The Bentley Brooklands name first appeared in 1993, when Bentley used it for a new luxury saloon line that replaced the Mulsanne series. It took its name from the famous Brooklands motor circuit in Surrey, a venue closely tied to Bentley’s early competition history and the brand’s pre-war racing reputation. The original Brooklands family belonged to Bentley’s Crewe-built luxury saloons of the 1990s and remained in production through that decade before the nameplate disappeared.
Bentley revived the Brooklands name in 2007 for a very different car: a large, limited-production coupé that was positioned as a grand, hand-finished flagship for the brand’s ultra-luxury era. This later Brooklands was presented as a continuation of Bentley’s tradition of powerful, coachbuilt-style grand tourers, and Bentley described it as the triumphant return of the nameplate. Production was limited and the coupé run ended in 2010.
Because the Brooklands nameplate was used in two separate production periods with a gap in between, it should be treated as a multi-era model rather than a single continuous line. The Brooklands is especially significant to Bentley enthusiasts because it bridges two eras of the company: the traditional Crewe saloons of the 1990s and the modern limited-run luxury coupés that revived older Bentley nameplates for collectors and grand touring customers.