While Rover sank (it was warned, twice, in this column), another car was launched, in Venice. An amphibian? No, a Bentley.
Perhaps because it rarely advertises, Bentley’s car launches are like no other. Each is divided into three- to four-day segments designed for different audiences. The basis is driving and learning about the car, with an emphasis on culture and surroundings for the lifestyle journalists, on the business case for the financial press, on engineering for the hard-core motoring press and on who-knows-what? for the dealer network. It was Cape Town for the flagship Arnage T, Spain for the Continental GT coupe and, this month, the Grand Canal for the Continental Flying Spur, the four-door version of the GT.
We drove on the mainland, slummed it at night in the Gritti Palace, enjoyed exclusive guided tours, lunched in rural grandeur with a young count (who must be in need of a wife) and dined with a beautiful countess in her palazzo.
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