New car news

04 March 2010 - 13:00

Geneva: Bentley Flying Star by Touring

We love this thing. It's a Bentley Conti GT with a new ‘shooting brake' hatchback body by Touring Superleggera. It's a car in the proper Italian coachbuilding tradition, a one-off commission for a client who's obviously got as much money as he has taste.

If you're in that position, they'll build one for you too.

And in case you fear it's just a DIY lash-up, note that Bentley was involved in making sure the quality was up to snuff. That's why it let Touring use the B-word.

At the show, we were standing staring weak-kneed at the thing when VW's head of engineering Ulrich Eichhorn ambled by. We asked him what he thought and he smiled and showed us several of its best features. Yes, he's a fan too.

Later we bumped into Rolls-Royce's design mainman Ian Cameron and asked him if he'd seen anything he liked at the show. Top of his list, too, was the same Touring Bentley.

What higher praise?

Paul Horrell, Consultant Editor of Top Gear magazine

See what else is being revealed in Geneva