window for the sake of making an (ugly) statement? Sure this Rolls will make a "statement" but it won't be called beautiful or even good looking, things that have always been part of the Rolls appeal. The car looks a mess IMO. Especially the side profile, very truckish. I guess now making a "statement" trumps good looking design.

M

 

[coolraoul]

EnI, if you think that making a statement and being 21st century means lacking class, elegance and design harmony, then yes, the Rolls makes a statement.
Otherwise, i don't see what a DHC with quick-pasted hard-top has that the Brooklands does not.

You can accuse it to be 90's, that does not mean the Rolls is 21st century. I don't get all this statement and 21st century stuff, that's all marketing words coming to help a design that is not that good.

You don't need to explain the Brooklands. Just look at it, and try not to drool too much.

The Rolls comes nowhere nears to that. Hence the need to use big words, big statements and marketing BS.

Sorry, all what BMW does is not gold. Try to open your mind to that idea!

 

[EnI]

This thread however is about the Brooklands, which isn't a rebadge of anything.

????

Arnage ===> Azure ===> Brooklands. Same car, different body variants.
Just like the Phantom family.

Again: today's Bentley does not have half of presence & making half of a statement current RR models do. Yes, Bentley does have a presence & makes a statement when compared to other cars than RR. Today RR is way above Bentley. Sorry.

I never said "RR is the most beautiful car". I just like them better since they appeal to me better. And look is not all about pure beauty & aesthetics per se, but what also counts is appearence, stance, presence, appeal, stetement. Personality also included. A complete package. A "complete beauty", not just "outer materialized" one. Therefore I find RR Phantom Coupe more beautiful - because I treat the car as a whole - with all the attributes. Bentley just ain't appealing to me - nor beautiful. Despite it features some very clean & elegant lines. But that's just not enough.

About tastes ... Some people here find creatures like Carrera GT, Ferrari Enzo / FXX, Pagani Zonda etc beautiful. Strange sense of beauty / aesthetics, I must say.

Again: to me design is much more than just a styling. And I'm sorry an average Joe is not able to understand that (like many other things).

 

[coolraoul]

I've seen the Brooklands in person when I was in Berlin, I can assure you it has presence.
There was a Flying Spur near it and it was totally invisible.

Bentley has the whole package for me.

This Rolls Coupe has only presence, lacking the rest. I'm sorry. Not that it looks bad, but it has not half the class and elegance of the Brooklands.

Now it you say me that when buying a Rolls you don't want class or elegance, but a bolding statement that you obviously have more money than your neighbour, then yes, the Rolls is better. It has a bigger grille and a Spirit of Ectasy. But why a Coupe then, everybody knows Convertibles are more expensive than Coupes!

Buy a Kenworth if all what counts for you is presence and bigger grille than others.

 

[EnI]

^

The tastes are different. Some like old stuff, some like the new stuff.

Elegance is not an absolute thing. It's quite much relative.

To me both cars are elegant, while RR PC features more contemporary (modern) elegance while Brooklands features more classic (old-fashioned) elegance.

Of course people who are used to classic elegance will have hard times recognizing the elegance in modern designs - since they are convinced the only true elegance is the one they are familiar with. And that's the main problem / issue here.

Presence ... To me presence is associated with something special & extraordinary. Something that stands out even when confronted with direct rivals. Put Brooklands & PC (= 101EX) together and you'll see the difference. Brooklands is a gray mouse compared to RR rival. Good, but not good enough.

 

[LaArtist]

bentley by a mile.. the roller is uber akward

 

[coolraoul]

What is new in the Rolls, please? I don't get the 21st century in that car. Rather old shape like someone mentionned, big good oldfashioned grille, an interior that wants to make us think we are back in the Sixties...

The Bentley has even more modern lines, less high and rigid, more aerodynamic shape... Not the good old high straight bonnet... Bentley always were more modern and sportier than Rollers.

Of course, it is "old-school" because it is elegant and classy. A modern car should not, is that what you mean?

Really...what is so wonderfully modern in the Rolls? The super-modern reversed doors? The sci-fi super-thin steering maybe.

Seriously, of course the Rolls is modern. But not more than the Bentley. Both tries to reactivate the English luxurious Coupe, in a modernized way.

But the Rolls is nothing more than a DHC with hard-top.

Notice one thing: I don't criticize the DHC here. The DHC is a very impressive Roller, modern of course but still Rolls, beautiful. This is the Coupe that I criticize here. because the lines don't flow, the roof is cutted on the windscreen, the C-pillar is heavy and the whole looks like an aftermarket hard-top for the DHC.


Let me summarize:

You say I don't like the Coupe, because I like old-fashioned luxury and the Coupe is modern.
I like the DHC
But the DHC looks similar to the Coupe
So the Coupe is oldfashioned.

Errrhh, no. I would not like it then, because it is modern and not oldfashioned...


I don't like the Coupe, because i like old-fashioned luxury and the Coupe is modern
I like the DHC
So the DHC is old-fashioned and not the Coupe

Errrrh, no, they look very similar...

Let's try again.

I don't like the Coupe
I like the DHC
So the Coupe is only a quick job of turning the DHC into a Coupe and as a result the lines don't flow and the DHC looks much better than the Coupe.

Yeah, that sounds better...

 

[NarutoRamen]

Brooklands without a doubt. I hate the fugly ass front on the rolls. Those stupid lights annoy me. Is it just me, or is the rear of both of those cars very similar?


BTW...the funny thing is how some of you guys are throwing around your opinions on design as "Fact" or something. Get over yourselves, design is subjective. What one person may like, the other may detest. To make a statement like "That car has no presence because it's design is too old" is not fact. That's an opinion. I think some of you guys will be better off leaving an "IMO" after every one of your posts.

 

[Sunny]

If I was gonna really have a big coupe I'd rather have Bentley CGT Speed than either and pocket the rest.

 

[Merc1]

????

Arnage ===> Azure ===> Brooklands. Same car, different body variants.
Just like the Phantom family.).

Now they're variants of the same car, before they were just rebadges? Which is it? Too bad the Rolls Coupe looks too much like the convertible with a hardtop stuck on. Talk about cut and paste.

Again: today's Bentley does not have half of presence & making half of a statement current RR models do. Yes, Bentley does have a presence & makes a statement when compared to other cars than RR. Today RR is way above Bentley. Sorry.

Again, says who? You? Your opinion. A Bentley or Rolls will get the top parking spot anywhere in the world.

I never said "RR is the most beautiful car".

I'm glad you didn't because that would take your obvious bias to a new level. The Rolls is borderline ugly IMO. Looks like a truck.

I just like them better since they appeal to me better. And look is not all about pure beauty & aesthetics per se, but what also counts is appearence, stance, presence, appeal, stetement. Personality also included. A complete package.

Which is what both cars have in abundance. True I don't like this Rolls and you seem to hate anything Bentley, but not even you can deny that these cars have the very things you've listed in spades. They'll both pass the snob test anywhere in the world when the pull up.

A "complete beauty", not just "outer materialized" one. Therefore I find RR Phantom Coupe more beautiful - because I treat the car as a whole - with all the attributes.

What nonsense. You're trying to come up with something to excuse a car that you know full well doesn't look the part of a Rolls-Royce. You treat the car as a whole = Its made by BMW so even though its ugly I like it. I just need the proper reason = "excuse" for doing so.

Bentley just ain't appealing to me - nor beautiful. Despite it features some very clean & elegant lines. But that's just not enough.

Your opinion and that is fair enough. This is likely what you should have stated from the start, that you simply don't like the Bentleys. Instead of all this mumbo jumbo about the "whole vehicle" and "Bentley doesn't have a presence near that of Rolls-Royce", which is utter nonsense EnI.

Again: to me design is much more than just a styling. And I'm sorry an average Joe is not able to understand that (like many other things

Here we go with this elitist stuff again. A backhanded insult. This is the problem here you're trying to elevate a simple question of which car do people prefer to some type issue in which they're so many complicated variables involved. Most here have never seen both cars in person much less driven them so what else do we have to go on here?

What your last remark really means is that because I or anyone else likes the Bentley more that we're somehow lacking, don't have "good taste" and or don't know what "design" is. You've stated this before when BMWs are called on something. I say that it is type of thinking that gets BMW drivers branded as certain things here in the U.S., but thats another story.

Anyway, I do know what I do and don't like. No degree in BS'ng required. The Rolls looks like a truck.


M