After living in the shadow of Rolls- Royce for so long, Bentley Motors is enjoying a renaissance with a new owner and, most importantly, a new product range, which is literally setting pulses racing across the region.

Since Volkswagen acquired Bentley in July 1998, its German owner has invested heavily in the brand and introduced the Continental GT - a 'baby Bentley' that has all the hallmarks of the exclusive motor manufacturer at a price substantially lower than its more traditional Arnage range.

The 200 mp/h 'supercar' still remains out of the price range of most - and the maxim 'if you need to ask, you can't afford it' still applies - but it is hot. Order a Continental GT coupé today and you'll not take delivery until March 2005, despite the fact that the car will be produced at a rate of 3,500 per year, which represents a huge amount for Bentley.

With a four-door model due for release next year and a convertible to follow that, Bentley has high hopes for the future of the Continental GT, and is targeting a record five-fold sales surge in the GCC region this year alone. The United Arab Emirates accounts for some 30 per cent of Bentley demand in the Gulf, and is the top importer in the region followed by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

For Al Habtoor Motors, the exclusive Bentley Motors dealership in the UAE, the excitement is being matched by increased investment in showrooms and after-sales service. A dedicated Bentley showroom opened in Dubai last year and the dealership is now looking to develop new facilities in Abu Dhabi.

Regional manager, Mark Llewellyn-Jones, is understandably upbeat and says local demand for the new Continental GT has been unprecedented, with orders having rolled in long before its regional launch in March.

"We have had people waiting two years for it," he explains. "Certainly the anticipation and the deposits we received up front surprised us, as it is very rare in this market to get people to commit with money for something they hadn't seen and, at that stage, didn't know how much was going to cost."

Bentley conducted private viewings of the Continental GT around the world a year before its official launch, but it was only unveiled to the general public in the Arab world at the Middle East International Motor Show in Dubai in December 2003 - which resulted in a further 22 orders being taken at the show.

"The outlook for the next three or four years is mind-blowing because of the rate of increase and expansion. This year is looking very good and the four-door derivative of Continental coming next year will be a real winner as this is far more a four-door market than a two-door market."

According to Mr Llewellyn-Jones, to fully appreciate the passion exhibited by Bentley enthusiasts, you have to understand the company's background.

"Personally I think the tradition and history is everything," he says. "When you sit in the Arnage it has an aura, even a smell - just the feel of it is so different from any other car and you can't help but get swallowed up by it all."

The history of Bentley Motors dates back to 1919 when Walter Owen Bentley, affectionately known as 'W.O.', enlisted the services of two engineers and turned his hand to designing and building a prototype sports car - something he had passionately wanted to do for many years.

The car - called the Bentley 3 Litre - was put into full production at its London factory in 1922 and, in the same year, a team of three racing Bentleys won the team prize in the Tourist Trophy Race. The following year, a Bentley car finished fourth in the 24-hour sports car race at Le Mans and went on to win it the following year. During the next six years, teams of Bentleys were entered for each 24-hour race at Le Mans and, although the 1925 and 1926 teams failed to finish, Bentleys were first across the finish line in 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930 to set a record of consecutive wins that was not equalled until the 1950's (by Jaguar) and not beaten until the 1960's (by Ferrari).

Away from the racetrack, however, things were not going so well. The depression of the 1920s, combined with W.O.'s general lack of business acumen, had so badly affected sales that the Bentley Company was forced into liquidation in 1931 and taken over by Rolls-Royce. Production of Bentley cars was subsequently moved to Derby, and ultimately in 1946 to its current home at Crewe in the North West of England.

Until the late 1950s, Bentley and Rolls-Royce maintained separate identities with the Rolls perceived as a chauffeur-driven limousine, while the Bentley was very much the gentleman's Grand Touring machine that was actually driven by its enthusiastic owner.

"From the 1960s there was a greater fusion of the two brands whereby the Bentley was essentially the Rolls-Royce with a different radiator and badge," Mr Llewellyn-Jones explains. "That carried on right through until the early 1990s, but in the mid-90s there was a change with Bentley coming out of the shadows with cars like the Turbo-R. Whilst it looked like its Rolls-Royce partner, it drove very differently. It had a turbo charged engine that made it really go. The cars didn't handle or stop particularly well in those days, but it was the beginnings of getting back to the self-driven, big, expensive, luxury, high-speed, touring-type car."

Bentley cars have always been more understated and attracted a distinctly different type of owner than Rolls-Royces and, with the divorce of the two brands now complete, Bentley is finally able to concentrate on carving its own individual identity once more - Rolls-Royce is now owned by BMW and production of its only current model has moved to Goodwood in the south of England.

"Although we have customers in the UAE who have both Bentleys and the new Rolls-Royce Phantom," Mr Llewellyn-Jones says, "there is a core of Bentley people who are different from the core of Rolls-Royce people. They are generally slightly younger, obviously wealthy, but somebody who enjoys the performance that the Bentley gives them, who appreciates and understands the bespoke side of things, and wants to make a statement without being over-the-top about it.

"In Crewe they have a saying that 'one is flash cash, and the other is wealth by stealth'. That is a little bit clichéd, but it does symbolise some of the difference between the two brands."

Bentley engines are predominantly hand-made and the interiors hand-finished, while customers are also able to tailor their vehicle to their own individual requirements.

"It is probably one of only two totally bespoke car manufacturers left in the world, and we have a regular customer base who will tailor-make their own car," Mr Llewellyn-Jones says. "If you have a big enough cheque book you can have whatever you want - if you took a lady's lipstick and said 'I want the leather that colour with the piping to match my shoelaces' it can be done."

Among the Bentley characteristics are power and speed: the latest series of Arnage four-door salon car is as fast in a straight line as a Porsche 911, yet it is a limousine-type motorcar weighing 2.8 tonnes. It is no wonder then that owners like to drive them themselves.

"The Continental GT is definitely not a chauffeur driven motor car either," Mr Llewellyn-Jones says of the new model. "The car is extremely fast and has the Bentley DNA - the interior looks, smells and feels like a Bentley. The engine is not totally silent - they have engineered it so you can hear it a little bit, which is what the cars were always about."

And he says the waiting list new customers have to join for the new Continental GT only adds to the exclusivity of the Bentley brand.

"Crewe are actually working a two-shift system to meet initial demand, but they then have to back off a little bit because you still want to maintain the balance of demand being slightly higher than supply - that's the ideal situation. If you have to wait just a little bit, it does mean that the car remains exclusive and its value and re-sale value remain intact."