Twitter to a Test Drive

While driving around the Carmel Valley during the annual Pebble Beach / Carmel Car Week a car whizzed by.  “I’ve got to see what that is, ” I said to my husband as he sped up to find it.  Chasing cars is a typical pastime during Car Week.  Any car company wanting to sell a car, has their latest and greatest at Pebble Beach.  Where else can one reach a significant portion of their target market in a matter of days?

As the orangey red (horrible color – more red than the above pic) rear crept closer we realized it was the new 2012 Bentley Continental GT.  Armed with my iPad2 I immediately tweeted “the new lines of the 2012  are a great improvement”.  Angles replaced the squishy round edges of the older Continental GT resulting in a more serious and tough demeanor.

The styling changes are subtle, though they clearly caught our eye and made an impression:  goodbye gushy retiree look.

Not long after I had a tweet response from WO Bentley.  As the founder of the company he’s dead so who was tweeting me from beyond the grave?

Next day more driving around this time out by the airport, yeah I like airplanes too.  There it was again.  Wait, I spotted a Bentley flag.  A quick turn around led us to the hanger where they were doing pre-scheduled test drives.  I walked up to the table, “Do you know who tweets as WO Bentley?”  Her smiling laugh, told me I was in the right place.

To speed things up: an introduction was made, space was created in their schedule and minutes later I was behind the wheel of the new 2012 Bentley Continental GT with Twitter personality WO Bentley.

The 12 cylinder 6 liter Bentley motor offers ample power and supercar agility, 0-60 in 4.4 seconds which is surprising given the heft of the body.  I bet its interesting on the track.  Cocooned in the safety of a tank which drives like a sportscar, it was an easy drive.  Not that one could hear the humble growl as the car accelerated with the luxurious sound dampening accouterments expected from a pedigreed marquee, but with the window down it was relevant.It goes without saying it was comfy and well appointed, every surface covered with soft leather.Photos via Top Speed

One of the best compliments for a car is to say, it fit.  The car was inherently easy.  There was no confusion or initial trepidation, where is this or that, how does this work kind of mind immersion.  Get in, drive, worry about nothing.  It was like something I drove everyday.

Of course a Bentley isn’t for everyone but if one can afford it, it trumps it’s competitors in design, style and drive-ability.  The car lives up to the name.  It is exactly what a Bentley should be: fast, elegant, luxurious and special.  All this from a little tweet.