The remarkable rejuvenation of the Bentley brand continues with a $1.5 million super luxury coupe called the Brooklands.

Based on the flagship Arnage sedan, this very large two-door car has a powerful presence and engine. The familiar 6.75-litre twin turbo V8 has been tweaked to churn out a higher 530 hp and more torque than an earth-moving machine - 1,050 Nm to be exact. In fact, the ultra-luxury British marque says the Bentley Brooklands will have the most powerful V8 engine the carmaker has produced.

Targeting at the US, European and Middle Eastern markets, each example of this four-seater grand touring coupe will be hand-assembled at the Crewe factory in England. To ensure exclusivity, its lifetime production will be limited to only 550 cars. Delivery will start in the first half of next year.

The unveiling of the Brooklands coupe on Monday night in Geneva, ahead of the Swiss city's motor show this week, comes as worldwide deliveries of the 2007 Azure convertible are beginning. The latter is an elegant four-seater ragtop which is also based on the Arnage. Priced at $1.38 million, it is available in Singapore only on an indent basis.

Until the Brooklands, there has not been an ultra-luxury coupe model in the Bentley line-up for 15 years. The Continental R, which was launched in 1986, was produced until 1992.

Germany's Volkswagen Group bought Bentley in 1998 and has since rolled out the wildly successful Continental GT luxury coupe, along with its saloon and convertible variants, the Flying Spur and GTC respectively. Last year, Bentley sold a record 9,200 cars globally. In Singapore, 36 units were snapped up in 2006 - a 71 per cent increase from the 21 units in 2005 - as sales of very high-end sports cars benefited from the booming stock and property markets.

Recently, Rolls-Royce showed its Drophead Coupe - based on the imposing Phantom limousine - at the Detroit Motor Show in January.

The BMW-owned rival has yet to confirm if it will go ahead with a coupe version and some say the Brooklands is Bentley's way of stealing any possible Rolls-Royce thunder.

The last time Bentley used the Brooklands badge was on a full-sized sedan in the 1990s. This flagship Brooklands saloon, whose body resembled that of a Rolls-Royce Silver Spur, was replaced by the Arnage in 1998.

The Brooklands name is taken from the famed banked race track in Surrey and is considered the birthplace of British motor racing.

'Bentley's proud sporting pedigree, forged by the exploits of the immortal Bentley Boys on the famous Brooklands race track in the 1920s, was the inspiration for our new Brooklands coupe, capturing all the style, power and splendour of that era,' says Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, chairman and chief executive of Bentley Motors.

The Brooklands coupe is also significant for playing a part in the continuing revitalising of the Arnage range, which began with the Azure convertible.

Currently available in standard R trim, a more powerful T variant, and the RL extended wheelbase version, the Arnage had previously been derided by critics as an ageing model. In Singapore, the Arnage costs between $950,000 and $1.2 million.